Remplacement d'avions de surveillance | Des questions pour l'alliance de Bombardier

On the same subject

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  September 30, 2019 | Local, Aerospace

  RPAS community gathers for Tech Demo 2

  Once again this year, nearly 150 players in the aeronautics industry met at the Centre d'excellence sur les drones (CED) for the second edition of Tech Demo, where the remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) community got together to share technological advances. During this event, which took place on Sept. 25 and 26 in Alma, Que., participants learned more about the latest developments from Transport Canada, the Royal Canadian Air Force and Royal Canadian Navy, and the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). They also attended various conferences exploring drone image recognition, multi-mission systems, the niche of excellence in civil and commercial UAVs, ways to reduce time to market through drone simulation and trends in the drone ecosystem. Guests also had the opportunity to discuss issues related to operations beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), and take part in three panels about anti-UAV systems and airspace management. Seven system demonstrations were also carried out during the event, including one featuring a mastodon weighing more than 300 kilograms. “This autonomous system was developed for various surveillance and civil security missions by Quebec company Laflamme in collaboration with the American company General Dynamics. It was the first public technological demonstration of this system in Quebec, which generated a great deal of interest from the stakeholders present,” commented CED director general Marc Moffatt. He also added that, once again this year, the activity welcomed several major manufacturers, including Bell Helicopter, Bombardier, General Atomics, CAE, L3, Leonardo, and many others. According to CED president Alain Fortin, hosting an event like Tech Demo is very significant for the industry. “The drone community needs events around which to gather to feed each other. We are obviously thrilled with the scope of this second edition and, above all, very proud of the quality of the speakers in attendance. Several actors who orchestrate the development of drone regulation in Canada were among us over the past two days to listen to what the community had to teach them and to learn more about the potential of the CED,” said Fortin. “Our speakers come from all over the world, including the United States, England, Italy and even Ukraine. Over the years, the CED and its partners have built a whole regional ecosystem around the drone and we can see now that its strategic role in the development of this sector is recognized and well established,” he added. Made possible with the financial support from the Ministère de l'Économie et de l'Innovation as well as General Dynamics Missions Systems, Kongsberg Geospatial Ltd. and CAE, the event has become a major annual event that is eagerly awaited by the industry. https://www.skiesmag.com/press-releases/rpas-community-gathers-for-tech-demo-2

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  October 18, 2019 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Conservatives promise to 'protect' defence spending from deficit battle

  Defence takes a fifth of the federal budget and has often been a target for deficit cutters Murray Brewster The Conservatives have pledged to "protect" the budget of the Department of National Defence even as they work to eliminate the federal deficit. In their election platform, the Tories said they would find $5 billion in savings by cutting operational expenses, but were not clear on precisely what that meant, other than to say it would not affect services to Canadians. The Liberals, through their two-year-old defence policy, committed to increase defence spending by 70 per cent to $32 billion annually by 2024-25 — a program that would unfold at precisely the same time a potential Conservative government intends to cut expenditures.​​ The Liberals have also set in motion plans to buy two of the military's biggest-ticket items — new fighter jets and navy frigates. Conservative leader Andrew Scheer said Wednesday his party would stick with those purchases, but would be more efficient. "We are committed to the funding allocated to the Department of National Defence," he said during a campaign stop in in southwestern Ontario. "We will not do what the Liberals did, which is waste hundreds of millions of dollars stopping and starting the procurement process." The Conservatives have pledged to depoliticize the process of buying military equipment and have complained about the Liberal government's delivery timelines and decisions, including the plan to purchase used Australian F-18s to supplement the existing fighter jet force until a decision is made on brand-new warplanes. Says money wasted "They have wasted so much money when it comes to procurement," Scheer said, adding that Conservatives would "protect the budgets of National Defence [and] we're going to ensure that the money that's allocated to National Defence is spent wisely." At least two experts wonder how the Conservatives can live up to that pledge in light of the fact the Defence Department is the single biggest discretionary expense on the federal balance sheet and the last two times Conservatives — or Liberals — tried to balance the budget, military spending took major hits. Under the government of former prime minister Stephen Harper, the defence budget was cut by $2.1 billion annually and the department racked up sizeable chunks of lapsed spending, money that was appropriated by Parliament, but not spent. The reduction took place after the Afghan war and the department faced concurrent spending cuts through the Conservative strategy review and deficit reduction action plan. Both Liberal and Conservative governments in the 1990s cut defence spending and postponed buying new equipment, most notably new maritime helicopters, which only came into service in the last few years Defence spending an obvious target "Balancing a federal budget without looking at defence spending is extraordinarily difficult, to impossible," said Dave Perry, an analyst and expert in defence spending at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. "Defence spending accounts for one-fifth of the federal budget." And even if the Conservatives did look for savings, a change to the accounting structure at Defence leaves little room for them to recoup much money by cancelling or postponing equipment purchases. Reducing the size of the military or the civil service was something previous governments did, but Perry said those kinds of cuts "take two years or more" to make their way through the system. Kevin Page, the former parliamentary budget officer and CEO of the Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy, said much of what all of the parties are proposing — and their ability to deliver — is contingent on the kind of Parliament that is elected on Monday. CANADA VOTES How much will the defence file matter to voters? PBO pushes up cost estimate for Canada's frigate build by $8 billion In a minority government scenario, the Conservatives might find themselves struggling to deliver savings outside of the Defence Department, he suggested. Would need majority "If elected, I would assume the Conservatives would need a majority government to push through the savings on direct program spending – infrastructure, wage bills, other operations, corporate and development assistance," Page said. The Liberal record on defence spending is up for debate. An internal DND slide presentation, obtained by CBC News, lays out projections for the department going to up to the 2036-37 fiscal year. Faced with extraordinary pressure from the Trump administration to meet NATO's goal of earmarking two per cent of gross domestic product for military spending, the Liberal government committed to a 70 per cent increase by 2024-25. The Feb. 25, 2019 slide presentation shows that spending will peak in 2026-27 and begin to fall again in the preceding decade. Used Australian fighter jets could cost $1.1B: Parliamentary budget officer The document also shows that, for two years running, the Liberals have not spent as much as they planned on new equipment. While $12.7 billion was set aside in their plan between 2017-19 for new military gear, the Trudeau government only asked Parliament for permission to spend $8.34 billion — leaving $4.4 billion still in the treasury. The slide presentation said part of the reason is that some existing projects came in under budget, but in one-third of the instances the spending delay was because the Defence Department — or the federal government in general — could not get the projects organized. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/conservatives-defence-spending-1.5323618

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  November 2, 2018 | Local, Aerospace

  Canada to accept bids for new fighter jet in May — here are the potential competitors

  By: David Pugliese VICTORIA, British Columbia — Canada expects to accept formal bids for a new fighter jet in May, with the first aircraft delivered by 2025, according to Canadian government procurement officials. A draft bid package for 88 fighters was issued to companies for their feedback by the end of this year, said Pat Finn, assistant deputy minister for materiel at the Department of National Defence. From there, the final bidding instructions for the CA$16 billion (U.S. $12 billion) procurement will be issued and bids required by May 2019, he added. The aircraft will replace Canada's current fleet of CF-18 fighter jets. The aircraft expected to be considered include Lockheed Martin's F-35, the Eurofighter Typhoon, the Dassault Rafale, Saab's Gripen and the Boeing Super Hornet. The Canadian government will require a robust package of guaranteed industrial benefits or offsets from the winning bidder, government officials said. But that could be a problem for the F-35, as Canada is still a partner in that program, which does not guarantee participating-nations contracts. Work on the F-35 program is based on best value and price. Canadian industrial participation in the F-35 program has reached $1 billion, as more than 110 Canadian firms have landed contracts related to the aircraft program. Jeff Waring, director general for industrial benefits policy at the federal Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, said the country sees the fighter jet program as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity for the Canadian economy.” But he noted the industrial benefits policy is flexible. “It is a market-driven approach,” he said. “It encourages suppliers to make investments that make sense to them.” The issue of industrial benefits has already been discussed with companies interested in bidding on the project, and those talks will continue as feedback is received on the draft bid package, government officials said. Email: dpugliese@defensenews.com https://www.defensenews.com/global/the-americas/2018/10/30/canada-to-accept-bids-for-new-fighter-jet-in-may-here-are-the-potential-competitors