Back to news

February 4, 2019 | Local, Naval

Trade tribunal rejects rival's bid to block warship contract

Murray Brewster · CBC News

The Canadian International Trade Tribunal has dismissed a complaint by one of the companies that was competing for the job of designing and helping to build the navy's next generation of warships.

Alion Science and Technology Corp. and its subsidiary, Alion Canada, filed the complaint in November and asked that the signing of the contract with the preferred bidder be postponed until the matter could be heard.

The trade tribunal, in a decision rendered late Thursday, said the company did not "have standing to file a complaint" before the agency.

Last fall, the Liberal government announced plans to award the design contract to a group of companies led by Lockheed Martin Canada and opened negotiations with the intention of completing a full contract this winter.

Alion, Lockheed Martin Canada and the Spanish company Navantia were all in the running for the Canadian Surface Combatant project, which will be built at Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax.

The federal government issued a statement Friday and indicated progress towards a final contract was ongoing.

"Public Services and Procurement Canada is pleased with the CITT's ruling," said department spokesman Pierre-Alain Bujold. "We have full confidence in our process, and continue to work toward awarding a contract for the design and design team for the future Canadian Surface Combatants."

Alion had pitched its De Zeven Provinciën Air Defence and Command (LCF) frigate, a Dutch-designed warship, for the Canadian competition and has pointed out that the warship is already in service in other countries.

The company had asked the CITT to investigate the procurement deal, saying the preferred warship design — the British-built Type 26 — would need substantial changes and and further claimed it doesn't meet the navy's requirements as outlined in the government tender.

Alion also had filed a Federal Court challenge of the project last fall.

The design competition went on for almost two years as Public Services officials and executives at Irving worked with bidders to ensure a fair competition and to avoid post-decision court fights.

The first of the new warships, intended to replace the navy's frigates, are not expected to be in the water until the mid-2020s, at the earliest.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trade-tribunal-warship-alion-1.5002298

On the same subject

  • RPAS community gathers for Tech Demo 2

    September 30, 2019 | Local, Aerospace

    RPAS community gathers for Tech Demo 2

    Once again this year, nearly 150 players in the aeronautics industry met at the Centre d'excellence sur les drones (CED) for the second edition of Tech Demo, where the remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) community got together to share technological advances. During this event, which took place on Sept. 25 and 26 in Alma, Que., participants learned more about the latest developments from Transport Canada, the Royal Canadian Air Force and Royal Canadian Navy, and the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). They also attended various conferences exploring drone image recognition, multi-mission systems, the niche of excellence in civil and commercial UAVs, ways to reduce time to market through drone simulation and trends in the drone ecosystem. Guests also had the opportunity to discuss issues related to operations beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), and take part in three panels about anti-UAV systems and airspace management. Seven system demonstrations were also carried out during the event, including one featuring a mastodon weighing more than 300 kilograms. “This autonomous system was developed for various surveillance and civil security missions by Quebec company Laflamme in collaboration with the American company General Dynamics. It was the first public technological demonstration of this system in Quebec, which generated a great deal of interest from the stakeholders present,” commented CED director general Marc Moffatt. He also added that, once again this year, the activity welcomed several major manufacturers, including Bell Helicopter, Bombardier, General Atomics, CAE, L3, Leonardo, and many others. According to CED president Alain Fortin, hosting an event like Tech Demo is very significant for the industry. “The drone community needs events around which to gather to feed each other. We are obviously thrilled with the scope of this second edition and, above all, very proud of the quality of the speakers in attendance. Several actors who orchestrate the development of drone regulation in Canada were among us over the past two days to listen to what the community had to teach them and to learn more about the potential of the CED,” said Fortin. “Our speakers come from all over the world, including the United States, England, Italy and even Ukraine. Over the years, the CED and its partners have built a whole regional ecosystem around the drone and we can see now that its strategic role in the development of this sector is recognized and well established,” he added. Made possible with the financial support from the Ministère de l'Économie et de l'Innovation as well as General Dynamics Missions Systems, Kongsberg Geospatial Ltd. and CAE, the event has become a major annual event that is eagerly awaited by the industry. https://www.skiesmag.com/press-releases/rpas-community-gathers-for-tech-demo-2

  • Updated - Dassault makes it official – Rafale is out of Canadian fighter jet competition

    November 9, 2018 | Local, Aerospace

    Updated - Dassault makes it official – Rafale is out of Canadian fighter jet competition

    DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN Dassault Aviation has officially confirmed to Agence France-Presse that the firm has pulled out of Canada's future fighter program. The company had planned to offer the Rafale but decided against competing the aircraft because of the extensive Canadian requirements for interoperability with U.S. forces, according to a number of news reports, citing sources. The Canadian government confirmed the withdrawal after the news report became public. “On November 8, the French government officially notified Canada of its withdrawal from the competitive process to replace Canada's fighter jet fleet,” said Public Services and Procurement Canada spokesperson Rania Haddad. “We will continue to work closely with the remaining eligible suppliers to ensure they are well positioned to participate in the ongoing competition.” https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/dassault-makes-it-official-rafale-is-out-of-canadian-competition

  • Canadian aerospace renews call for defence industrial strategy - Skies Mag

    August 31, 2023 | Local, Aerospace

    Canadian aerospace renews call for defence industrial strategy - Skies Mag

    Associations representing defence and aerospace sectors are urging the government to develop a defence industrial strategy to foster long-term growth.

All news