June 2, 2022 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
May 7, 2019 | Local, Aerospace
U.S. threatens to pull F-35 from jet competition over industrial requirements
By Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press
OTTAWA — U.S. officials have threatened to pull the F-35 out of the competition to replace the Royal Canadian Air Force's aging CF-18 fighters over the Liberal government's plan to ask bidders to re-invest some of the giant purchase contract in Canadian industry.
The warnings are in two letters sent to the government last year and obtained by defence analyst Richard Shimooka. They were released in a report published Monday by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute think-tank.
They say the requirement is incompatible with Canada's obligations as a member of the group of countries working together to develop the F-35 stealth fighter in the first place.
While the re-investment requirement is standard for most Canadian military procurements, the U.S. officials note Canada agreed not to include it when it signed on as one of nine F-35 partner countries in 2006.
Companies in those countries must instead compete for work associated with the plane — only companies from those countries are eligible, but they're supposed to compete on equal footing. The U.S. officials say conditions on bidders that would privilege Canadian companies will mean the F-35 won't be entered in the race.
The F-35, which is built by Lockheed Martin, had been expected to go up against the Eurofighter Typhoon, Saab Gripen and Boeing Super Hornet for an 88-plane procurement worth about $19 billion. French company Dassault pulled its Rafale from contention late last year.
"In summary, we cannot participate in an offer of the F-35 weapon system where requirements do not align with the F-35 partnership," U.S. Vice-Admiral Mathias Winter, program executive officer for the Pentagon's F-35 office, wrote on Dec. 18. "Such an offer would violate (the F-35 agreement) and place the entire F-35 partnership at risk."
In his letter to Paula Folkes-Dallaire, senior director of the fighter-jet program at Public Services and Procurement Canada, Winter asked for clarity by Jan. 31 as to the government's decision on the re-investment requirements.
Winter's letter followed a similar one from Ellen Lord, the Pentagon's head of military procurement, on Aug. 31, 2018.
In a statement, Public Procurement Minister Carla Qualtrough's spokeswoman said the government has engaged in several rounds of discussions and exchanges with potential bidders, which included providing them with opportunities "to ask questions, raise concerns and provide suggestions.
"Our government has been hard working to address as much of the supplier feedback as possible to ensure a level playing field and a fair and open competition with as many eligible suppliers as possible," added Ashley Michnowski.
"This stage of the process is not yet complete, though is nearing its conclusion and a final (request for proposals) will be issued soon."
The Pentagon's F-35 office did not return requests for comment.
Stephen Harper's Conservatives first announced plans to buy 65 F-35s without a competition in 2010, but backed off that plan over questions about cost and concerns over the Defence Department's tactics in getting government approval for the deal.
During the 2015 federal election campaign, Justin Trudeau's Liberals promised they would immediately launch an open and fair competition to replace the CF-18s, but not buy the F-35.
The Trudeau government has since said the F-35 will be allowed to compete while officials had been expecting to finally launch that competition in the coming weeks.
That the re-investment requirement remains unresolved is both surprising and unsurprising given defence experts have long warned it would be a significant obstacle to running a fair and open competition that includes the F-35.
Canada, which has already contributed roughly $500 million over the past 20 years toward developing the F-35, could in theory quit as a partner country, but would have to pay more for the stealth fighters if the F-35 won the competition.
Canada could also be on the hook for hundreds of millions more in development fees despite quitting the program, while Canadian companies would not be allowed to compete for work related to the aircraft.
In a recent interview, the Department of National Defence's head of military procurement, Patrick Finn, said the government is trying to strike the right balance between military and economic priorities when it comes to the fighter-jet competition.
"The feedback we're seeing from some suppliers some are quite content, some would like to see some more flexibility in other areas," he said.
"So it's making all of that work, respecting (companies') strengths, keeping everybody in the competition and doing it in a way that brings the right capability to the air force for decades to come."
—Follow @leeberthiaume on Twitter
Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press
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April 19, 2023 | Local, Other Defence
Trudeau told NATO that Canada will never meet spending goal, Discord leak shows
The secret Pentagon assessment, posted to the messaging app Discord, says the country's ?widespread? military shortfalls are harming ties with its NATO and NORAD allies.
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April 16, 2020 | Local, Aerospace, Security
Longview delivers first production Viking CL-415EAF “Enhanced Aerial Firefighter”
Longview Aviation Services (LAS) of Calgary, Alta., in co-operation with Viking Air Limited of Victoria, B.C., announced the first Viking CL-415EAF “Enhanced Aerial Firefighter” has been delivered to launch customer Bridger Aerospace Group of Bozeman, Mont., U.S.A. Bridger Aerospace became the launch customer for the Viking CL-415EAF “Enhanced Aerial Firefighter” program after signing a multiple aircraft purchase agreement in May of 2018. The contract with all options exercised is valued at $204 million and covers the sale of six CL-415EAF amphibious aerial firefighting aircraft. Manufacturer's serial number (MSN) 1081, the first Canadair CL-215 to undergo the major modification to the EAF “Enhanced Aerial Firefighter” configuration, took its inaugural flight on March 9, 2020 outside of program-collaborator Cascade Aerospace's facility in Abbotsford, B.C. After application of Bridger's livery at International Aerospace Coatings' facility in Spokane, Wash., MSN 1081 flew over the central Rocky Mountain range to Bozeman, Mont., for delivery to Bridger Aerospace in advance of the 2020 North American wildfire season. Tim Sheehy, founder and CEO of Bridger Aerospace Group, stated, “Aggressive initial attack and advanced technology in support of the wildland firefighter are the core of Bridger's ethos. The Viking CL-415EAF is the most capable initial attack asset on the planet and we are proud to be the launch customer for this incredible capability.” Robert Mauracher, executive vice-president of Sales and Marketing for Viking, commented, “We are very excited and proud to be delivering our first Viking CL-415EAF Enhanced Aerial Firefighter to Bridger Aerospace in time for the 2020 North American wildfire season. The delivery of our first Enhanced Aerial Firefighter is the culmination of a multi-faceted collaborative project originally launched in 2018 and represents the solid partnership that has developed between Viking, LAS, and Bridger over the past 24 months. We are now looking forward to adding a second aircraft to their fleet in the coming months.” The CL-415EAF “Enhanced Aerial Firefighter” modification program, announced in 2018 as a collaboration between the two subsidiaries of Longview Aviation Capital, provides an economic boost throughout Western Canada derived from job creation, aerospace manufacturing innovation, supply chain development, academic partnerships, and global export opportunities. The Viking CL-415EAF modification program forms part of a staged approach to utilize the advancements made with the LAS converted aircraft as the basis for the proposed next-generation Viking CL-515 new-production aerial firefighting and multi-purpose amphibious aircraft. The Viking CL-415EAF “Enhanced Aerial Firefighter” is a specially selected CL-215 airframe converted to turbine configuration using Viking-supplied conversion kits. It features a new Collins Pro Line Fusion integrated digital avionics suite, Pratt & Whitney PW123AF turbine engines, increased fire-retardant capacity, and improvements to numerous aircraft systems. The Viking CL-415EAF represents the evolution of the type, providing best-in-class water drop performance utilizing the higher delivery two-door water drop system combined with a zero-timed maintenance program and a “new aircraft” factory-supported warranty program. All obsolete components impacting the worldwide fleet of CL-215 & CL-415 aircraft are replaced in the CL- 415EAF, and the upgraded aircraft is designed to failsafe FAR 25 certification criteria with no preset life limit. The very short scooping distance of the CL-415EAF aircraft is expected to outperform competitors from initial attack to sustained major fire suppression, and the combination of safety and longevity represents exceptional value inherent in purpose-built aerial firefighting amphibious aircraft. The CL-415EAF aircraft is the only aerial firefighter with factory OEM support offered by Viking's Customer Service and Product Support division, including management of all Continuing Airworthiness, warranty items, in-service engineering, initial provisioning, as well as offering Viking's M+ all-inclusive maintenance support program. All improvements and obsolescence issues addressed in the CL-415EAF aircraft will become the new aircraft production standard in the manufacture of an all new, next generation CL-515 multi-purpose amphibious aircraft. https://www.skiesmag.com/press-releases/longview-delivers-first-production-viking-cl-415eaf-enhanced-aerial-firefighter