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  December 18, 2018 | Local, Land

  Saudi arms deal: London area suppliers foresee job losses if cancelled

  NORMAN DE BONO If the contract to supply Saudi Arabia with London-built military vehicles were cancelled, the impact would also be deeply felt in the hundreds of suppliers that feed General Dynamics and its Oxford Street East factory. Armatec Survivabilty in Dorchester supplies most of the seats to the General Dynamics Land Systems Canada armoured vehicles going to the Middle East, and a “substantial number” of its workers would lose their jobs if it's cancelled, said Rod Flick, manager of business development at Armatec. “We're putting seats in those vehicles. It would have a big impact,” said Flick, adding it now employs just over 100. GDLS has said its suppliers nationwide — including 240 in the London region alone — employ 13,500 people directly or indirectly. “There are other ways Canada can exert pressure than to cancel this. The Saudis will just go and buy vehicles from somewhere else,” Flick said. Flick will be in Ottawa this week pressing Global Affairs Canada not to cancel the deal, he added. Flick has also met with several MPs and MPPs, making the case to defend the agreement. At Abuma Manufacturing on Admiral Drive in London, about half its business is tied to General Dynamics and cancelling the contract would be “a real blow” to its 26 employees, said president Ben Whitney, who is also head of its sister plant, Armo-Tool. Abuma makes parts for GDLS's light armoured vehicles. “I am extremely concerned., It would make things very difficult for us. It would put us in a difficult position,” said Whitney. “It would be a blow, a real blow.” Armo-Tool bought Abuma in May and would keep it afloat by sharing work, but without that partnership, Abuma would shut down if the Saudi deal is cancelled, he added. “When this deal was struck, it was because the Saudis were seen as a stable partner in that region. If we want to engage in that region, there is no perfect democracy there. We can engage and build relationships or we can cancel deals and be seen as not reliable,” said Whitney. “It is tough. Last week, we made a donation to the Salvation Army and now about half our people may need them. It is a tough situation.” CANADA'S SAUDI ARMS DEAL: A CHRONOLOGY February 2014: The federal government under the Stephen Harper-led Conservatives announce the deal to supply light armoured military vehicles to Saudi Arabia, with London defence giant General Dynamics Land Systems Canada building the vehicles for a federal crown corporation, the Canadian Commercial Corp., selling the equipment to the desert kingdom. October 2015: The Conservatives, under fire from human rights critics for selling arms to Saudi Arabia despite its human rights abuses, lose the general election to Justin Trudeau's Liberals. The Liberals green-light the deal, despite growing calls to rescind it in light of Saudi Arabian political and human rights abuses, including in neighbouring Yemen. 2016: Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion quietly approves export permits covering most of the deal, as criticism mounts of Canada doing arms business with Saudi Arabia. October 2018: Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post journalist, is killed at the Saudi consulate in Turkey. Suspicion instantly rises that the killing was ordered by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The killing increases heat on Ottawa over its Saudi arms deal. After first denying Khashoggi was killed, Saudi Arabia admits his slaying was “premeditated” and orders an investigation. Trudeau, facing new pressure to scuttle the Saudi deal in light of Khashoggi's murder, says it would cost $1 billion to scrap the deal. The Liberals say they're reviewing the export permits for the deal. December 2018: Trudeau says publicly for the first time that the Liberals are looking for a way out of the Saudi deal, prompting heightened worry and alarm in London. GDLS: BY THE NUMBERS 1,850: Employees in London 13,500: Jobs supported among its suppliers 500: Suppliers nationwide 240: Suppliers in London region https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/saudi-arms-deal-supplier-says-80-of-employees-jobs-at-risk-if-cancelled

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  December 26, 2019 | Local, Naval

  Canada's new frigates could take part in ballistic missile defence — if Ottawa says yes

  Murray Brewster Canada's new frigates are being designed with ballistic missile defence in mind, even though successive federal governments have avoided taking part in the U.S. program. When they slip into the water sometime in the mid- to late-2020s, the new warships probably won't have the direct capability to shoot down incoming intercontinental rockets. But the decisions made in their design allow them to be converted to that role, should the federal government ever change course. The warships are based upon the British Type 26 layout and are about to hit the drawing board. Their radar has been chosen and selected missile launchers have been configured to make them easy and cost-effective to upgrade. Vice-Admiral Art McDonald said the Lockheed Martin-built AN/SPY-7 radar system to be installed on the new frigates is cutting-edge. It's also being used on land now by the U.S. and Japan for detecting ballistic missiles. "It's a great piece, and that is what we were looking for in terms of specification," McDonald told CBC News in a year-end interview. Selecting the radar system for the new frigates was seen as one of the more important decisions facing naval planners because it has to stay operational and relevant for decades to come — even as new military threats and technologies emerge. McDonald said positive feedback from elsewhere in the defence industry convinced federal officials that they had made the right choice. "Even from those that weren't producing an advanced kind of radar, they said this is the capability you need," he said. The whole concept of ballistic missile defence (BMD) remains a politically touchy topic. BMD — "Star Wars," to its critics — lies at the centre of a policy debate the Liberal government has tried to avoid at all costs. In 2017, Canada chose not to join the BMD program. That reluctance to embrace BMD dates back to the political bruising Paul Martin's Liberal government suffered in 2004-05, when the administration of then-U.S. president George W. Bush leaned heavily on Ottawa to join the program. In the years since, both the House of Commons and Senate defence committees have recommended the federal government relent and sign on to BMD — mostly because of the emerging missile threat posed by rogue nations such as North Korea. Liberals reluctant to talk BMD The question of whether to join BMD is expected to form part of the deliberations surrounding the renewal of NORAD — an undertaking the Liberal government has acknowledged but not costed out as part of its 2017 defence policy. Missile defence continues to be a highly fraught concept within the federal government. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan made a point of downplaying a CBC News story last summer that revealed how the Canadian and U.S. militaries had laid down markers for what the new NORAD could look like, pending sign-off by both Washington and Ottawa. Asked about Sajjan's response, a former senior official in the minister's office said it raised the spectre of "Star Wars" — not a topic the Liberal government was anxious to discuss ahead of last fall's election. The current government may not want to talk about it, but the Canadian navy and other NATO countries are grappling with the technology. Practice makes perfect Last spring, a Canadian patrol frigate, operating with 12 other alliance warships, tracked and shot down a supersonic target meant to simulate a ballistic missile. A French frigate also scored a separate hit. For the last two years, NATO warships have practiced linking up electronically in defensive exercises to shoot down both mock ballistic and cruise missiles. A Canadian frigate in the 2017 iteration of the exercise destroyed a simulated cruise missile. At the recent Halifax Security Forum, there was a lot of talk about the proliferation of missile technology. One defence expert told the forum Canadian military planners have been paying attention to the issue for a long time. The frigate design is an important example. "I think what they've tried to do is keep the door open by some of the decisions they've made, recognizing that missile proliferation is a significant concern," said Dave Perry, of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. "They haven't shut the door on doing that and I think that is smart." Opponents of BMD, meanwhile, have long argued the fixation by the U.S. and NATO on ballistic missile defence is fuelling instability and giving Russia and China reasons to co-operate in air and missile defence. Speaking before a Commons committee in 2017, Peggy Mason, president of the foreign and defence policy think-tank Rideau Institute, said the United States's adversaries have concluded that building more offensive systems is cheaper than investing in defensive ones. "The American BMD system also acts as a catalyst to nuclear weapons modernization, as Russia and China seek not only increased numbers of nuclear weapons but also increased manoeuvrability," said Mason, Canada's ambassador for disarmament from 1989 to 1994, testifying on Sept. 14, 2017. She also warned that "there would be significant financial costs to Canadian participation" in the U.S. BMD program "given American demands" — even prior to Donald Trump's presidency — "that allies pay their 'fair share' of the collective defence burden." https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/frigate-ballistic-missile-defence-canada-1.5407226

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  November 3, 2020 | Local, Aerospace

  PWGSC Place Volatus Aerospace on Canada’s Standing Offer List for RPAS Services

  Volatus is the first RPAS provider added to Canada's National Standing Offer November 02, 2020 13:40 ET | Source: Volatus Aerospace Corp. Volatus is first to be added to Canada's National Standing Offer list of pre-approved drone services companies. MONTREAL, Nov. 02, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Public Works & Government Services Canada (PWGSC) began qualifying UAV services providers for publication to Canada's National Master Standing Offer (NMSO). Volatus Aerospace has been identified as the first UAV service provider to be put on the NMSO. The period for making call-ups against the NMSO is from its date of issuance to March 31, 2025. Through this process, Canada is seeking to increase its use of civilian, registered RPAS operators with the intent to harness commercially available drone technology for the next five years. Volatus Aerospace operates with a network of over one hundred Company trained pilots from coast-to-coast-to-coast and has been identified to provide services in all regions of the country. Company capabilities have qualified Volatus to be called upon for all five streams of service identified in the NMSO – Media, Agriculture, Forestry and Fire Fighting, Infrastructure and Real Property, and Security and Emergency Response. Commenting on being added to the list, Rob Walker, Vice President of Business Development for Volatus said, “The process by PWGSC is very welcomed by the industry, it's a massive undertaking to vet so many potential service providers. We are very proud to be first out of the gate.” About Volatus Aerospace: Volatus Aerospace is a vertically integrated drone services company dedicated to driving the full potential of unmanned technologies throughout industries in the Americas. Activities include UAV design manufacturing, distribution, sales, service, and training. In addition to its own long-range, high endurance drones, Volatus has joined forces with DJI, the world-leading drone company, in a strategic channel partner agreement encompassing enterprise equipment sales, support, and training. SOURCE Volatus Aerospace Corp. For more information: Rob Walker, Vice President, Business Development, Volatus Aerospace Corp. Phone: (514) 447-7986 Email: rob.walker@volatusaerospace.com www.volatusaerospace.com https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/11/02/2118741/0/en/PWGSC-Place-Volatus-Aerospace-on-Canada-s-Standing-Offer-List-for-RPAS-Services.html