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  April 30, 2020 | Local, Aerospace

  Former KNBA marketing boss helping raise aerospace firm Peraton's profile in capital

  A recognizable face in the Kanata North business community has left the tech park to join a “startup” of a very different kind. Deborah Lovegrove, who spent more than five years as the head of marketing at the Kanata North Business Association, recently moved on to a new position as the marketing and media manager at Peraton Canada. Most of the aerospace and defence firm's Canadian operations are in Calgary, but last fall the company opened a new business development branch in downtown Ottawa. While Lovegrove's name is well-known in local business circles, the company she's joining might be a bit less familiar to casual observers of the aerospace and defence industry. But Peraton comes with an impressive pedigree. Its parent company, Harris Corp., was a dominant player in the sector for more than a century before it merged with fellow aerospace firm L3 Technologies last year to form L3Harris Technologies. When Harris sold its Harris Corporation Government Services business to Veritas Capital in 2017, Veritas changed its new acquisition's name to Peraton. The company now refers to itself as a “125-plus-year-old startup.” With more than 3,500 employees and annual revenues exceeding US$1 billion, the Virginia-based firm is quickly making its own mark in the aerospace realm. Peraton has partnered with government agencies such as NASA and Canada's Department of National Defence to provide supply chain management, engineering solutions and maintenance and repair services on a range of projects in the space, defence, cybersecurity and communications fields. The company is involved in a number of high-profile projects in this country, including an effort to commercialize advanced drone systems as well as bids from Boeing and Saab to replace the Royal Canadian Air Force's aging fleet of F-18 fighter jets – a contract with a total value of nearly $20 billion. Lovegrove, whose 25-year marketing career also includes stints in government and other non-profit trade organizations, said the new job gets her back to an industry that fascinated her when she managed marketing and promotional activities for the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute in 2013 and 2014. “It was tough to leave (the KNBA) because I'd been there almost six years,” Lovegrove says. “But I was definitely looking for some sort of change. It was time to try a new challenge.” With the range of opportunities in Peraton's project pipeline, Lovegrove said the chance to get back into the aerospace industry was too good to pass up. “I'm a skydiver. Anything to do with planes and speed is something that I find particularly fascinating,” she says with a laugh. “They're working on some really cool projects right now.” https://www.obj.ca/article/techopia-former-knba-marketing-boss-helping-raise-aerospace-firm-peratons-profile-capital

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  November 10, 2020 | Local, Aerospace, C4ISR

  For Canada, multibillion-dollar training program is the FAcT of the matter

  By: David Pugliese VICTORIA, British Columbia — The Royal Canadian Air Force plans to combine two training programs under a single, multibillion-dollar project, a move that will lead to incumbent contractors CAE and a consortium led by KF Aerospace facing off against a series of large firms. The government plans to issue a call for bids from defense companies next year for the Future Aircrew Training program, or FAcT. A draft bid package is expected to be released by the end of the year so prequalified firms can provide feedback to the Canadian Armed Forces. The contract is estimated to be worth at least CA$5 billion (U.S. $3.75 billion) and will provide training for Air Force pilots and crew for 20 years. Canada plans to award the contract in 2023. The government has already approved a list of firms that will be authorized to bid on FAcT, including Babcock Canada, Leonardo Canada, Lockheed Martin Canada and SkyAlyne Canada. SkyAlyne is a partnership between major Canadian defense firms CAE and KF Aerospace. Those two companies currently provide the two main aircrew training programs to the Air Force. Under FAcT, the number of pilots trained annually will slightly increase. The pilot production numbers for FAcT are expected to range from about 105 to a maximum of 120. In addition, air combat systems officers and airborne electronic sensor operators will also be trained under the program. Currently, that training is done in-house by the service. “We're very focused on getting this to contract,” Air Force Col. Pete Saunders, director of air simulation and training, said of FAcT. “In the end, the foundation of the Air Force is our ability to generate qualified aviators. That is what FAcT is all about.” Consolidation FAcT will combine two existing training programs. The first, NATO Flying Training in Canada, is provided by CAE's military aviation training division, which operates out of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. The program offers undergraduate and postgraduate pilot training in military-controlled airspace using training aircraft with advanced glass cockpits. That contact ends in 2023. The second program is the Contracted Flying Training and Support, which is run by a KF Aerospace-led consortium. Training is conducted out of the Southport Aerospace Centre near Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. The program “oversees the flying training and support services contract for the Primary and Basic Flying Training, Multi-Engine and Helicopter pilot training programs,” according to the government. That contract ends in 2027. Training for Royal Canadian Air Force pilots involves various fixed-wing aircraft — including the Grob 120A, CT-156 Harvard II, CT-155 Hawk and King Air C90 — as well as Bell 206 and 412 helicopters. Air combat systems officers and airborne electronic sensor operators are trained on CT-142 Dash-8 planes. Simulation is also extensively used in aircrew training. Saunders said the Air Force is being as flexible as possible to allow industry competitors to come up with what they believe will be the best solution for the service's training needs. “The way we're approaching this is that it is up to them to determine what training aids are required,” he explained. “They will determine what is the appropriate mix of simulation and live fly. They will look at the number and type of aircraft they require in order to meet their training solution.” However, officials are leaving no room for flexibility in the training's outcome. “What we are being prescriptive about is the standard that a graduate has to achieve,” Saunders said. The service has cooperated with the qualified bidders, consulting with them on components of what will be in the FAcT bid package — essentially the request for proposals. Saunders said he hopes to release the RFP by mid-2021. Apart from providing training and maintenance, the winning bidder must revitalize the aging training infrastructure, he added. The Air Force expects the construction of a new training center for air combat systems officers and airborne electronic sensor operators, as the current facility in Winnipeg, Manitoba, is quite old. Other new infrastructure, such as hangars, will also likely be built. Officials are requiring the winning supplier to invest in Canada equal to the value of the contract, but the government is also focused on a winning bid that emphasizes domestic firms playing a major role in training, simulation and in-service support. The government also has an ongoing competition for the acquisition of a new fighter jet to replace the Air Force's fleet of CF-18 aircraft. Canada isn't expected to announce the winning bid until at least 2022, with deliveries of aircraft scheduled for 2025. But Saunders said training for that future aircraft will be separate from FAcT, as the requirements are set by a different Air Force program office. https://www.defensenews.com/training-sim/2020/11/09/for-canada-multibillion-dollar-training-program-is-the-fact-of-the-matter/

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  June 25, 2024 | Local, Land

  Title Publication Date Department News type Teaser Minister Blair to visit Halifax, Nova Scotia to discuss Our North, Strong and Free and launch construction on the Canadian Surface Combatant fleet

  The Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence, will visit Halifax from June 27 to June 28, 2024 to discuss Canada’s defence policy update, Our North, Strong and Free, launch construction on the Canadian Surface Combatant project