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  June 22, 2018 | Local, Aerospace

  Exclusive: Canada could make it harder for U.S. to win fighter bid - sources

  David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada is discussing changes to a multibillion-dollar fighter jet procurement process that could make it harder for a U.S. company to win the order as trade relations between the neighbors sour, two sources with direct knowledge of the discussions said. Canada is considering whether to penalize companies from countries that have caused it economic damage, the sources said on Wednesday. While a final decision is not expected before next year and the threat could be posturing, the move shows how the Trump administration's trade disputes are spilling over into other areas. A spokeswoman for federal Procurement Minister Carla Qualtrough - who has overall responsibility for major purchases of military equipment - declined to comment. Sources declined to be identified as the discussions are confidential. Boeing Co's (BA.N) F-18 Super Hornet and Lockheed Martin Corp's (LMT.N) F-35 fighter were among the favorites to capture the contract to supply 88 planes, worth between C$15 billion ($11.3 billion) and C$19 billion. Defense sources have long said the Canadian air force would prefer an American-built jet, citing the importance of operating easily with U.S. armed forces. But a change in procurement terms would give more of a chance to European suppliers: Airbus SE (AIR.PA), which makes the Eurofighter; Saab AB (SAABb.ST), which makes the Gripen; and Dassault Aviation (AVMD.PA), which makes the Rafale. Defense sources, however, say the European jets are likely to become obsolete by around 2040, at which point they could no longer incorporate the latest technologies. Canada has been trying unsuccessfully for almost a decade to buy replacements for its aging F-18 fighters, some of which are 40 years old. The former Conservative administration said in 2010 it would buy 65 F-35 jets but later scrapped the decision, triggering years of delays and reviews. Ottawa has already said bids will be evaluated in part by examining whether firms competing for the order have caused any past economic damage to Canada. Officials said at the time this was aimed at Boeing, which last year launched a trade challenge against Canadian planemaker Bombardier Inc (BBDb.TO). Government officials are now discussing whether Canada should also consider economic damage caused by governments, a clear reference to worsening relations with Washington, said the sources. “Politically it's hard to spend billions of dollars on contracts with a country that's hurting you,” said one of the sources, who asked to remain anonymous given the extreme sensitivity of the situation. However, the sources emphasized that the discussions are at an early stage and Ottawa could eventually decide to drop the proposed language. Canada - which is due to release the exact specifications for the jets next year - has not yet finished work on the clause referring to economic damage caused by a single firm. U.S. President Donald Trump last month slapped tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, prompting Canada to announce its own retaliatory measures. Trump has also threatened tariffs on Canadian autos, which could badly hurt the economy. Ottawa froze talks with Boeing about the fighter jet contest but after the company's trade challenge against Bombardier failed, Canadian officials made clear the firm would not be discriminated against if it chose to bid. https://ca.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idCAKBN1JH2IA-OCABS

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  April 8, 2020 | Local, Aerospace, C4ISR

  CAE answers the federal government’s call to procure ventilators

  The federal government has launched an accelerated procurement plan with several Canadian companies, including Montreal-based CAE, to procure up to 30,000 ventilators. “Canadian companies are answering the call to protect our health care professionals with made-in-Canada solutions,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a statement on Apr. 7. “This is exactly the kind of innovative, collaborative thinking we need to respond to this rapidly evolving pandemic.” CAE is best known in the aerospace sector for aircraft simulators and training services, helping train over 150,000 pilots per year worldwide. But for more than a decade, the company has also made a name as a healthcare training solutions provider for colleges, universities and hospitals and for medical equipment manufacturers. That includes patient simulators that respond to treatment, including intubation and ventilation. “We have the [medical] and engineering expertise in house – electrical, mechanical, software and human physiology,” said Erick Fortin, director of engineering at CAE Healthcare. A team of 12 engineers took up a challenge issued on Mar. 21 by the Montreal General Hospital Foundation and McGill University Health Centre to develop a simple and low-cost ventilator. Within 10 days, they had a working prototype built with parts from around the lab. “It worked quite well,” said Fortin. “It showed how you can put a team together with the right experts ... and what we can do.” For a company that on Apr. 6 announced the temporary laying off of 2,600 of its 10,500 employees and reduced work weeks for another 900, the opportunity “to do something” has been rewarding. “The whole company is mobilized,” he said. “We are really prepared to produce and we are productizing.” From that initial team of a dozen engineers, the project now has about 100 employees involved. And CAE expects to pull in more as they move to full production. CAE might not be the only company in the Montreal aerospace cluster seeking to solve the ventilator shortage. According to industry think tank Aero Montreal, Pratt & Whitney Canada is also exploring how to use its engineering and manufacturing capabilities to design and validate a ventilator concept that would likely “pull on local manufacturing,” including from Bombardier and AON3D. Fortin said CAE had received “hundreds and hundreds” of emails from companies interested in supplying components, from valves to flow sensors. Though all options are under consideration, including having several contingency plans at the ready, the priority would be to find Canadian suppliers who can deliver high volume. “Some parts are a bit more complex to source, like valves. We'll look at all offers, at all suppliers that can help,” he said. “We are confident that we have everything we need. We certainly have the expertise in house to do the production of thousands of ventilators.” CAE must still fine-tune the prototypes, but it intends to deliver about 10,000 units within three months once it starts production. A low-cost solution might have been part of the engineering team's initial objective, but Fortin admitted the final price might be higher than a typical commercial ventilator. “We try to build it as low as possible,” he said. “As you can imagine, as time is of the essence, cost will be a bit higher that what it could be with a bit more time.” CAE will also be leaning on its training expertise to ensure the final product comes with a complete operator training package. Since mid-March, in fact, the company has been offering online re-skilling courses for ventilators and has released a number of COVID-19 scenarios on its current products such as patient simulators. Fortin noted that more than 2,000 health professionals had participated in coronavirus-related webinars “After 25 years at CAE, I am always surprised at how nimble a big company like this can be, and how we can adjust to different situations,” he said. In its statement on Apr. 7, the government said that about 5,000 Canadian companies have offered expertise and capacity to develop and produce medical personal protective equipment, hand sanitizers and other protective gear. The government is also “working through over 22,000 submissions to Public Services and Procurement Canada from companies interested or able to sell to Canada. All efforts are being made to secure contracts and deliveries as quickly as possible.” “In mobilizing industry and creating partnerships, we are moving swiftly to build up a secure domestic supply of key personal protective equipment to protect Canada's frontline health workers as they fight this pandemic,” said Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. https://www.skiesmag.com/news/cae-federal-governments-call-procure-ventilators/

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  February 16, 2018 | Local, Naval

  MDA to provide unmanned aircraft systems to Royal Canadian Navy

  MDA, a Maxar Technologies company (formerly MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.), announced it has signed a contract valued at approximately $8 million with Canada's Department of National Defence (DND) to provide maritime miniature unmanned aircraft systems (MMUAS). The contract also includes services to support training, resource and equipment development activities and development and validation of naval tactics and new capability development. The MMUAS will play a critical role by extending the reach of the communication and sensor capability over contentious or hostile areas during maritime security operations. MDA's solution is based on the Puma AE (All Environment) unmanned aircraft built by Aerovironment. The Puma AE system will provide the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) with enhanced intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities. The Puma has the ability to carry additional payloads as required for specific missions. The MMUAS is the first UAS project that will see the RCN operate and maintain its own capability and provide a sustainable shipborne, near real-time, beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) ISR capability with an expected introduction to the fleet in the summer of 2018 onboard Kingston-class ships. Capable of both ground and water landings, Puma AE's innovative fuselage offers an operational flexibility never before available to the RCN. The Puma AE is operated from the same control station as the Raven UAS which has been provided by MDA to the Canadian Army since 2013. MDA's Canadian-based UAS services group has been providing UAS systems and services to Canada's DND since 2009. Mike Greenley, group president for MDA, said: “We are very proud to once again, expand our unmanned aircraft systems and services to support Canada's Department of National Defence needs. https://www.skiesmag.com/press-releases/mda-provide-unmanned-aircraft-systems-royal-canadian-navy/