January 31, 2019 | Local, Aerospace
Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press
OTTAWA -- Canada is being forced to shoulder a bigger share of the costs of developing F-35 fighter jets even though it has not decided whether it will actually buy any.
Canada is one of nine partner countries in the F-35 project, each of which is required to cover a portion of the stealth fighter's multibillion-dollar development costs to stay at the table.
Each country pays based on the number of F-35s it's expecting to buy. Canada has pitched in more than half-a-billion dollars over the last 20 years, including $54 million last year.
But that amount was based on the Stephen Harper government's plan to buy 65 new fighter jets to replace Canada's aging CF-18s, which the Trudeau government has since officially increased to 88.
Even though Canada has not committed that those 88 jets will be F-35s, the Department of National Defence says that change means it will have to pay more to remain a partner -- including about $72 million this year.
"Canada's costs under the F-35 (partnership agreement) are based on an intended fleet size," Defence Department spokeswoman Ashley Lemire said in an email.
"Canada changed its fleet size within the F-35 (agreement) from 65 to 88 aircraft to align with government decisions on the size of the intended permanent fighter fleet to be acquired through competition and the payment increased accordingly."
As each partner contribution is determined annually, based on the overall cost of the F-35 development program for that specific year, Lemire said she could not provide details how much more Canada will have to pay.
The F-35's development costs have been a constant source of criticism over the life of the stealth-fighter program, which Canada first joined under the Chretien government in 1997. The entire program is believed to have already cost more than US$1 trillion.
The Trudeau government says it plans to keep Canada in the F-35 development effort until a replacement for the CF-18s is chosen -- partners in the development work can buy the planes at a lower price and compete for work associated with their production and long-term maintenance.
Canadian companies have so far won more than $1.2 billion in contracts related to the F-35, according to the government.
The F-35 is one of four planes slated to participate in the $19-billion competition that the government plans to launch this spring, the others being Boeing's Super Hornet, Eurofighter's Typhoon and Saab's Gripen.
The competition isn't scheduled to select a winner until 2021 or 2022, meaning Canada will be on the hook for several more payments. The first new aircraft is expected in 2025 and the last in 2031, when the CF-18s will be phased out.
F-35 maker Lockheed Martin says more than 350 of the stealth fighters have been delivered to different countries, while Israel became the first country to use the plane in combat last year when two of the jets struck targets in neighbouring Syria.
Acting U.S. defence secretary Patrick Shanahan, a former Boeing executive, nonetheless criticized the program on Monday, saying it "has room for a lot more performance."
"I am biased toward performance," he was quoted as saying when asked if he is biased toward Boeing. "I am biased toward giving the taxpayer their money's worth. And the F-35, unequivocally, I can say, has a lot of opportunity for more performance."
July 20, 2022 | Local, Aerospace
Le Canada aura bientôt officiellement sa force spatiale militaire. Mais attention : ceux qui s’imaginent des soldats en mission dans un champ de bataille céleste vont vite revenir sur terre : « Ce n’est pas aussi excitant que les séries de science-fiction », avertit le futur commandant de cette force, le brigadier général Michael Adamson.
June 13, 2019 | Local, C4ISR
CAMBRIDGE, ON and ATHENS, Greece, June 13, 2019 /CNW/ - exactEarth Ltd. ("exactEarth") (XCT:TSX), a leading provider of Satellite-AIS data services, and MarineTraffic, a leading global provider of ship tracking and maritime intelligence, announce that they have entered into a three-year channel partner agreement (the "Agreement"). Under terms of the Agreement, MarineTraffic will deploy exactEarth's exactView RT data into its online maritime services products to help bring real-time, business-critical and actionable vessel information to maritime industry participants. exactView RT consists of 58 operational payloads and seven orbital spares that were designed and built by Harris Corporation and that are hosted onboard the Iridium NEXT constellation of satellites, which is owned and operated by Iridium Communications Inc. exactView RT's advanced maritime payloads cover the entire maritime VHF radio band and leverage the unique cross-linked architecture of the Iridium NEXT satellite constellation to deliver AIS and other vessel-based VHF data services from more than 500,000 vessels, anywhere on the globe, relaying that data securely to customers in real-time. MarineTraffic owns the world's preeminent ship-tracking website, which attracts approximately six million unique visitors per month. The company operates 2,000 AIS stations in more than 165 countries around-the-world, delivering the most comprehensive AIS coastal tracking facility available today. For companies in the maritime sector, MarineTraffic is a preferred tool for fleet management, alert and notification systems, vessel particulars, port statistics and actionable intelligence through API. "MarineTraffic is a leading provider of vessel movement information services and we look forward to contributing to their ongoing efforts to enhance their customer experience," said Peter Mabson, President & CEO of exactEarth. "This Agreement opens-up another channel for our Satellite-AIS data services and is a further positive indication of the response we have received from customers, prospects and partners regarding the real-time functionality of exactView RT. With its superior vessel detection, rapid update rate and reliability, exactView RT is becoming a "must-have" data source on major data platforms throughout the maritime industry." Argyris Stasinakis, Partner Business Development, MarineTraffic said, "The addition of exactEarth's high resolution, real-time AIS data means that MarineTraffic is now the go-to source for any professional seeking the most comprehensive view of shipping movements. Users of our platform exploiting our ocean coverage services will see enhanced functionality thanks to the higher frequency, coverage and less than one-minute latency delivered by the exactView RT satellite constellation. This means that our popular predictive services will be more accurate than ever before, allowing our customers to monitor and plan more precisely." About MarineTraffic With headquarters in Athens and international offices in the UK and Singapore, MarineTraffic is the global ship tracking and maritime intelligence provider. Leveraging AIS technology, MarineTraffic is at the forefront of a movement taking shipping into a new digital era. The company's range of services deliver increased transparency to the shipping markets through the provision of high-quality data for analysis, which supports forecasting and informed decision making. MarineTraffic receives analyses and stores millions of vessel positions every day. This data is collected through the world's most extensive network of AIS stations before being enriched to deliver business-critical information. Current positions and vessel's tracks are displayed on a Live Map, with historical positions, vessel details, port conditions and statistics being made available throughout the website. www.marinetraffic.com About exactEarth Ltd. exactEarth is a leading provider of global maritime vessel data for ship tracking and maritime situational awareness solutions. Since its establishment in 2009, exactEarth has pioneered a powerful new method of maritime surveillance called Satellite-AIS and has delivered to its clients a view of maritime behaviours across all regions of the world's oceans unrestricted by terrestrial limitations. exactEarth has deployed an operational data processing supply chain involving a constellation of satellites, receiving ground stations, patented decoding algorithms and advanced "big data" processing and distribution facilities. This ground-breaking system provides a comprehensive picture of the location of AIS equipped maritime vessels throughout the world and allows exactEarth to deliver data and information services characterized by high performance, reliability, security and simplicity to large international markets. For more information, visit www.exactearth.com Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains statements that, to the extent they are not recitations of historical fact, may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements may include financial and other projections, as well as statements regarding exactEarth's future plans, our ability to continue as a going concern, objectives or economic performance, or the assumptions underlying any of the foregoing, including statements regarding, among other things, expectations of our exactView RT offering relative to competitors, timing of the achievement of real-time global vessel tracking via our second-generation constellation, timing expectations with respect to launch of satellites, expectations of the exactView RT capabilities driving growth, growth opportunities for the Company in the maritime information services market and the cost and revenue share in connection with the Harris Agreement. exactEarth uses words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "likely", "expect", "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "plan", "forecast", "project", "estimate" and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Any such forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and analyses made by exactEarth in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors exactEarth believes are appropriate under the relevant circumstances. However, whether actual results and developments will conform to exactEarth's expectations and predictions is subject to any number of risks, assumptions and uncertainties. Many factors could cause exactEarth's actual results, historical financial statements, or future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. These factors include, without limitation: uncertainty in the global economic environment; fluctuations in currency exchange rates; delays in the purchasing decisions of exactEarth's customers; the competition exactEarth faces in its industry and/or marketplace; the further delayed launch of satellites; the reduced scope of significant existing contracts; and the possibility of technical, logistical or planning issues in connection with the deployment of exactEarth's products or services. https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/exactearth-and-marinetraffic-announce-channel-partner-agreement-865863568.html
December 3, 2023 | Local, Aerospace
Since last year, North Korea has conducted about 100 ballistic missile tests, part of efforts to modernize weapons targeting South Korea and the U.S.