December 16, 2019 | Local, Aerospace
by Ken Pole
The long-overdue replacement of the Royal Canadian Air Force's fleet of Boeing CF-188 Hornets was highlighted Dec. 13 in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's mandate letters to his new cabinet.
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, who had the fighter program in his sights throughout his first four years in the portfolio, and Public Services and Procurement Minister Anita Anand, a newcomer to Parliament, have been directed to co-operate on finally getting a contract.
There are three remaining contenders: Lockheed Martin's F-35A Lightning II, Boeing's F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet, and the Saab Gripen E/F.
Trudeau's letter to Sajjan makes it clear that new fighters would be part of a renewed commitment not only to national defence, but also to the continental umbrella afforded by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) as well as meeting international commitments through the United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
While cabinet veteran Navdeep Bains, minister of Innovation, Science & Industry, is not mentioned in Sajjan's letter, he is referred to in Anand's letter, mainly due to his ministry's oversight of industrial spinoffs from the fighter contract.
https://www.skiesmag.com/news/trudeau-directs-ministers-to-cement-fighter-deal
April 11, 2023 | Local, Land
Canada plans to ship thousands of assault rifles to Ukraine ? its?latest military contribution to the embattled eastern European country, which is still awaiting?delivery of a badly needed?air defence system Canada promised weeks ago.
January 12, 2023 | Local, Other Defence
The association representing Canada's defence contractors says it's going to take a lot more than talk to put the industry on a so-called "war footing." In a bluntly-worded opinion piece published online Wednesday, Christyn Cianfarani, executive director of the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries, said that Canada — unlike its allies — has not put in place a framework to ramp up production to meet the demand triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
November 9, 2023 | Local, Aerospace
The service is willing to accept the risk of a more expensive watercraft due to its importance in the Indo-Pacific, its acquisition chief said.