March 3, 2020 | Local, Aerospace
Saab today confirmed the four corporate partners that will be part of its bid for Canada's Future Fighter Capability Project (FFCP), which aims to replace the Royal Canadian Air Force's ageing fleet of CF-188 Hornet's with 88 new-generation fighters. Saab is leading one of three supplier teams currently involved in the procurement competition, which centres around the Saab Gripen E, Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet and Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter jets.
Branded as Gripen for Canada Team, Saab's corporate team members for the bid include IMP Aerospace & Defence, CAE, Peraton Canada and GE Aviation. “We have assembled a dynamic roster of innovative leaders within Canada's aerospace industry, across multiple regions to offer the best solution for Canada's future fighter,” said Jonas Hjelm, senior VP and head of Business Area Aeronautics. “Saab is committed to securing long-term relationships in Canada that will create a significant number of highly skilled, sustainable jobs for Canadians within domestic and international supply chains.”
Canada's evaluation criteria for its Future Fighter procurement is based on technical merit (60 per cent), cost (20 per cent) and economic benefits (20 per cent). In late-February 2020, the federal government announced it would extend the FFCP submission deadline from March 30 to June 30, but maintained its schedule to choose the winning bid in 2022 and have the first aircraft delivered by 2025.
The 20 per cent weighting toward economic benefits is ultimately defined by dollar-for-dollar obligations – meaning, the fighter supplier provides Canadian companies with revenue opportunities equal to value of the purchased fighters.
Defence Investment: Strong, Secure and Engaged
Saab explains IMP Aerospace & Defence would contribute with in-country production and in-service support for the life of the Canadian Gripen fleet. CAE would provide training and mission systems solutions, while Peraton Canada would provide avionic and test equipment component maintenance, repair and overhaul, and material management. GE Aviation would provide and sustain the fighter's engines in Canada.
https://www.wingsmagazine.com/saab-partners-for-canadas-ffcp-bid/
December 19, 2022 | Local, Naval
The new figures presented to the House of Commons provide a limited window into some of the spending so far on the Canadian Surface Combatant or CSC project.
May 13, 2020 | Local, Land
David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen, Postmedia News (dpugliese@ottawacitizen.com) Published: 23 hours ago Updated: 6 hours ago Canadian military sniper teams will be getting new rifles with the first expected to be delivered in the fall. The Liberal government is spending $8.5 million on purchasing the 272 rifles and spare parts. The C20 will replace the C8 as the personal defence weapon for Canadian Forces sniper teams, confirmed Department of National Defence spokeswoman Andrée-Anne Poulin. The government will also launch a competition sometime this month to buy 229 bolt action sniper rifles. That rifle, designated as the C21, will be used for long-range shooting and will come in two different calibres. The Canadian Forces says the new C20, which will be in 7.62 calibre, will be more accurate and an improvement over the current C8 used by sniper teams. The federal government initially awarded a $2-million contact to Colt Canada in Kitchener on February 28 to establish the production line to produce the C20 weapon. That contract also includes an initial delivery of 10 of the C20 rifles. That early production run is to ensure Colt has the technical proficiency to deliver the new weapon, added Poulin. The federal government then awarded a $6.5-million contract to Colt Canada on April 17 to produce 262 additional C20 rifles, associated equipment and spare parts. No announcement was made of the deal, in contrast to the announcement by defence minister Harjit Sajjan on Jan. 24 that the government was purchasing 3,600 machine guns from Colt. DND said an announcement wasn't made about the sniper rifles because the government is focused on its efforts to send out information about the novel coronavirus. Defence officials, however, privately say the deal wasn't publicized because there was concern about the political optics of such an announcement coming just before the Liberal government banned assault rifles, including those made by Colt Canada, from being owned by private citizens. Sajjan's office and the Prime Minister's Office are now carefully reviewing all communications the department sends to the news media, even on non-COVID-19 issues. DND didn't have a per-unit cost for the new C20 rifles. But officials acknowledge that taxpayers are paying a premium to have the guns manufactured in Canada under what is called the Munitions Supply Program, which sees such work directed to Colt Canada. For instance, the machine guns that Sajjan announced in January cost about double what other militaries pay for similar weapons. The Canadian Forces expects deliveries of the new C20 to begin in November. The last deliveries are expected in March 2021, Poulin noted. It was decided to forgo a competition for the new C21 rifle because an analysis under the Munitions Supply Program showed that having Colt create a new production line for just 229 rifles would be too expensive, according to DND. There are many manufacturers of such bolt action rifles throughout the world. Colt was also given another contract under the Munitions Supply Program to refurbish 75 C15 rifles at a cost of $281,000. Those rifles are in .50 calibre. The Canadian Forces expects delivery of those refurbished rifles to be completed by March 31, 2021, according to Poulin. The Canadian Forces has a program to outfit its sniper teams with modern equipment ranging from optical sights, new body armour, night vision equipment, ballistic calculators and “concealment kits.” Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2020 https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/news/canada/canadian-military-to-get-new-sniper-rifles-448930/
May 30, 2023 | Local, Other Defence
Defence firms are failing the Canadian Forces on military procurement. They should face consequences.