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  December 6, 2023 | Local, Aerospace

  CF-18 Demonstration Team celebrates RCAF centennial with 20-city performance schedule - Skies Mag

  The schedule begins May 18 in Comox, B.C., and wraps up Sept. 30 in Leamington, Ont.

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  August 3, 2020 | Local, Aerospace

  These three companies submitted bids for Canada’s fighter competition

  By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — The bids are in for Canada's fighter competition, and three companies will go head-to-head for the chance to build 88 new jets. The Canadian government on Friday confirmed that the field is down to two American entrants — Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and Boeing's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet — as well as Swedish aerospace manufacturer Saab's Gripen E. All companies submitted proposals before the July 31 deadline. The contest is scheduled to be decided in 2022, with the first aircraft delivery projected in 2025. Up to CA$19 billion (U.S. $14 billion) is up for grabs. “Our government committed to purchasing a full fleet of 88 aircraft to be able to meet our NORAD [North American Aerospace Defense Command] and NATO obligations simultaneously,” Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said in a statement. “Efficient and modern fighter jets are an integral part of any air force and we continue to work diligently to make sure that we provide the members of the Royal Canadian Air Force the tools they need to protect Canada, both at home and abroad.” Canada could downselect to two bidders in spring 2021 after an initial evaluation of proposals, though it could keep all three companies as options until the final selection of a single bidder in 2022, the Canadian government said in statement. The competing companies must submit proposals that offer economic benefits to Canadian defense contractors and other businesses, as industrial incentives and offsets make up 20 percent of the criteria under evaluation. The proposals will also be evaluated on each aircraft's capability and cost, which will be weighed at 60 percent and 20 percent respectively. The new fighter will replace the Royal Canadian Air Force's fleet of aging CF-18s. For its proposal, Saab will partner with Canadian defense firms IMP Aerospace & Defence, CAE, and Peraton Canada, and will offer a competitive package of industrial and technological benefits, the company announced. “Saab's Gripen fighter is designed to operate in harsh environments and defeat the most advanced global threats. The system meets all of Canada's specific defence requirements, offering exceptional performance and advanced technical capabilities,” said Jonas Hjelm, who heads Saab's aeronautics business. As a partner nation of the F-35 program, Canada has contributed funding for the development of the Joint Strike Fighter and is involved in the production of the jet. In Lockheed's statement confirming the bid, the firm said the F-35 program would support an estimated 150,000 jobs in Canada over its life span. “The 5th Generation F-35 would transform the Royal Canadian Air Force fleet and deliver the capabilities necessary to safeguard Canadian skies,” said Greg Ulmer, Lockheed's F-35 program executive vice president. “The F-35′s unique mix of stealth and sensor technology will enable the Royal Canadian Air Force to modernize their contribution to NORAD operations, ensure Arctic sovereignty and meet increasingly sophisticated global threats.” Boeing's argument for its Super Hornet Block III was simple: The Royal Canadian Air Force already operates F/A-18s, and buying the latest version of the Super Hornet is a proven, affordable option that will allow the service to reuse existing infrastructure and reduce sustainment costs. “We have a partnership with Canada that spans more than 100 years. We don't take that lightly. The response we submitted today builds upon that great legacy and allows us to continue to bring the best of Boeing to Canada and the best of Canada to Boeing,” said Jim Barnes, Boeing's director of Canada fighter sales. “Our proven, two-engine design can operate in the harshest environments and provide support no matter where the mission takes its pilots. That, coupled with Boeing's 100% guaranteed industrial plan, will also deliver long term, well-paying jobs.” https://www.defensenews.com/global/the-americas/2020/07/31/these-three-companies-submitted-bids-for-canadas-fighter-competition/

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  October 11, 2019 | Local, Aerospace

  European-built fighter aircraft: did they ever stand a chance in Canada’s competition?

  DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN Canada's future fighter jet competition has already lost two European competitors. Will it lose a third, the Gripen built by Saab of Sweden? At the end of August, the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence and Airbus Defence and Space informed the Canadian government of their decision to withdraw from Canada's future fighter competition. Airbus had been offering Canada the Eurofighter Typhoon. Last year the European firm Dassault informed the Canadian government it would not be competing in the competition. It had been planning to offer Canada the Rafale fighter jet. Airbus and the UK Defence Ministry noted that their decision to withdraw was the result of a detailed review of Canada's request for proposals which was released to industry on July 23. Airbus pointed to the changes Canada made to the industrial benefits package to appease Lockheed Martin as well as the excessive costs that U.S.-Canadian security requirements placed on a company based outside North America. “A detailed review has led the parties to conclude that NORAD security requirements continue to place too significant of a cost on platforms whose manufacture and repair chains sit outside the United States-Canada 2-EYES community,” the statement from Airbus and the UK Defence Ministry noted. “Second, both parties concluded that the significant recent revision of industrial technological benefits obligations does not sufficiently value the binding commitments the Typhoon Canada package was willing to make, and which were one of its major points of focus.” The $19 billion competition has been dogged by allegations it is designed to favour Lockheed Martin's F-35 stealth fighter. Take for instance, the response that Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan provided when the Liberal government in November 2016 announced the purchase of 18 interim Boeing Super Hornets. That deal was eventually scuttled after Boeing decided to go after Bombardier in a trade dispute over civilian aircraft. But at the time when the purchase was announced, Sajjan was asked why Canada was buying the Super Hornet and not one of the other fighter jets on the market. “When you look at the various aircraft, we have our NORAD commitment's (which are) extremely important,” the defence minister responded. “There's certainly interoperability issues as well.” Procurement Minister Judy Foote was more blunt. “From our perspective, we're working with the American government, so we have to look at an American plane.” So how is that different from the aircraft to be selected for the future fighter jet competition? Sajjan and Foote were stating in November 2016 that Canada needed to buy American because of its NORAD commitments and other interoperability concerns with the U.S. Nothing appears to have changed in the last three years, at least as far as the federal government and Canadian Forces are concerned. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/european-built-fighter-aircraft-did-they-ever-stand-a-chance-in-canadas-competition