The Royal Canadian Navy commissions HMCS Margaret Brooke

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  January 25, 2018 | Local, Land

  CANSOFCOM takes delivery of Ultra-Light Combat Vehicle (ULCV)

  News Release From National Defence Members of the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM) unload new Ultra-Light Combat Vehicles (ULCV) in Petawawa, Ontario, on January 23, 2018. Delivery of these vehicles will continue through to April 2018. Photo Credit: CSOR Imaging ©2018 DND/MDN January 25, 2018 – Ottawa – National Defence/Canadian Armed Forces In the Strong, Secure, Engaged defence policy, the Government of Canada committed to ensuring the women and men of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) have the support and equipment they need to carry out their important missions. The Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM) has accepted delivery of its first Ultra-Light Combat Vehicles (ULCV). These vehicles, which were procured from Polaris Industries Limited, will help protect members of Canada's Special Operations Forces as they conduct missions in challenging environments. It will provide them with fast, mobile transportation over demanding terrain, and has been specifically configured to support rapid deployment by most Royal Canadian Air Force aircraft, particularly the CH-147F Chinook helicopter. This procurement – which was completed on time and on budget – will help ensure special forces operators have the tools they need to succeed for years to come. Additional Multimedia Members of the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM) unload a new Ultra-Light Combat Vehicle (ULCV) in Petawawa, Ontario, on January 23, 2018. The ULCV procurement initiative will help ensure special forces operators have the tools they need to maintain field superiority for years to come. Photo Credit: CSOR Imaging ©2018 DND/MDN New Ultra-Light Combat Vehicles (ULCV) are positioned in a storage facility in Petawawa, Ontario, soon after delivery. Procured from Polaris Industries Limited, a total of 62 ULCVs were purchased at a value of approximately $23M. Photo Credit: CSOR Imaging ©2018 DND/MDN Quotes “The women and men of our Special Operations Forces deserve the best equipment to do the tough job we ask of them. We are proud of them, and through Strong, Secure, Engaged, our government will continue to make investments ‎in our most important asset: our people.” - Defence Minister Harjit S. Sajjan “The acquisition of the ULCV is a tremendous step forward in light mobility for the men and women of CANSOFCOM. This platform will serve as a unique complement to our existing mobility arsenal and assist CANSOFCOM in its delivery of agile special operations forces effects for years to come.” - Major-General Mike Rouleau, Commander, Canadian Special Operations Forces Command Quick Facts In December, 2016, the Government of Canada announced that a contract valued at approximately $20.6M was awarded to Polaris Industries Limited for the acquisition of 52 ULCV with the option to procure an additional 26 vehicles over a two year period at an additional cost. In July, 2017, CANSOFCOM exercised the option to procure an additional 10 ULCV, bringing the total number of ULCV under this acquisition to 62 and value of the contract to approximately $23M. The ULCVs are being delivered as planned and on budget. Delivery of these vehicles will continue through to April 2018. The contract with Polaris Industries Limited includes technical support services, and integrated logistics support for two years. This includes everything from publications and manuals, to spare parts and driver training. https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/news/2018/01/cansofcom_takes_deliveryofultra-lightcombatvehicleulcv.html

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  April 9, 2020 | Local, Security

  Pandemic equipment snarls will rewrite Canada's definition of national security needs, say experts

  When every country needs the same stuff to keep people safe, cost arguments seem less convincing The mad scramble to secure protective medical equipment and ventilators in the midst of a global pandemic has given some of the people who work in the usually tedious world of government procurement an unwelcome excuse to say, "I told you so." For years, there have been quiet but persistent demands coming out of the defence and acquisition sectors for successive federal governments to develop a list of "strategic industries" that do not have to rely on foreign supply chains — as insurance against the kind of procurement panic in play right now. Those calls were largely ignored. Now, defence experts are saying the COVID-19 crisis is a costly wake-up call. Canada needs — and has needed for almost two decades — a 21st century national security industrial plan that focuses on critical equipment and materials that should be produced at home, not abroad. 'Totally negligent' "We've been totally negligent on that and it is something I have articulated over and over again," said Alan Williams, the former head of the procurement branch at the Department of National Defence. "It's absolutely critical and if this doesn't wake us to that reality, I don't know what would." Williams devoted a substantial portion of one of his books, Reinventing Canadian Defence Procurement: A View from the Inside, to the absence of a national security vision of Canadian industry. "It frankly pisses me off because there's no reason for us not to have done that," he said. "That should be the kind of thing ministers, the leaders of the country desperately want to do. And why we seem to have avoided that kind of strategic thinking ... It just boggles my mind. It's inexcusable." 'Key' industries geared toward trade, not tragedies There was a faint glimmer of hope in the initial debate over the National Shipbuilding Strategy a decade ago, when the former Conservative government made a conscious decision to build future warships, Canadian Coast Guard and fisheries vessels in Canada, instead of outsourcing the work to other countries. At least in the context of defence procurement, Canada does have what are known as "key industrial capabilities", including shipbuilding, the production of certain types of ammunition and the construction of a range of aerospace and maritime electronic systems. Much of the work of those "key" domestic industries is, however, geared toward making high-end components for global supply chains. Critics have often said the policy focuses on high-tech innovation and business priorities, rather than hard-headed national security interests. Other countries, Williams said, have carved out a space for national security interests in industrial policy by not allowing other countries to build certain pieces of equipment. The Japanese, for example, have retained the capability to assemble their own warplanes. A shift in thinking The COVID-19 crisis, which has uncovered a potentially deadly shortage of ventilators and protective equipment for medical professionals, will push the federal government into a radical re-evaluation of what we need to be able to build at home to protect the country. In some respects, that work has already started. Earlier this week, reflecting on the Trump administration's moves to restrict exports of protective equipment, Ontario Premier Doug Ford expressed dismay over how the fate of so many Canadians had been taken out of the hands of the federal and provincial governments. Doctors, nurses demand government fill 'unacceptable' gaps in protective gear on front lines Canada working to produce up to 30,000 ventilators domestically: Trudeau "I am just so, so disappointed right now," he said. "We have a great relationship with the U.S. and all of a sudden they pull these shenanigans. But as I said yesterday, we will never rely on any other country going forward." Over the past two weeks, the federal government has announced plans to pour more than $2 billion into sourcing and acquiring protective medical equipment — masks, gowns, face shields, hand sanitizer — at home. On Tuesday, Ottawa unveiled a plan to get three Canadian companies to build 30,000 ventilators. Health equipment may have been outside the normal definition of national security needs until just a few weeks ago — but the shifting geopolitical landscape offered another warning sign that was ignored, said procurement expert Dave Perry. Leaning on China "This is pointing out the flip side of our globalized world and globalized supply chains," said Perry, an analyst and vice president at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. "The cold, hard truth is that we're going to be relying on China for critical supplies." When the coronavirus outbreak ramped up, federal officials should have been aware of the potential peril involved in relying on Chinese factories for so many critical items. But in the absence of homegrown capability, Canada is at the mercy of panicked nations in the midst of panicked buying. "The entire world is trying to put through orders from the same sets of factories we're trying to source from," Perry said. "It might be accurate to criticize the Chinese for their response, but in the current context the government has to be cognizant of the impact on our potential ability to source stuff we really, really need right now from China — when there's not a lot of other options available in the short term and when the rest of the world is making the same phone calls." One of the critical arguments against a homegrown national security industrial strategy has been the cost. It's an argument familiar from the shipbuilding context: taxpayers pay a premium when we task Canadian industry with delivering solutions, instead of turning to cheaper foreign manufacturers. Elinor Sloan, a defence policy expert at Carleton University, said she believes the crisis will focus the public's attention on securing the critical industries and supplies the country needs in a global crisis. "The trade-off, as we know, is that it can be more costly to build or produce at home," she said. "This crisis may engender a perspective among the public that the extra cost is worth it." https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/pandemic-covid-coronavirus-procurement-masks-ventilators-1.5525373

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  March 24, 2020 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Canadian military will no longer release info about numbers of personnel affected by COVID-19

  “This is information we don't want opposing forces to have as we're relatively a small force,” a spokesman said Friday. DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN The Canadian Forces won't be releasing information on the numbers of military personnel who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus because of security reasons. The military had previously confirmed three cases, including one involving a reservist who had been on a personal trip to Spain. The Canadian Forces had also stated that no personnel on overseas operations had tested positive for COVID-19. But going forward, the Canadian military will no longer be confirming any other cases publicly because of operational security, Department of National Defence spokesman Dan Le Bouthillier said Friday. “This is information we don't want opposing forces to have as we're relatively a small force,” he added. Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jon Vance has warned that the “integrity” of some military units could be threatened by personnel contracting coronavirus. The Canadian Forces could be eventually called upon by the federal government to provide support if the pandemic worsens. The U.S. military has confirmed that more than 50 of its personnel have tested positive for COVID-19. The Canadian Forces has also ordered approximately 2000 COVID-19 test kits for military clinics across the country, Le Bouthillier said. The kits are expected in the next week. “The needs of deployed units for COVID-19 testing will be considered in the distribution plan,” he added. “In the interim, we are working in collaboration with our partners, through a combination of integral, allied and host nation supports, to ensure deployed CAF members are provided with the best available health care.” COVID-19 has also caused the cancellation of Exercise Maple Resolve, the army's main training event for the year, as well as a naval exercise off the coast of Africa. HMCS Glace Bay and HMCS Shawinigan, which were to take part in that naval training, are now returning to Halifax. The ships are expected to arrive in mid-April. Troops from Canadian Forces Base Petawawa who were supposed to take part in Exercise Maple Resolve will now be training in smaller groups, Le Bouthillier said. “We will mitigate this lost training opportunity through the aggressive pursuit of smaller training events and professional development,” he noted. “We will return to our normal managed readiness cycle when conditions permit.” “The current situation with COVID-19 is unprecedented and prudence demands we adopt a posture that allows us to best support civilian authorities should the need arise while safe-guarding the well-being of our personnel and the broader Canadian public,” Le Bouthillier stated. Maple Resolve was scheduled to take place from May 11 to 24 at Wainwright Alta. It normally involves approximately 5000 personnel and 1450 pieces of major equipment. The exercise gives participating personnel the opportunity to train with a wide variety of weapons, simulation technology, armoured fighting vehicles, and aircraft in order to hone their skills in a realistic setting, short of an actual operation. Another exercise that was to have taken place before Maple Resolve has also been cancelled. That training event, scheduled to run from April 5 to May 5, would have involved around 2,000 troops. Military personnel from the U.S., United Kingdom, France and Brazil had been scheduled to take part in Maple Resolve. Many other nations are also cancelling military exercises because of COVID-19. In addition, the Canadian Forces is also limiting public access to its recruiting centres across the country. The military is continuing to recruit but has asked new applicants to begin their recruiting process using its website. “For those applicants currently going through the recruitment process, please note that all face-to-face interactions will be restricted and by appointment only,” the Canadian Forces added in a social media post. “If contacted for an appointment, please note that we are implementing additional protective protocols including increased questions specific to individual circumstances in order to ensure the continued health of our recruiting teams.” https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/canadian-military-will-no-longer-release-info-about-numbers-of-personnel-affected-by-covid-19