November 1, 2023 | International, Land
| This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Remembrance Day Sentry Program, which publicly recognizes outstanding Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members from both the Regular Force and the Reserve Force, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), for their dedication, professionalism and performance in service to Canada. |
May 14, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Land
By maintaining competition between two teams to develop the Next-Generation Interceptor, the Pentagon could field them early than planned, says the Missile Defense Agency director.
February 1, 2021 | International, Land
By: Mike Yeo MELBOURNE, Australia — Elbit Systems will supply tracked light tanks and wheeled fire-support vehicles to an army in the Asia-Pacific region under an approximately $172 million deal, the Israeli company announced Tuesday. Elbit is acting as the prime contractor for the three-year program and will supply the Sabrah light tank, which is based on the tracked ASCOD platform manufactured by General Dynamics European Land Systems. Elbit will also supply the eight-wheel drive Pandur II vehicle manufactured by the Czech firm Excalibur Army. An Elbit news release said the 30-ton Sabrah “provides a unique combination of powerful fire capacity and high maneuverability.” Both the tank and vehicle platforms will be equipped with a 105mm turret as well as a range of subsystems, including electro-optical sights, fire control systems, Torch-X battle management systems, E-Lynx software-defined radios and life support systems. Elbit President & CEO Bezhalel Machlis said the contract “reflects the mutually beneficial strategic co-operation between Elbit Systems and GDELS, based on joint development and manufacturing of vehicle-turret solutions.” Elbit's news release did not reveal the numbers of each vehicle ordered nor identify the customer, although Defense News understands that the vehicles are destined for the Philippines. Previous unconfirmed reports suggest the contract will be for eight Sabras and 10 Pandur IIs, along with one command and one recovery vehicle. The Philippine Department of National Defense has not confirmed it is the end user for the tanks. But if it is, this would mark the latest success for Elbit in the Southeast Asian country, having previously upgraded the country's M113 armored personnel carriers. That upgrade included equipping the M113s with Elbit's battle management systems — the same ones that will be fitted to the Sabrah and Pandur vehicles in this new contract. The Philippines also previously acquired Hermes 450 and 900 drones from Elbit. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2021/01/29/elbit-signs-tank-armored-vehicle-contract-with-asia-pacific-country
June 17, 2020 | International, Aerospace
By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — The U.S. State Department has cleared Canada to purchase a package of upgrades for its fleet of CF-18 Hornets, including upgraded radars and weapons, intended to serve as a bridge between the legacy fleet and Canada's future fighter. The package, which comes with an estimated price tag of $862.3 million, would fulfill the requirements for Canada's “Hornet Extension Project Phase 2,” which was announced last year. The program seeks to upgrade the “sensors, weapons, survivability, security and mission support to maintain parity with evolving threats” for 36 of Canada's Hornets, with initial delivery in 2023, according to a statement on the Canadian military's website. Canada has 80 CF-18s in inventory and is in the midst of a long attempt to replace the aging fighters with 88 newer designs — one of which has been marred with restarts and political challenges. The Phase 2 extension is designed to help bridge the capability gap until new jets come online. Among the upgrades included in this potential package: 50 Sidewinder AIM-9X Block II tactical missiles; 38 APG-79(V)4 active electronically scanned array radars; 38 APG-79(V)4 AESA radar A1 kits; 46 F/A-18A wide-band RADOMEs; upgrades to the Advanced Distributed Combat Training System; and technical assistance to support the upgraded jets. “This sale will provide Canada a 2-squadron bridge of enhanced F/A-18A aircraft to continue meeting NORAD and NATO commitments while it gradually introduces new advanced aircraft via the Future Fighter Capability Program between 2025 and 2035,” said a statement from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, using an acronym for the U.S.-Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Command. “The proposed sale of the capabilities, as listed, will improve Canada's capability to meet current and future warfare threats and provide greater security for its critical infrastructure,” it added. Work would be performed by Raytheon in its El Segundo, California, location; General Dynamics Mission Systems in Marion, Virginia; Boeing's St. Louis, Missouri, facility; and Collins Aerospace in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Any industrial offset agreements will be sorted out in the future. Announcements of potential Foreign Military Sales deals are not final, and dollar amounts or quantities of items may change during final negotiation. https://www.defensenews.com/global/the-americas/2020/06/16/canadian-cf-18-upgrade-package-okd-by-us