February 13, 2019 | Local, Naval, C4ISR

Radar upgrades for Halifax-class frigates and other news on defence contracts

Here are some updates on defence and aerospace industry contracts and appointments, that I outlined in the latest issue of Esprit de Corps magazine:

The Canadian government has awarded a contract to Saab Microwave Canada for radar upgrades on the Halifax-class frigates. The $21.7 million contract is to procure a modern electronically-stabilized antenna set for the Sea Giraffe 180 radar, already installed on the frigates. The contract includes an option to acquire 12 more antenna sets, which could bring the total investment to $97.5 million, according to the federal government.

Sea Giraffe 180 is a medium-range air and surface search radar. The upgrades to the antenna set will enhance its performance, increase its reach to up to 180 km, and provide new 3-D detection and tracking capability, according to the government. The frigate to receive the first antenna is currently expected to be HMCS St John's, in early 2021. The installation will coincide with its planned maintenance period schedules.

The first M-345 HET (High Efficiency Trainer) production basic/advanced trainer aircraft built by Leonardo successfully performed its maiden flight at Venegono Superiore airport in Varese, Italy in late December. The Italian Air Force, the launch customer, has a requirement for up to 45 M-345s (designated the T-345A by ITAF) to progressively replace 137 MB-339s, which first entered service in 1982, and to become the Italian Air Force's new aerobatic team airplane. At this point, the Italian Air Force has placed an order for five aircraft and the first will be delivered in early 2020. The new M-345s will integrate the M-346s used during the advanced training phase of the Italian Air Force's pilots.

The new M-345 HET (High Efficiency Trainer) reduces the time required by Air Forces to train pilots, according to Leonardo. It also gives trainees the chance to fly an aircraft that features higher performance characteristics than other basic/advanced trainer aircraft currently in service around the world. The performance of the M-345 allows it to carry out the most demanding mission types found in a training syllabus, delivering high quality training at significantly lower cost.

The M-345 cockpit architecture is the same as the frontline fighters. The M-345 can also perform operational roles, thanks to an extended flight envelope, with a high-speed maneuvering capability even at high altitudes, modern avionics systems, high load capacity and performance.

Rheinmetall recently transferred a new nautical training facility to the German Navy School in Mürwik on the Baltic. One of the most advanced facilities of its kind, the German Navy will use it for training its bridge personnel, the company noted. It will be used for training all German Navy cadets, all future watch officers, and for preparing bridge personnel for nautical operations. The capability spectrum of the facility ranges from basic navigation and nautical training through to crew resource management, according to Rheinmetall.

The facility includes two large and four small bridge simulators, six trainer stations, an auditorium for post-operation briefings as well as additional infrastructure for planning exercises and administrating and updating the database. Every surface combatant now in the German inventory – from minesweepers to supply ships – is modelled in the facility. This applies not only to the physical depiction of various ships and boats, but to their exact performance characteristics, Rheinmetall noted.

In mid-December the Canadian Coast Guard received from Davie Shipbuilding the Captain Molly Kool, its first new icebreaker in the last 25 years. It is the first of three icebreakers that Davie will refit for the Coast Guard to fill a capability gap. The ship is named after Myrtle “Molly” Kool of New Brunswick who went on to become the first woman in North America to become a licensed ship captain.

The federal government has approved a five-year contract extension with Quebec-based firm L3 MAS for the continued maintenance of the Royal Canadian Air Force's fleet of five CC-150 Polaris aircraft. The contract, valued at up to $230 million, is a renewal of the original in-service support contract awarded in 2013 to L3 MAS in Mirabel. The original contract included extension options for two five-year periods. The work will be done at Mirabel and at 8 Wing Trenton, ON where the fleet is based and operated by 437 Transport Squadron.

The CC-150 Polaris is a multi-purpose, twin-engine, long-range jet aircraft that is used for strategic air-to-air refueling and transport. Two CC-150 Polaris aircraft are configured for strategic air-to-air refueling and the rest are used for transport and other roles.

First-level maintenance will continue to take place at 8 Wing Trenton.

The contract secures L3 MAS as the government's CC-150 support contractor up to March 2023, with eligibility for additional years (up to March 2028), subject to satisfactory performance.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/radar-upgrades-for-halifax-class-frigates-and-other-news-on-defence-contracts

On the same subject

September 20, 2022 | Local, Aerospace

New opportunity for Canadian students to build and launch their own satellites
Today the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, announced the launch of the CubeSats Initiative in Canada for STEM (CUBICS), a new opportunity for post-secondary professors and students to engage in a real space mission. CUBICS challenges teams to develop projects that help advance scientific knowledge in areas such as climate change. The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) plans to award a total of $3.4M in grants to up to 12 teams to design, build and launch an end-to-end CubeSat or develop a standalone scientific instrument or experiment. Building upon lessons learned from the Canadian CubeSat Project (CCP), the CSA intends to launch a new CUBICS opportunity every three years to continue to stimulate student learning for years to come. CUBICS aims to be more reflective of the needs of new and experienced student teams led by a professor, allowing them to engage in a mission adapted to their level of comfort, expertise and readiness. CUBICS is one of the CSA's initiatives that aim to equip students with the experience, knowledge and skills to become sought-after candidates for positions in Canada's space sector workforce. CSA experts will guide the teams as they prepare their missions. https://www.canada.ca/en/space-agency/news/2022/09/new-opportunity-for-canadian-students-to-build-and-launch-their-own-satellites.html
April 7, 2023 | Local, Other Defence

Thirty per cent of Defence Department procurement positions vacant: Internal report
OTTAWA ? A new internal report by the Department of National Defence is casting a spotlight on a persistent problem undermining efforts to replace Canada's aging military equipment: a critical shortage of procurement experts.
March 6, 2020 | Local, C4ISR, Security

Pentagon push to boost cybersecurity could affect Canadian suppliers
We're at cyberwar every day' - Ellen Lord, the U.S. undersecretary of defence for acquisition Murray Brewster · The Pentagon has been engaged in a quiet, deliberate effort to plug all of the cyber-holes in its high-tech systems and among its defence contractors — an operation that will soon spill across the border into Canada. Ellen Lord, the U.S. undersecretary of defence for acquisition and sustainment, said today cybersecurity has been one of her biggest concerns since being appointed by the Trump administration two and a half years ago. Increasingly, major defence contractors have found themselves targeted by hackers from China and Russia who have stolen troves of sensitive data on new and existing weapons systems. "Bottom line is, I don't think the average American citizen understands that we're at cyberwar every day," Lord told the Conference of Defence Associations Institute's annual meeting in Ottawa today. The burden of keeping data secure is being placed on the companies themselves, she added. After consulting with the National Security Agency (NSA), the U.S. electronic spy service and the military's Cyber Command, the Pentagon rolled out a new program in January aimed at forcing defence contractors to deal with points of vulnerability. "We have written new cyber security standards that we are putting in all of our new contracts," said Lord. "We are looking at the defence industrial base and how they need to address cyber security and how we as a government can hold them accountable." The initiative includes a cyber security "certification and accreditation" system, similar to the International Organization for Standardization. Lord said it's not a one-size fits all solution and that companies looking to do business with the Pentagon will have to meet one of five levels of certification, depending upon the contract. The defence industrial complexes of Canada, Britain and Australia are tightly stitched into the U.S. system. Lord said allies are looking at a similar measures which she hopes to see coordinated with American efforts. "This is something we're talking with Canada about, with allies and partners, because a lot of us are doing the same thing," she said. The problems with existing systems — software already in the field — is being dealt with aggressively. Contractors who are responsible for maintaining complex systems on warships and aircraft are being told by the Pentagon to close their potential security gaps. "We are going to start shutting equipment down if they are not brought up to standard because every day we see [intelligence], we see how much has been compromised," Lord said. Troy Crosby, head of the Canadian Department of National Defence's materiel branch, said Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada has launched a "cyber secure program" and there's a hope that the two countries can find a way to align their efforts. Some analysts and critics in the U.S. have argued that contractors — even those that make cyber security a priority — will find the cost of meeting uniform standards prohibitive. Beyond that, many major contractors have complex supply chains with many smaller companies that also would be required to spend substantial sums of money to keep up with evolving threats. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/pentagon-contractors-cyber-security-1.5487452

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