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  March 21, 2023 | Local, Other Defence

  Minister Anand announces $1.4 billion investment to upgrade Dwyer Hill Training Centre infrastructure

  March 21, 2023 – Ottawa, Ontario – National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces Created in 1993, Joint Task Force 2 (JTF 2) is an extremely high-readiness and precise special operations forces unit. JTF 2 protects Canadian national interests and combats terrorism and threats to Canadians at home and abroad, and is based at the Dwyer Hill Training Centre in the National Capital Region. Today, the Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of National Defence, announced a $1.4-billion infrastructure project to upgrade special operations forces’ facilities at the Dwyer Hill Training Centre in Ottawa. This 10-year construction project will provide more than 100,000 m2 of purpose-built space to meet JTF 2’s long-term growth, training, and high-readiness operational needs. Work includes: ·        replacing 89 aging and temporary structures with 23 new facilities; ·        renovating seven buildings; and ·        upgrading the site’s utilities.  Approximately 2,000 jobs will be created throughout the project, with as many as 250 to 300 people working on-site during peak construction periods. Construction is set to begin in May 2023. The unit’s training and operations will continue on-site while this work is underway. This project will include more than 150 sub-contracts to provide greater opportunities for local and smaller contractors to bid on work. Five percent of the value of all contracts are targeted for award to Indigenous businesses to create economic benefits for Indigenous Peoples. The new facilities will be net-zero ready and built to meet Two Green Globes energy and environmental design standards. This project will contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from Defence buildings to meet the federal target of net-zero emissions by 2050. New or renovated buildings will include modern office, operations and technical shop spaces, as well as new range, training, warehouse, medical, accommodations, access control, kitchen, mess, ammunition, equipment and vehicle storage facilities. This investment demonstrates our commitment to providing Canadian Armed Forces personnel with modern, green, and functional infrastructure in which to work and train. As outlined in Canada’s defence policy, Strong, Secure, Engaged, investments in critical infrastructure enhance military capabilities while helping reduce the government’s carbon footprint. Quotes “Our Special Forces personnel risk their lives to keep Canadians safe – and we are dedicated to delivering them the tools and training that they need to stay ready. This project will more than double the unit’s current work and training spaces with modern, green facilities and create considerable economic opportunities for local businesses and workers in the National Capital Region. Whether at home or abroad, our Special Forces make incredible sacrifices to defend Canada, and we thank them for their service to our country.”  - The Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of National Defence “The Canadian Special Operations Forces Command is pleased to see this infrastructure project moving forward. An upgraded and modern purpose-built training centre ensures our members remain prepared to support Canada’s efforts to respond to a range of complex threats now, and in the future.” - Major-General Steve Boivin, Commander, Canadian Special Operations Forces Command Quick facts The construction management contract was awarded to EllisDon Corporation of Mississauga, Ontario, which will tender all sub-contracts and oversee construction work. JTF 2 is a unit of the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command. The unit provides high-level capabilities that protect Canadians from security threats both at home and abroad. Associated links Joint Task Force 2 Canadian Special Operations Forces Command https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/news/2023/03/minister-anand-announces-14-billion-investment-to-upgrade-dwyer-hill-training-centre-infrastructure.html

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  June 11, 2020 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Military spending needed more now than ever, top defence official says

  Lee Berthiaume The Canadian PressStaff Contact Published Thursday, June 11, 2020 4:20AM EDT OTTAWA -- The Defence Department's top civilian official is touting the importance of continued investments in the Canadian Armed Forces, and says she has received no indications the Liberal government is planning to cut spending because of the COVID-19 crisis. The comments by Defence Department deputy minister Jody Thomas come amid questions about how the Liberal government plans to find the tens of billions of dollars doled out in recent months to support Canadians during the pandemic. The emergency support, estimated at $153 billion at last count, has far surpassed expected government spending and significant belt-tightening is likely after the crisis as Ottawa will start searching for ways to keep the country from drowning in red ink. Military spending was previously slashed in the 1990s as Jean Chretien's Liberal government wrestled with massive deficits while Stephen Harper's Conservative government followed a similar course after the 2008-09 financial crash. That has prompted concerns within defence circles that the pattern will repeat itself after COVID-19, with fears the Liberals will lean heavily on the country's $29-billion defence budget to help get government spending back under control. In an interview with The Canadian Press, Thomas said she had not received any order or direction to slow or cut defence spending and that officials are continuing to work on the planned purchase of new warships, fighter jets and other equipment. "We are not experiencing any slowdowns," she said. "We are continuing very aggressively and ambitiously to continue our plan." That plan is the Liberals' defence strategy, which it released in 2017. Known as Strong, Secure, Engaged (SSE), the strategy promised $553 billion in military spending over 20 years. Much of that is to buy new equipment such as jets and warships. "There has been zero indication from anyone that there would be a cut to the budget," Thomas said, adding Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan "has been very clear of his expectations of us to execute on SSE." She went on to suggest the planned defence spending is actually needed as much now as before the pandemic as the crisis amplifies the already significant global uncertainty that existed before COVID-19. A scan of recent headlines underscores that uncertainty, from U.S. President Donald Trump's administration suggesting it may pull troops from Germany to China imposing its will on Hong Kong and flexing its muscles in the South China Sea. There are also ongoing concerns about Russia and the situation in the Middle East. "Canada has to be equipped," Thomas said. "In a post-COVID world, there is, I would say as the deputy minister of defence, a need for SSE to in fact be done more quickly rather than slow it down or cut the budget." The government last week tabled its latest request for money in Parliament, which included $585 million for the continued construction of two new naval support ships in Vancouver. The first of those ships is due in 2023. Defence analyst David Perry of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute said the Liberals have significantly ramped up military spending, but no one knows how fast the economy will recover or how deep Ottawa will be in the hole when the pandemic ends. "Without knowing more about these things, it's way too early to know what the impact will be to defence," he said. "But it's a basic fact of Canadian federal budgeting that if a government is looking to reduce all federal spending, DND plays a part in that because it spends the most money." And while trimming military spending was the route taken by previous governments, there are implications, as evidenced by the age of Canada's CF-18s and other old equipment and its lack of naval support vessels until the new ones are finished. "Part of the reason we're having issues with procurement today is because of the decisions that were taken before," Perry said. "The reasons they were taken -- rightly or wrongly, I would say largely rightly -- in the 1990s to reduce spending then, we're still dealing with the after-effects of it now because we didn't buy stuff then and we're trying to make up for lost time now." This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 11, 2020. https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/military-spending-needed-more-now-than-ever-top-defence-official-says-1.4979395

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  September 11, 2019 | Local, Naval

  Ottawa firm to support Royal Canadian Navy, local robotics company joins Rheinmetall

  DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN BMT Canada Ltd. was recently awarded a $77.8 million contract to provide engineering, logistics, management, and support services to the Royal Canadian Navy's fleet. The contract initially runs for five years but there are options to extend that, according to the latest industry roundup in this month's Esprit de Corps defence magazine. The Ottawa-based company will provide a wide variety of work such as standards development and logistics services for equipment sustainment, according to the Department of National Defence. This contract will support the RCN's current and future fleet in instances where DND does not have the capacity to perform all of this work in-house, the department noted. The contract is known as Engineering, Logistics, and Management Support 2 (ELMS2) and the company's services will directly support the Director General Maritime Equipment Program Management (DGMEPM) and the Director General Major Project Delivery (DGMPD) (Sea) at the DND. Darcy Byrtus, President of BMT Canada, noted that the firm has been handling the ELMS contract since 2009. “Our experience in supporting complex programs positions us uniquely to assist Canada and the Royal Canadian Navy in successful delivery of its acquisition and support mandates,” he added in a news release. Under ELMS, BMT and their Tier 1 subcontractor Fleetway Inc., will provide a highly diverse range of services including the review of deliverables DND receives from capital acquisition projects, such as the Canadian Surface Combatant. The work also entails engineering expertise, technical investigations and program support. Rheinmetall Canada has taken over Provectus, an Ottawa-based firm specializing in the development of advanced robotics systems and software. Though now owned by Rheinmetall Canada, Provectus will continue to operate under its previous managing director, Paul Rocco. In recent product presentations, Rheinmetall has generated great interest with its Mission Master unmanned multi-mission vehicle, which is based on Provectus technology, modified for military use by Rheinmetall Canada. The firm sees unmanned ground vehicles playing an increasingly important role in future military operations on land, much like unmanned air vehicles do in an aviation context. Some will serve in an unarmed logistic or reconnaissance role; others will function as mobile weapon platforms. “We have already been working closely with Provectus in our unmanned ground vehicle project,” Stéphane Oehrli, president and CEO of Rheinmetall Canada, noted in a statement. “This vertical integration gives us a decisive advantage in the field of autonomous mobility technology.” Rheinmetall says it wants to apply expertise from Provectus Robotics Solutions in implementing the Canadian military's ISTAR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance) project. Maerospace Corporation has signed of a global license agreement with Raytheon Canada Limited to support the Defence Research and Development Canada by assuming responsibility for the maintenance, design, engineering, manufacturing and international promotion, sales and deployment of the third generation High Frequency Surface Wave Radar (HFSWR) systems. This Canadian system is one of the few operationally deployed HFSWR land-based radars capable of 200-mile, persistent coverage of a country's Exclusive Economic Zone. HFSWR systems have been successfully deployed in Asia and Europe with the most advanced, 3rd Generation system installed in Canada. Maerospace plans to extend the HFSWR system's functionality by integrating its TimeCaster proprietary technology that would add target identification, anomaly detection, and other capabilities, allowing coast guards, navies and maritime authorities to improve their ability to interdict vessels and plan traffic throughout their EEZ. The Canadian government will launch a new satellite in 2022 to demonstrate the use of quantum technology for protecting commercial and national communication networks. Honeywell has received a $30 million contract from the Canadian Space Agency for the design and implementation phases of agency's Quantum EncrYption and Science Satellite or QEYSSat. Under the contract, Honeywell will build, test, deliver, provide training for and commission the QEYSSat satellite, which will create a link between ground and space to transmit encryption keys. The microsatellite is expected to be completed in early 2022. QEYSSat's mission is to test quantum technology with an aim to develop a system to protect both commercial and national communications infrastructure. Longview Aviation Capital and its subsidiary Viking Air Limited announced a seven aircraft sales contract for six new-production CL-515 aircraft and one CL-415EAF. The CL-515 is a newly developed, technically advanced multi-mission aerial firefighting aircraft – the next generation of the CANADAIR CL-415, an amphibious aircraft and used extensively around the world in firefighting missions. The Republic of Indonesia's Ministry of Defense has agreed to purchase six all-new CL-515 aircraft, four of which will be delivered in “First Responder” multi-mission configuration, and two delivered in optimized aerial firefighter configuration, according to Viking. The purchase agreement also includes one CANADAIR CL-415EAF “Enhanced Aerial Firefighter” aircraft. The CL-515 is capable of up to 15 per cent better aerial firefighting productivity, including increased tank capacity and ability to refill in 14 seconds. It has a state-of-the-art Collins Pro Line Fusion digital avionics suite for advanced situational awareness. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/ottawa-firm-to-support-royal-canadian-navy-local-robotics-company-joins-rheinmetall