January 15, 2020 | Local, Aerospace
Finland, which is considering the same aircraft as Canada, for its new jet fleet, is requiring each competing aerospace company to provide two aircraft to test at low temperatures and in real world operating conditions.
DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN
Updated: January 15, 2020
Canada won't conduct a fly-off between fighter jets competing to become the country's new warplane nor conduct testing to see how such aircraft perform under cold weather conditions.
The decision not to proceed with such tests under Canada's $19-billion future fighter procurement program stands in contrast to Finland, which is considering the same aircraft as Canada, for its new jet fleet. Each competing aerospace company is required to provide Finland with two aircraft to test at low temperatures and be evaluated in real world operating conditions.
Public Services and Procurement Canada has confirmed that Canada will not do any fly-offs among competing jet or tests for cold-weather operations like Finland has underway.
“We do not have plans for an exercise of this nature,” stated department spokeswoman Stéfanie Hamel.
Finland and Canada are considering the Boeing Super Hornet, Lockheed Martin F-35 and Saab Gripen. The Finnish Air Force is also testing the Dassault Rafale and the Eurofighter Typhoon, both of which pulled out of the Canadian competition because of worries the process was rigged to favour the F-35.
Finland hopes to buy 64 aircraft. Canada will purchase 88 aircraft.
Canadian aerospace industry representatives say the competing companies as well as allied air forces could provide Canada with results from tests they have conducted on the competing aircraft.
Finland could have taken the same route but its procurement staff want to ensure the country is getting value for money since the project will cost around $14 billion.
Finnish defence ministry program manager Lauri Puranen outlined in a blog post the extensive tests that will be conducted and the reasons for not relying on tests conducted by others. “The Finnish operating environment and operating methods may differ from other users' weather and lighting conditions,” Puranen stated. “Winter conditions affect the operation of the multi-function fighter and especially the performance of electro-optical systems, but possibly other active and passive systems as well.”
The fighter jet candidates will be tested on the ground, in the air, and during takeoff and landing, he added.
The testing of the competing aircraft is currently underway.
Another series of tests involving the jets taking part in flight operations and a simulated lengthy war game will be conducted by the Finnish Air Force later this year.
Finland expects to select a winner for the aircraft program in 2021. The planes, which will replace Finland's current fleet of F-18s, are expected in 2025.
The Canadian government expects bids for its fighter jet program to be submitted by the end of March. A winning bidder is to be determined by early 2022. The first aircraft would be delivered to the Royal Canadian Air Force by 2025.
Information about how Canada intends to evaluate the jets is limited. But Public Services and Procurement Canada has noted that technical merit will make up the bulk of the assessment at 60 per cent. Cost and economic benefits companies can provide to Canada will each be worth 20 per cent.
Concerns have been raised by Lockheed Martin's rivals that the competition has been designed to favour the F-35. This newspaper reported last year the requirements for the new jets put emphasis on strategic attack and striking at ground targets during foreign missions. That criteria is seen to benefit the F-35. In addition, the federal government changed criteria on how it would assess industrial benefits after the U.S. government threatened to pull the F-35 from the competition.
The Conservative government had previously selected the F-35 as the air force's new jet but backed away from that plan after concerns about the technology and growing cost.
During the 2015 election campaign, Justin Trudeau vowed that his government would not purchase the F-35. But at the same time, Trudeau stated his government would hold an open competition for the fighter purchase.
The Liberal government backed away from its promise to freeze out the F-35 and the aircraft is now seen as a front-runner in the competition as it has many supporters in the Royal Canadian Air Force. Many of Canada's allies plan to operate the plane.
Canada is a partner in the F-35 program and has contributed funding for the aircraft's development.
September 5, 2023 | Local, Land
High prices, corporate rivalries and a shortage of spare parts hobbled efforts this spring to set up a new repair facility in Poland for Ukraine's Leopard tanks — and in some cases have limited the usefulness of the donated Western vehicles, CBC News has learned.
August 17, 2020 | Local, Naval
Quebec-based shipbuilder Davie Shipyard welcomed on 11 August the Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate HMCS St. John for major refit and upgrade. The event marks the start of a long-term naval maintenance and upgrade program that will keep the Halifax-class frigates operational until the arrival of the Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) in the 2040s. According to the shipyard, the event was a key milestone in Davie's near 200-year history marking the return of Canada's primary surface combat ships to Québec. Three of the 12 frigate fleet were built at Davie in the 1990s (HMCS Ville de Quebec, HMCS Regina and HMCS Calgary). The $500 million performance-based contract to carry out an extensive mid-life refit on the Royal Canadian Navy's patrol frigates is for an initial five-year period. It is expected to increase in duration and value as new work packages are added. Davie Shipyard, alongside Seaspan Victoria Shipyards in British Columbia and Irving Shipyards in Nova Scotia are all participating in the $1.5-billion maintenance and upgrade program. Over the past 12 months a major facility upgrade program was completed at the West end of Davie shipyard and in the historic Lorne drydock to provide a long-term maintenance home for Canada's surface combat fleet and its supporting naval staff. Davie Shipyard added in a statement that docking maintenance work periods are critical to ensure the RCN has at least 8 of its 12 patrol frigates ready for deployment at all times until the class is replaced by the Canadian Surface Combatants (CSC) in the early 2040s. According to Timothy Choi, naval analyst at the University of Calgary in Canada, the mid-life refit work will focus on the hull, mechanical, and electrical works that were not included as part of the FELEX upgrades. “The only substantial new component that I'm aware of are the four .50cal remote weapons system” Choi added. Raytheon Canada Limited was awarded in March 2016 a contract to install up to 58 Naval Remote Weapon Stations (NRWS) on Royal Canadian Navy surface vessels. The NRWS are .50 cal Mini typhoon RWS by Israeli company Rafael, modified and adapted by Raytheon. About Halifax-class Frigates HMCS Regina sailing past the Greater Victoria Shoreline en route to Hawaii. Photo credit: MS Dan Bard The 12 Canadian-built Halifax-class multi-role patrol frigates are considered the backbone of the Royal Canadian Navy. They can deploy anywhere in the world in support of the Government of Canada. Under the Halifax-class Modernization / Frigate Life Extension project, the frigates received a number of upgrades to ensure they have the capabilities to meet the new threats and changing operating environments of today. Enhanced capabilities include: new Combat Management System (CMS 330) 57mm Mk3 naval gun system MASS decoy launchers new Integrated Platform Management System CH-148 Cyclone helicopter capability Advanced Harpoon Weapon Control System new ESM Smart-S Mk2 radar CEROS 200 fire control radar The first modernized Halifax-class frigates were delivered in late 2014, and the last ship in 2018. Halifax-class specifications Length: 134 metres Beam: 16 metres Complement: 225 personnel https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2020/08/davie-shipyard-begins-halifax-class-frigate-mid-life-refit-program/
December 3, 2019 | Local, Aerospace, Other Defence
By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — As the U.S. Air Force looks increasingly toward virtual reality for speeding up and cutting the cost of pilot training, Canadian defense firm CAE is stepping forward with own courseware and virtual reality system with the hopes of attracting interest from the U.S. and international militaries. CAE will debut its CAE TRAX Academy curriculum and Sprint Virtual Reality trainer this week at the Interservice/Industry, Training, Simulation and Education Conference. Throughout the show, the company plans to conduct T-6 flight demonstrations using both products. CAE was inspired by the U.S. Air Force's Pilot Training Next program, which uses virtual reality and other cutting-edge simulation technologies to immerse new pilots in flight training, allowing airment to move more quickly and effectively through training. But CAE is hoping to build on the principles of Pilot Training Next and package it to be purchased by the U.S. Air Force and international militaries, said Phillipe Perey, the head of technology for CAE's defense business. “With Pilot Training Next, everyone is looking with big eyes saying, ‘Wow, oh wow,' but [some generals] are sort of like, ‘Would you really embrace this and do that for your entire air force?'” he said. “So perhaps this is a way of taking the great mission of Pilot Training Next and bringing into that environment with many of the key capabilities that customers have been used to, [such as] true aircraft simulation and many other aspects like a force-feedback stick.” All of the Sprint virtual reality trainer's hardware — including the Varjo VR-2 headset — are commercial off-the-shelf products and can be modified or swapped with a different device to meet the customer's needs. The real value, Perey said, is the software and courseware of TRAXX Academy, in which students progress from mobile apps and VR trainers to a higher fidelity flight simulator. “I think it really drives efficiencies at two levels. One, it reduces costs because the students in there are able to progress at their own pace. Them being alpha personalities; they don't want to be average. They want to be top of class, and they will see how other students are performing and they will be able to pick up their pace,” he said, adding that a six month class could take four months or less to complete if students are driven to complete the coursework. Secondly, the use of self-paced tools and virtual instructors decreases the need for human instructors that could be filling other needed functions within an air force, Perey said. In developing the Sprint VR trainer, CAE started with same kit as used in the Pilot Training Next program, and tweaked it to create “a better self-paced learning environment," he said. CAE made a number of adjustments: Using the same software on the virtual reality trainer as the full flight simulator, substituting a joystick that better simulates G forces, and adding haptics so that pilots can feel vibration or other sensory feedback that they would normally expect while operating the aircraft. Perey said CAE is looking forward to briefing the U.S. Air Force on TRAXX Academy and the Sprint VR trainer during I/ITSEC and getting officials' feedback. “That's really the priority now in the next coming months, is to build out these devices, get them in the customer's hands, get their feedback and develop a solution that is tailored to their particular training needs,” he said. https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/itsec/2019/12/02/cae-launches-new-virtual-reality-trainer