December 4, 2020 | Local, Aerospace
January 2, 2019 | Local, Aerospace
RCAF commander recaps 2018
The following is excerpted from the 2018 holiday message that LGen Al Meinzinger, commander of the RCAF, sent to Air Force personnel and the extended RCAF family.
We can honestly say that 2018 has been an extraordinary year for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).
The year was bookended by the Sea King, with the last east coast operational flight of our maritime helicopter taking place in January and the official farewell and final flights taking place in December. It's hard to say farewell to an old friend such as the Sea King, but the Cyclone is proving to be a tremendous asset to the RCAF and the Royal Canadian Navy, and the first operational deployment of the Cyclone onboard HMCS Ville de Quebec was a tremendous milestone.
This year also brought our participation in a major UN peacekeeping operation, with stellar work being carried out by our Air Task Force personnel in Mali under Op Presence. We also continued our contributions to Op Caribbe and Op Impact. On the space aspect of “air and space power,” we are now an integral part of the Combined Space Operations Centre in California, with a member of the RCAF serving as the combined deputy director.
Meanwhile, at home, our ongoing, essential search and rescue (SAR) missions continued, as well as sovereignty operations and exercises in the North. We responded to several Op Lentus missions, including fires in British Columbia and Manitoba, flooding in Kaschechewan, Ont., and storm damage on les Îles de la Madeleine.
We also participated in marking a number of significant anniversaries this year, including the 60th anniversary of NORAD. We also marked the 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force and, as part of those celebrations, sent a contingent to the United Kingdom to undertake Public Duties–guarding the residences of Her Majesty the Queen.
2018 also brought the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War, as well as the 75th anniversary of the Dambusters Raid. In April, I was privileged to attend the opening of the International Bomber Command Centre in England, which is mandated to preserve and honour the memory of all those who served in the Command. I was reminded powerfully of the courageous contributions of our RCAF personnel, noting that we lost some 10,000 RCAF personnel during the bombing campaign.
As we look forward to 2019, we must continue to focus on our anchor points: our people, our defence policy, our program and our posture.
First and foremost among these are you, our people. Successful delivery of air and space power relies on well-led, robust, healthy and inclusive squadrons and tactical units. You and your families are our lifeblood, and your leaders will continue to create the right conditions to support you, retain your exceptional talents and attract personnel with the right skills and energy to continue your excellent work and move us into the future. We are extremely grateful for and proud of your enthusiasm, your dedicated service and your unparalleled professionalism. You may also rest assured that your work is deeply appreciated by Canadians, by your colleagues throughout the Canadian Armed Forces and Department of National Defence, and by our allies.
https://www.skiesmag.com/press-releases/rcaf-commander-recaps-2018
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New air defences needed in wake of Iran attack, Canadian Army says
BY LEE BERTHIAUME THE CANADIAN PRESS The launching of Iranian missiles against a base housing Canadian soldiers in Iraq has highlighted a long-standing deficiency for the Canadian Army: the inability to defend against air attacks such as aircraft, rockets and drones. Iran on Tuesday fired missiles at two military bases in Iraq, including one near the northern city of Irbil that has housed Canadian troops for more than five years as part of the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. No one was injured in the missile attack, which was in retaliation for the killing of Iranian Maj.-Gen. Qassem Soleimani by a U.S. drone last week. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed Wednesday that Canadian soldiers were at the base at the time of the Iranian attack. Canadian troops in Iraq and elsewhere are routinely deployed with allies who have what are called “ground-based air defences,” or GBADs in military parlance, which can include everything from missile interceptors and anti-aircraft guns to electronic jamming devices and lasers. But Canadian Army spokesperson Karla Gimby said the Iranian missile attack nonetheless demonstrated why a new air-defence system is one of the army's top procurement priorities. “Iran launching missiles underscores the need for militaries — and the Canadian military — to have GBADs,” Gimby said Wednesday, though she added: “It is too early to tell if recent events will impact the GBAD procurement timeline.” Successive Canadian Army commanders have raised the lack of air defences for front-line troops since the military retired the last of its anti-air weapons in 2012. However, efforts to acquire a new system have been stuck in neutral for years. The Department of National Defence is not expecting delivery of a new system until at least 2026, which is projected to cost between $250 million and $500 million. Officials have previously suggested that part of the problem is trying to figure out exactly what threats the system will be designed to counter, particularly given rapid advances in technology. In a recent interview with The Canadian Press, Canadian Army commander Lt.-Gen. Wayne Eyre referenced Iran's use of drones to attack Saudi Arabia's largest oil facility in September as one new airborne threat on the battlefield. “No army in history has gone to war with all of the resources that it wanted, all the capabilities that it wanted,” Eyre said. “That being said, GBAD is one of the ones that I am most concerned about because it is not just a capability shortfall, it's a capability gap. We don't have it.” When the Canadian military put away the last of its anti-air weapons in 2012, it was on the assumption that Canada and its allies would have air superiority in any battle and not have to worry about airborne attacks, said defence analyst David Perry of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. “The Taliban never had any of that kind of stuff. (ISIL) really didn't have any of that kind of stuff,” Perry said. “So we've been deploying in places where it hasn't been a problem.” The Iranian attack demonstrates the importance of Canadian troops on the ground being able to protect against airborne threats, he said. https://globalnews.ca/news/6382675/iran-attack-canadian-army/