Personnel shortage challenging Air Force’s plan to introduce F-35, other equipment - Trail Daily Times

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  December 8, 2017 | Local, Naval

  French and Italian governments endorse long-shot bid for 15 new ships for Canada's navy

  DANIEL LEBLANC OTTAWA PUBLISHED DECEMBER 8, 2017UPDATED 3 DAYS AGO The French and Italian governments are officially backing an unsolicited proposal to supply 15 military vessels to the Royal Canadian Navy outside of the ongoing competition for the $60-billion contract, documents show. The French and Italian ministers of defence submitted a letter last month to their Canadian counterpart, Harjit Sajjan, stating that they "fully support" the joint bid by Naval Group and Fincantieri to replace the RCN's existing frigates and retired destroyers. The support from the French and Italian governments could give additional weight to the long-shot proposal, which aims to bypass the official procurement process for new Canadian Surface Combatants. "Under the umbrella of an intergovernmental agreement, we will provide project management support so that the Royal Canadian Navy can operate the purchased warships, sustain their operational capabilities and manage their evolving capabilities throughout their entire lifecycle," said the letter from French Defence Minister Florence Parly and Italian Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti. The submission from Naval and Fincantieri has shaken up the process put in place by the federal government to acquire 15 new vessels. Halifax-based Irving Shipbuilding Inc. is the government's prime contractor, with a competition under way to select a warship design. Defence-industry sources said the leading contender in the process is a joint bid by U.S.-based Lockheed Martin and British-based BAE Systems. The same sources said only three of the 12 prequalified bidders submitted a formal proposal by the Nov. 30 deadline, a number the federal government will not confirm. Under Canada's defence policy unveiled earlier this year, the federal government is planning to get its first Canadian Surface Combatant in 2026, with the entire project costing between $56-billion and $60-billion. Under the Franco-Italian proposal, the 15 vessels would also be built at the Irving shipyard. Based on production costs in Europe, the two companies said they could provide the vessels to the Canadian government for $20.9-billion (€13.8-billion), with construction starting in late 2019. The bid from Naval and Fincantieri was unsolicited, essentially relying on the possibility that none of the bidders under the existing process will be deemed compliant. The defence-industry sources described the offer as a "Hail Mary" that could succeed if the ongoing process unravels, like many previous military procurements. "Everything depends with what happens with the process that is under way right now," said David Perry, senior analyst at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. "If they can get two compliant bids or ideally all three ... I wouldn't see a need to go back and do a comparison with the [Naval/Fincantieri] bid." The federal government said this week that it will not even analyze the unsolicited bid. "To be clear, any proposals submitted outside of the established competitive process will not be considered," Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) said in a statement. "The submission of an unsolicited proposal at the final hour undermines the fair and competitive nature of this procurement suggesting a sole-source contracting arrangement. Acceptance of such a proposal would break faith with the bidders who invested time and effort to participate in the competitive process, put at risk the government's ability to properly equip the Royal Canadian Navy and would establish a harmful precedent for future competitive procurements," the statement said. In addition, the government rejected the notion that the Franco-Italian bid could generate significant savings, stating that the acquisition of the ships accounts for only about half of the price tag. "It is important to note that a warship project budget must cover more than just delivering the ships. It must also include the costs associated with design and definition work, infrastructure, spare parts, training, ammunition, contingencies and project management," PSPC said. The Naval/Fincantieri proposal is based on the European multimission frigate program, under which the two firms are supplying 18 ships to the French and Italian navies. The two companies said their "off-the-shelf solution" is less risky than other projects still in development. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/french-and-italian-governments-endorse-long-shot-bid-for-15-new-military-ships/article37275099/ CSC

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  April 6, 2021 | Local, Aerospace

  New NATO Innovation Hub challenge: Improving space domain awareness//Nouveau défi du pôle d'innovation de l'OTAN: améliorer la connaissance dans le domaine spatial

  Similar to IDEaS, the NATO Innovation Hub is a community where experts from around the world collaborate to tackle NATO challenges and design solutions. The Hub has recently launched a challenge seeking innovative solutions that address ways to improve space domain awareness. Solutions will collect and analyze relevant open source information contributing to space domain awareness, assess and prevent disruption or denial of space based capabilities, or visualize and present space domain information in order to facilitate quick and efficient decision making. Compete for an $8,500 prize, stage-time to pitch your idea, and the opportunity to have your solution developed. Register before May 22, 2021. Abstract submissions due May 23, 2021. More info: https://www.innovationhub-act.org/challenge-intro If you have questions, contact the NATO Innovation Hub by email: contact@InnovationHub-act.org Semblable à IDEeS, le Centre d'innovation de l'OTAN est une communauté où des experts du monde entier collaborent pour relever les défis de l'OTAN et élaborer des solutions. Le Centre a récemment lancé un défi recherchant des solutions innovantes qui abordent les moyens d'améliorer la connaissance dans le domaine spatial. Les solutions collecteront et analyseront les informations de sources ouvertes pertinentes contribuant à la connaissance du domaine spatial, évalueront et empêcheront les perturbations ou le déni des capacités spatiales, ou visualiseront et présenteront les informations du domaine spatial afin de faciliter une prise de décision rapide et efficace. Rivalisez pour un prix de 8 500 $, le temps de présenter votre idée et l'opportunité de développer votre solution. Inscrivez-vous avant le 22 mai 2021. Soumission des résumés le 23 mai 2021. Plus d'informations: https://www.innovationhub-act.org/challenge-intro Si vous avez des questions, contactez le Centre d'innovation de l'OTAN par courriel : contact@InnovationHub-act.org

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  May 8, 2019 | Local, Aerospace

  U.S. government again urges Canada to acquire American fighter jets, despite Pentagon threats

  DANIEL LEBLANC The American government is once again urging Canada to acquire U.S.-built fighter jets to replace its fleet of CF-18s, one day after it emerged the Pentagon recently threatened to pull the F-35 out of the $26-billion competition for new aircraft. The contradictory messages from the U.S. government showcase how the Americans are trying to prevent a tendering process that would favour European manufacturers at the expense of either the Lockheed Martin F-35 or the Boeing Super Hornet. The Canadian government is weeks away from launching a competition for 88 new fighter jets, with the two American firms set to enter into a competition against the Swedish Gripen and the Eurofighter Typhoon, which is built by a consortium that includes Airbus. In a statement on Tuesday, the American government called on Canada to make sure its fighter jets can operate alongside U.S. military aircraft around the world. The “crucial” point, according to the American government, is Canada's participation in the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) that controls the Canadian and American airspace. Only U.S.-built fighter jets currently operate in NORAD and European aircraft would face technological hurdles in gaining the ability to fully integrate into the bi-national military alliance. “We continue to believe in the importance of NATO and NORAD interoperability as a crucial component of Canada's acquisition of defence assets,” said Joseph Crook, a spokesman for the U.S. embassy in Ottawa. Mr. Crook added the American government remains “hopeful that U.S. firms are able to participate in open and transparent competition processes that can support Canada's NATO and NORAD obligations, especially when it comes to co-operative engagement capabilities.” On Monday, the Macdonald-Laurier Institute published letters from American officials who warned their Canadian counterparts last year that the F-35 might be pulled from the competition unless Canada's requirements for industrial benefits were modified. The American government is concerned about Canada's Industrial and Technological Benefits (ITB) policy, which requires the winner of the contract to invest the equivalent of the acquisition cost in Canada. Built by Lockheed Martin, the F-35 is a stealth aircraft developed by an international consortium of allied militaries under a program that specifically rejects the application of traditional industrial benefits. Canada has been a member of the program since 2006. In an interview after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said he has sought to reassure the Americans by pointing out that the Canadian government will focus mostly on technical capabilities in deciding which aircraft to purchase. “First of all, the capabilities of the aircraft is the number one priority. Making sure we meet the needs of the Canadian Armed Forces – the Air Force in this particular case – is the number one priority. We will always make sure that will happen,” Mr. Sajjan said. He added that obtaining benefits for the Canadian economy is also important, while suggesting the matter will have less importance in the final weighting of the bids. “This obviously factors into the equation, but the capability requirements for the Canadian Armed Forces is always the number one priority,” he said. In a speech laying out his foreign-affairs policy on Tuesday, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said he will seek to modernize the NORAD alliance if his party forms the next government, including through the purchase of fighter jets that can defend North America alongside the U.S. fleet. “I will act to select a new fighter jet through an open competition and make sure the new jets are interoperable with our American allies,” Mr. Scheer said. Vice-Admiral Mathias Winter of the U.S. Navy said in a letter last December that Canada has received US$1.3-billion in economic benefits from its participation in the F-35 program to this point. “The F-35 supplier team will submit an F-35 offer only if (1) the ITB requirement is waived entirely and (2) there is no future ITB obligation arising from selecting the F-35,” Vice-Adm. Winter said in his letter. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-us-government-urges-canada-to-acquire-american-fighter-jets-in-2/