January 18, 2024 | Local, Aerospace
Sustaining the Royal Canadian Air Force's fleet of CH-146 Griffon helicopters
The helicopters fulfill domestic and international missions, including tactical transport, emergency response, and search and rescue
September 26, 2018 | Local, Aerospace
Transport Canada looking at used German drone to patrol Arctic
Murray Brewster · CBC News
A used German drone is one of a handful of aircraft under consideration by Transport Canada for its long-delayed Arctic surveillance program.
A spokeswoman for the department said no decision has been made about the kind of remotely-piloted system the department will purchase.
Marie-Anyk Cote said the plan is to buy an aircraft to detect and monitor oil spills, survey ice levels and marine habitats and keep track of shipping and ice movement in Canada's far northern waters.
"As part of its technical assessment, the government sought information from suppliers to better understand the technology and the solutions available," Cote said in an email.
The Associated Press reported on Monday that Canada was negotiating with Germany to purchase a secondhand Global Hawk surveillance drone, which originally cost the Germans $823 million.
'Premature'
Cote said "it is still premature to speculate which remotely piloted aircraft system will be purchased" and that the evaluation is still underway.
In a statement issued to AP, Germany's defence ministry said talks with Canada were planned, but declined to comment on a possible sale price or closure date.
The news surfaced in a response to lawmakers tabled by the German government in the Bundestag, Germany's parliament. It stated that Germany has decided to "begin concrete negotiations with Canada for the sale of the Euro Hawk aircraft, two ground stations and possibly certain spare parts."
Northrop Grumman, the maker of the Global Hawk, pitched the Canadian military on buying the high-altitude surveillance system a few years ago.
New, the aircraft cost more than US $131 million each.
National Defence has its own, separate drone program which is not expected to start delivering aircraft until 2021. That new fleet will not be fully operational until 2023.
The drone under consideration by Transport Canada is a prototype that was purchased by the Germans in 2000, according the AP report.
It has flown only a handful of times; the program was cancelled because of skyrocketing costs and the German government's inability to get it certified to fly in Europe. According to 2013 German media reports, the manufacturer had refused to share technical data with the German government and the drone lacked an anti-collision alarm required by European regulators.
According to the German government's written response, the drone has now been "demilitarized" — meaning it has been stripped of its U.S.-made radio equipment, GPS receiver and flight control system.
Drone or missile?
There could be more complications ahead if Ottawa is successful in negotiations with the Germans.
A year ago, CBC News reported the Arctic drone surveillance program had been delayed because of complex international arms control rules that would categorize the unmanned aircraft as a missile.
The federal government approved $39.5 million for a technical assessment in 2015 — and the plan had been to have a small fleet airborne by last spring.
Officials told CBC News last year that they were not expecting delivery of the drones until 2020.
The Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), adopted by Canada and 34 other countries, was intended to prevent the spread of weapons systems that can deliver nuclear missiles. Drones were added to the list recently and the rules restrict missiles and drones from carrying a payload of more than 500 kilograms or travelling more than 300 kilometres.
A fully loaded Global Hawk can carry a sensor suite payload weighing up to 540 kilograms.
With files from the Associated Press
On the same subject
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February 13, 2019 | Local, Naval
MDA Selected for Design Phase of Canadian Surface Combatant Program
RICHMOND, BC, Feb. 8, 2019 /CNW/ - MDA, a Maxar Technologies company (NYSE: MAXR) (TSX: MAXR), today announced that Canada's Combat Ship Team was selected by Irving Shipbuilding for the design contract for Canada's Surface Combatant (CSC) ships. Irving Shipbuilding is the Canadian Surface Combatant Prime Contractor and will build all 15 ships at Halifax Shipyard. As a core member of the design team, MDA's primary role will be to design the Electronic Warfare suite system for the CSC program. The CSC is a globally deployable, multi-role warship designed to meet the distinctive mission requirements of the Royal Canadian Navy. MDA is partnered with other industry leaders including BAE Systems, CAE, Lockheed Martin Canada, L3 Technologies, and Ultra Electronics as Canada's Combat Ship Team to provide the Royal Canadian Navy the most advanced and modern warship design. Purposely designed for anti-submarine warfare and capable of performing a variety of missions in any part of the world, the CSC is acoustically quiet, versatile, highly survivable, and reconfigurable for future modernization. The most recent Canadian Defence Policy stated that 15 of these ships will be built in Canada over the next 25 years and will serve the Royal Canadian Navy for decades to come. "MDA is proud to play such a critical role in supplying systems and subsystems for the Canadian Surface Combatant program," said Mike Greenley, group president of MDA. "Our low-risk, lower life-cycle cost CSC solutions are based on proven technologies and will enable Canadian security and peacekeeping operations around the world by providing advanced intelligence and protection for our brave sailors. These Canadian-built solutions further unlock enormous economic benefits and return on investment to the nation, particularly in Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia and Nova Scotia, as we seek to export these technologies globally in the years ahead secure our position as a global technology leader." This contract is for the CSC design phase within which MDA is responsible for the Electronic Warfare design. Over the life of the program, MDA expects to perform multiple roles on the Lockheed Martin Canada team for CSC. Work on four pivotal areas of the program would create more than 200 new, high-quality jobs in MDA's Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia, and Nova Scotia facilities. MDA's roles include: Lead the Electronic Warfare system integration by procuring best-value subsystems for each functional element and providing an advanced Electronic Warfare solution for installation onto each CSC ship, leveraging MDA's deep Canadian expertise in project management, system engineering, electronics, antennas, signal processing and software. Build an advanced radar system critical to the integrated CSC weapons system, which is well positioned to be exported to the global naval market. Partner with L3 WESCAM to build a Laser Warning and Countermeasures System that is part of the overall Electronic Warfare system suite and will defend against emerging laser-guided threats that are particularly dangerous for the CSC and its crew in littoral environments. Partner with Lockheed Martin Canada to develop an advanced Electronic Warfare jamming subsystem, based on proven components and electronics similar to those used by MDA for both its space and terrestrial communications and radar programs. About MDA MDA is an internationally recognized leader in space robotics, space sensors, satellite payloads, antennas and subsystems, surveillance and intelligence systems, defence and maritime systems, and geospatial radar imagery. MDA's extensive space expertise and heritage translates into mission-critical defence and commercial applications that include multi-platform command, control and surveillance systems, aeronautical information systems, land administration systems and terrestrial robotics. MDA is also a leading supplier of actionable mission-critical information and insights derived from multiple data sources. Founded in 1969, MDA is recognized as one of Canada's most successful technology ventures with locations in Richmond, Ottawa, Brampton, Montreal, Halifax and the United Kingdom. MDA has supported the Royal Canadian Navy for over two decades. For more information, visit www.mdacorporation.com. About Maxar Technologies As a global leader of advanced space technology solutions, Maxar Technologies is at the nexus of the new space economy, developing and sustaining the infrastructure and delivering the information, services, systems that unlock the promise of space for commercial and government markets. As a trusted partner, Maxar Technologies provides vertically integrated capabilities and expertise including satellites, Earth imagery, robotics, geospatial data and analytics to help customers anticipate and address their most complex mission-critical challenges with confidence. With more than 6,100 employees in over 30 global locations, the Maxar Technologies portfolio of commercial space brands includes MDA, SSL, DigitalGlobe and Radiant Solutions. Every day, billions of people rely on Maxar to communicate, share information and data, and deliver insights that Build a Better World. Maxar trades on the New York Stock Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange as MAXR. For more information, visit www.maxar.com. https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/mda-selected-for-design-phase-of-canadian-surface-combatant-program-836299961.html
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April 8, 2022 | Local, C4ISR, Security
AÉRO MONTRÉAL EST À LA RECHERCHE D'UN(E) GESTIONNAIRE DE PROJETS, CYBERSÉCURITÉ