February 4, 2019 | Local, Land
The United States will no longer abide by its nuclear arms agreement with Russia and will be removing itself from the treaty in six months if Russia doesn't come back into its compliance, but Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said it's too early to think about what the ripple effects could be for Canada.
In a written statement, U.S. President Donald Trump said his country will be removing itself from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. Russia and the United States agreed to the treaty in 1987. It eliminated all nuclear and conventional missiles and launchers that had ranges of 500 to 5,500 kilometres.
Trump said the U.S. will no longer abide by the treaty as of Saturday and will formally withdrawal in six months.
“The United States has complied with the INF Treaty for more than 30 years, but we will not be held back while Russia cheats,” says the White House statement, which repeatedly blames Russia for not conforming to the requirements of the arms treaty.
“We agree with our allies' assessment that Russia has been in a breach of the INF Treaty,” Sajjan said.
Sajjan said that he and new acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan didn't discuss the INF “directly” today in Washington, where Sajjan had his first meeting with Shanahan since he's been acting as the U.S. defence chief.
Shanahan was previously the deputy secretary of defence but was appointed to the more senior role in an acting capacity after Jim Mattis resigned following U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of his intention to remove American troops from Syria.
“For non-proliferation and (nuclear) disarmament to occur, everyone needs to make sure they're in compliance with the treaty,” Sajjan said.
According to the statement from the White House, only Russia's destruction of its INF-violating missiles and launches will keep the U.S. in compliance and stop them from withdrawing completely in August.
The defence minister acknowledged that a treaty-free Russia could cause uneasiness for Canadian and U.S. allies in Europe, but that it's too early to say what the impacts could be domestically.
“It's important for us to send a unified message to Russia to come back to the rules based order so that we can maintain the stability that we have known for some time,” Sajjan said.
“This decision solely rests on the actions of Russia. There is opportunity still for Russia to come and be verifiably compliant and ... we can always hope that they can come into compliance,” said the defence minister.
February 23, 2021 | Local, Aerospace
Montreal, Quebec-based Icarus Aerospace opens up about its Tactical Air Vehicle platform as it seeks government funding and market traction.
April 25, 2019 | Local, Aerospace
DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN Charles Bouchard announced his decision Wednesday to retire as Chief Executive, Lockheed Martin Canada effective April 30. Bouchard, a retired lieutenant general, served in the role for nearly six years. He had a 37-year career in the Royal Canadian Air Force. “I have thoroughly enjoyed serving Lockheed Martin Canada and Lockheed Martin Corporation and while the time has come for me to retire, I will remain an ardent supporter and advocate of the work Lockheed Martin does to deliver the best equipment to today's modern warfighter, the F-35 being a primary example,” Bouchard said in a statement. Lorraine Ben will serve as Interim Chief Executive. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/charlie-bouchard-steps-down-from-lockheed-martin-canadas-top-job
August 30, 2018 | Local, Aerospace
L3 MAS announced it has been awarded a contract extension from the Canadian government to provide engineering, repair and overhaul, and publication management services on the CT-114 Tutor aircraft fleet. The company was originally awarded a contract spanning from 2016 to 2018, with three one-year options. The first one-year option has been exercised, and two additional one-year options are still available. “L3 MAS is honoured to be selected once again by the Royal Canadian Air Force to offer a cost-effective and technically superior solution to keep the CT-114 fleet airborne over the coming years,” said Jacques Comtois, vice-president and general manager of L3 MAS. “L3 MAS is proud to continue to support the CT-114 fleet, which it has done for more than 40 years. As the OEM of the aircraft, this contract provides us with the opportunity to demonstrate our exceptional in-service support (ISS) capabilities.” L3 MAS is a global leader in providing ISS, system upgrade and life-extension solutions on a broad range of aircraft and helicopter types, and has provided ISS support to Canada, Australia, Finland, Spain, Switzerland and the U.S. Navy. https://www.skiesmag.com/press-releases/l3-mas-to-continue-services-on-ct-114-tutor-aircraft-fleet/