December 18, 2018 | Local, Aerospace
David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen
A Canadian military plan to boost the number of fighter pilots through a one-time push using allied training won't be happening, and instead the number of aviators will be increased gradually over the next seven years using the existing domestic system.
The plan to make use of allied training to increase the numbers of pilots to fly the interim fighter jets being acquired by the Liberals was outlined to Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan in November 2016, according to documents obtained by Postmedia.
“Fighter pilot production would need to be increased above current numbers to fly the additional mission ready aircraft,” Sajjan was told as the number of jets in the military's inventory would be boosted. “This would be done by utilizing allied training capacity with a one-time investment.”
That initiative would allow Canada to have the needed pilots in place by 2023, the briefing added.
The push for more pilots was to coincide with the purchase of 18 Super Hornets from Boeing, a U.S. aerospace firm.
But that deal collapsed after a trade complaint and Canada is now buying 25 used F-18 aircraft from Australia.
A one-time push for allied training would no longer be needed. “As the Australian F-18 jets are very similar to our CF-18's, there will be no difference in training our pilots,” an email from the Canadian Forces noted.
“We will be using our existing pilots and growing their number gradually over the next five to seven years,” it added.
Last month Auditor General Michael Ferguson noted that the additional aircraft being acquired as an interim measure meant that the Canadian Forces “would need to considerably increase the number of trained pilots. National Defence is unlikely to be able to do so because pilots have been leaving the fighter force faster than new ones could be trained.”
Military aviators worldwide are being lured away from their jobs by the growing demand in the civilian aviation market for airline pilots.
But RCAF commander Lt.-Gen. Al Meinzinger told the Commons public accounts committee Dec. 3 that the main reason for Canadian pilots leaving had to do with family. “Certainly the feedback from those who are releasing is it's a question of family, challenges for their family,” Meinzinger said. “There's a dimension of ops tempo, work-life balance, predictability in terms of geographical location, and then typically fifth or sixth are comments about financial remuneration.”
Canada's main fighter bases are in Cold Lake, Alta., and Bagotville, Que.
Meinzinger said there can also be issues with spouses finding employment in the locations where the pilots operate from. In addition, some pilots don't want to be transferred to desk jobs and want to continue with flight operations.
The specific number of fighter pilots the Canadian Forces is short of is considered secret.
In the email to Postmedia, the RCAF says it is looking at several ways to attract and retain fighter pilots “which include initiatives to make living and working in our organization the best it can be.”
“This includes looking at increasing the number of staff positions where pilots still get to fly and reviewing options of longer flying tours, which would provide our members with added stability, enable them to fly longer, and retains valuable experience at the squadrons to train or upgrade qualifications of junior members,” the RCAF added.
The RCAF also says it may consider sending its trained pilots to work with allied air forces to gain further experience if there is a need.
There have been problems, on and off, since the late 1990s with producing and retaining Canadian military pilots. Postmedia reported that the Canadian Forces had to send fledgling fighter pilots down to the U.S. between 2011 and 2013 because of ongoing issues, including the availability of training aircraft provided by civilian contractors at the flying training facilities in Moose Jaw, Sask., and Cold Lake.
That reduction in aircraft availability reduced the level of training, which in turn “negatively impacted the pilot production capability,” according to a briefing for then Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Walt Natynczyk.
March 30, 2022 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
BRUSSELS - Canada faces fresh pressure to increase its defence spending as the head of the NATO military allia...
July 22, 2019 | Local, Aerospace
DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN Airbus and Boeing may pull out of a bidding process to supply Canada with new fighter jets because they say the contest is unfairly tilted toward Lockheed Martin's F-35, Reuters has reported. Officials with Saab have expressed similar concerns. The news comes as the request for proposals (bids) is expected to be released soon. Boeing and Airbus have now formally written to the federal government expressing concerns about the current requirements, according to Reuters. Pat Finn, the Assistant Deputy Minister for Materiel at the Department of National Defence, has confirmed one of the companies sent a formal letter but he didn't provide details. It's no secret Saab, Airbus and Boeing are upset with the changes made to the competition after the Pentagon threatened to pull the F-35 out of the $19 billion competition. Officials with Lockheed Martin's three competitors say the Canadian government went overboard to please the Pentagon and the bid package is now designed so the F-35 would emerge as the clear winner. That would make the Royal Canadian Air Force happy since it has always wanted the F-35 stealth fighter. The Liberal government has committed to purchasing 88 new fighter jets. The competition was launched on Dec. 12, 2017. Four fighter jets are to be considered. Those include the F-35, the Super Hornet, the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Gripen. In the fall of 2018 Dassault Aviation pulled out as a potential bidder. The company had planned to offer the Rafale but decided against competing the aircraft because of the extensive requirements for interoperability with the U.S. military. The first delivery of the jets is expected in the mid-2020s with the full capability available in the early 2030s, according to the DND document. The requirements for a new Canadian fighter jet put emphasis on strategic attack and striking at ground targets during foreign missions, according to federal government procurement documents obtained by Postmedia. While the Liberal government has been highlighting the need to buy the jets to protect Canadian airspace and meet the country's commitments to the U.S.-Canadian North American Aerospace Defence Command, the procurement criteria, currently in draft form, provides additional weight to those aircraft that can excel at ground attack for overseas operations. That criteria is seen to favour Lockheed Martin's F-35 stealth jet, say those industry representatives allied with Lockheed's rivals. But Finn, the Department of National Defence's procurement chief, says there is such a wide variety of requirements to meet that while some aircraft might be seen to do well in some areas, they may not excel in others. “Somebody may be better in a high-end scenario but they're worst for cost,” Finn explained in a recent interview. “That's why we say it's the whole piece” that will be considered in the competition. Some will dismiss the latest news about companies threatening to pullout of the competition as a bluff or a last-ditch effort to force changes on the request for proposal package, which is expected to be released in a week or so. That is one scenario. The other scenario is this: the effort to prepare a bid is expected to cost each firm about $15 million and involve up to 30 staff members. It is an extensive process. If Canada's request for proposals is so tilted towards the F-35 – or seen to be tilted – then companies will think twice about committing to that process. (Analysis) https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/fighter-jet-firms-mull-pullout-from-canadian-competition-f-35-could-be-last-plane-standing
August 13, 2018 | Local, Naval
Jean-Yves Duclos, who represents the Quebec City region made announcement Friday The federal government has signed a $610-million contract to acquire and convert three icebreakers to renew the Canadian Coast Guard's aging fleet. Federal Families, Children and Social Development Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, who represents the Quebec City region made the announcement at the Davie shipyard in Lévis, which will be doing the work. The coast guard fleet lacks the capacity to perform its icebreaking duties. The Canadian Coast Guard ship Terry Fox, launched in 1993, is the newest icebreaker in the fleet. The contract is expected to result in the creation of 200 new jobs over the next two years, according to Davie spokesperson Frédérik Boisvert. Last year, when Davie was working on conversion of the Asterix and finishing two ferries, Davie employed 1,500 workers, Boisvert said. Many of them were laid off once the projects were completed. In June, the Liberal government concluded a deal with Davie to purchase three icebreakers, but there was no price tag attached to the project at the time. Negotiations to acquire the vessels were launched in January after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau abruptly announced the plan in a Radio-Canada interview in Quebec City. That marked the beginning of a seven-month negotiating process between the government and Davie. Fraser noted that the usual time it takes to negotiate a shipbuilding contract with the government is eight years, praising the work of negotiators for the government and Davie. MacKinnon confirmed that Ottawa sped up the process for the icebreaker deal. Full Article: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/ottawa-will-allow-quebec-s-davie-shipyard-to-bid-on-national-shipbuilding-plan-contracts-1.4780836