Un contrat de 800 M$ pour prolonger la vie des hélicoptères militaires CH-146

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  December 7, 2018 | Local, Aerospace

  Canadian military to contract out some maintenance work on aging CF-18s to free up front line technicians

  LEE BERTHIAUME OTTAWA THE CANADIAN PRESS PUBLISHED DECEMBER 3, 2018UPDATED DECEMBER 3, 2018 The Canadian military is looking to contract out some maintenance work on the country's aging CF-18 fighter jets as well as training to help address a shortage of experienced technicians. Defence officials revealed the plan during a Commons committee meeting on Monday, in which they also defended the time needed to pick a new jet for the air force and faced calls to reveal how much it will cost to upgrade the CF-18s' combat systems. The technician shortage was first revealed in an explosive auditor general's report last month in which the watchdog took aim at the Liberals' plan to buy second-hand Australian jets by warning the air force needed more technicians and pilots – not planes. A number of measures are being introduced to address both shortfalls, air force commander Lt.-Gen. Al Meinzinger told the committee, including the contracting out of more involved maintenance that usually takes place away from the front lines as well as some tech training. The initiatives will free up about 200 experienced aircraft technicians so they can work directly on planes in the field and keep them flying, Meinzinger said, adding in an interview after the meeting that the move would not affect combat readiness. Initiatives are also being introduced to better support military families, which Meinzinger identified as a key contributing factor in why many pilots and technicians are leaving, while the air force is looking at a new training model to produce more pilots. Even with these measures, Meinzinger said he expected it to take between five and seven years to have a full complement of pilots and technicians in time to start transitioning from the CF-18s to new state-of-the-art replacements. “We're putting our shoulder to the wheel,” Meinzinger told The Canadian Press. “This is a top priority. But it's going to take some time, obviously.” Defence officials faced pointed questions from members of Parliament on both sides of the table during Monday's committee meeting about the length of time it is expected to take for those new replacements to be selected and delivered. A request for proposals will be released in the spring, with bids due in early 2020. Another full year has been set aside to evaluate those bids and another for negotiations with the winner. Delivery of the first aircraft is expected in 2025 and the last in 2031. The Defence Department's head of procurement, Patrick Finn, underscored the complexity of the $19-billion project, which has been plagued by delays and political mismanagement for more than a decade as Canada has sought to choose a new fighter. Those complexities include the usual challenges evaluating and negotiating the capabilities of each of the four aircraft that are expected to compete, Finn said, as well as the industrial benefits to Canada and intellectual-property rights. At the same time, he added, the process for actually purchasing each of the planes is different given, for example, that Canada is a member of the F-35 stealth fighter project while the U.S. government would need to officially sign off on buying Super Hornets. In fact, Finn said the government has only limited flexibility in its schedule given that most manufacturers can only start delivering aircraft three years after an order is made – though he remained confident that the timeline would be met. The length of time was nonetheless a clear concern to some committee members. Officials were also grilled over the cost of upgrading the CF-18s' sensors, weapons and defensive measures after the auditor general found $3-billion in planned investments over the next decade was only to keep them flying and did not include their combat systems. The Defence Department's top bureaucrat, deputy minister Jody Thomas, told the committee that an analysis is underway, which includes consulting with the U.S. and other allies, and that a plan is expected in the spring. But opposition members challenged Thomas when she suggested that the department would not be able to provide cost estimates to the committee before being presented to the government, saying even if it is a matter of security, they are entitled to the information. “A unilateral declaration by a deputy or anybody that a parliamentary committee cannot have information is unacceptable,” NDP MP David Christopherson said. “There needs to be one more step to pursue that so that question, which is entirely legitimate in my opinion, can be answered in a way that respects the security and defence issues but also upholds the right of Parliament to demand any information they so choose.” https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-plan-for-combat-upgrades-to-aging-cf-18s-expected-in-may-defence

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  November 2, 2018 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Defence Business Planning in Canada

  by Ross Fetterly CGAI Fellow October 2018 “Running any complex organization during a period of major change, especially large and complex organizations, requires careful attention to the essentials of management.”1 The history of defence reform in Canada has been one of a constant struggle to renew both core military capabilities and personnel strengths, while searching for increased efficiency within a limited budget. Indeed, the Canadian Armed Forces/Department of National Defence (DND/CAF) operates on a magnitude and complexity across a broad range of diverse responsibilities unique in Canada. At a time when global security demands our constant attention, and when the CAF operates outside Canada in a less permissive and uncertain environment, resource management is important. The environment is increasingly one of unilateralism and multi-dimensional conflict, with unconventional means used to disrupt both national institutions and long-standing multi-national arrangements. While state organizations commit many non-military actions such as cyber-security attacks, defence organizations have a significant role to play in this domain. This requires resourcing defence to build capacities that support whole-of-government initiatives which enhance the Canadian government's resiliency in response to the multi-dimensional actions taken by illiberal or non-democratic states. Defence business planning has a key role in realigning resources and activities in response to shifting geopolitical realities. Management of defence resources is about transforming them into military capabilities in a relevant manner and in accordance with government policy. Defence establishments are unique within national government institutions, as well as in organizations in general. Nevertheless, they are required to produce certain outputs and are given a range of resources to achieve that. To accomplish assigned tasks, those resources need to be put through a deliberate business-process mechanism. The objective of the defence business planning process is to provide a pragmatic method of documenting organizational priorities and objectives, and communicating them internally while highlighting and addressing any constraints. Business planning is well established within the Canadian defence establishment. In recent years, the business planning approval process has become a key focal point in the departmental Investment Resource Management Committee (IRMC) leading up to the start of a fiscal year. Yet, the 2017 defence policy, Strong, Secure, Engaged (SSE), has dramatically changed the dynamics of resource management at National Defence Headquarters (NDHQ). From a relatively stable status quo, to an environment where programmed personnel, equipment and funding increases are significant, managing change and the new initiatives as articulated in SSE, becomes a central institutional priority. Business planning is the primary process to manage implementation and execution of this relatively ambitious program. The discussion of defence business planning will begin with its challenges, and then provide an overview of factors inherent in resource demands. The third section will examine defence resource management reforms and the impact on implementing SSE, and then address factors affecting change in business planning, as well as consideration of enduring challenges. The final section will highlight that defence business planning is the bridge between near- and long-term planning and then articulate why it will need to act as a primary enabler in implementing SSE-directed activities. Full report: https://www.cgai.ca/defence_business_planning_in_canada

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  November 28, 2017 | Local, Aerospace

  Presagis Teams with j2 Aircraft Dynamics for Flight Modeling Solution

  November 28, 2017 – Montreal, Canada – Presagis™, a recognized leader in simulation software and solutions, is proud to announce that it has teamed up with j2 Aircraft Dynamics to offer a new turnkey aircraft simulation model development service. Responding to an increased demand from customers developing aircraft simulation systems based on Presagis' FlightSIM, HeliSIM or CRAFT simulators, Presagis is pleased to join forces with the UK-based company known for its proprietary j2 Universal Tool-Kit. The combination of Presagis' powerful aircraft systems and aerodynamic modeling tools along with j2 Aircraft Dynamics' expertise and technology will allow customers to greatly accelerate their time to market while increasing the fidelity of their simulation models. “Whether customers start off from an original equipment manufacturer data package, or an instrumented flight test data, or from scratch, one of the most challenging aspects of building a high-fidelity simulation model is tuning hundreds of parameters — each with its own slight but definitive effect on the final result,” explains Stéphane Blondin, Presagis' Vice President of Product Management and Marketing. Through its application of core mathematical and aeronautical principles, and by allowing multiple test points to be analyzed at once, j2 brings fully automated flight test data matching capability and can help reduce the effort needed to match flight test data by more than 50 percent. “Customers often come to us looking to independently develop data packages. Sometimes they do so because of budgetary reasons, or sometimes it's because the data is not available for an older aircraft or for an aircraft still in development,” said Stephane Roy, Simulation Product Manager at Presagis. “What they often underestimate,” adds Roy “is the complexity of the aerodynamic envelope of an aircraft and how to best converge towards a flight model that meets their requirements. The expertise and technology that j2 Aircraft Dynamics bring to the equation will definitely avoid many headaches for customers who do not necessarily have experience tuning flight models. Even those with past experience will appreciate the productivity boost brought by the combined approach.” Through this collaboration, Presagis continues to innovate in order to help customers with the challenges they face on a daily basis. By streamlining workflow, reducing time to market, and increasing the fidelity and realism of their simulation models, Presagis remains steadfastly committed to building the solutions and tools their customers need. About Presagis Presagis is a global leader providing commercial modeling, simulation and embedded software solutions to the aerospace, defense and security, and critical infrastructure markets. Presagis combines an open simulation development framework with expert professional services to help customers streamline development workflows, reduce project risks, and deliver game-quality immersive simulations. Presagis is also at the forefront of avionics software design for certifiable cockpit displays. The company serves hundreds of customers worldwide, including many of the world's most respected organizations such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Airbus, BAE Systems, and CAE. For more information, visit www.presagis.com. For further information: Stéphane Blondin, Vice President of Product Management and Marketing, Tel: +1 514 999.5481, E-Mail: Stephane.Blondin@presagis.com About j2 J2 Aircraft Dynamics Ltd is a UK based company that is sells its own proprietary software, the j2 Universal Tool-Kit, as a whole aircraft aerodynamic modelling, analysis, flight test planning and flight matching, simulation, aircraft accident investigation and analysis software tools that is built on a single, sustainable non-legacy framework. Engineers/designers are finding that using j2 Software can unlock value in existing legacy code blocks as well as accelerate the aircraft design life-cycle. The state of the art aircraft modelling capability embedded in j2 software allows engineers to ‘fly' their designs and put a pilot in the loop at a much earlier stage in an aircraft design process. Learn more at www.j2aircraft.com . https://www.presagis.com/en/press-center/detail/presagis-teams-with-j2-aircraft-dynamics-for-flight-modeling-solution/