November 29, 2021 | Local, Aerospace
Renouvellement des CF-18Â : Boeing serait hors course
Boeing ne respecterait pas les exigences d'Ottawa pour ses nouveaux avions de chasse.
November 21, 2019 | Local, Naval
Why the Australians are better at buying new warships than Canadians: report
Andrea Gunn (agunn@herald.ca)
OTTAWA, Ont. —
Canada could have a thing or two to learn from the Australians when it comes to buying warships, a new report claims.
Ian Mack, a retired rear admiral and director-general in the Department of National Defence, released a paper via the Canadian Global Affairs Institute on Friday shedding light on what he believes are some key mistakes in the way Ottawa has handled the $60-billion procurement of a new fleet of frigates.
Mack has a unique perspective. He served in his DND role from 2007 to 2017 and was responsible for the conception, shaping and support of the launch and implementation of the National Shipbuilding Strategy, including the initial stages of the Canadian surface combatant competition. In 2017 Mack was selected by the Australian government to join an international expert advisory panel for their Future Frigate Program as it moved into its competitive evaluation process.
In the paper, Mack points out the similarities between the two countries: they embarked on the procurement process at about the same time, they both sought to break the boom-and-bust cycle of shipbuilding, and ultimately they would both end up selecting BAE's Type 26 global combat ship as their preferred design.
But the differences, Mack says, are what have encumbered Canada's process, and why the Canadian government took three years longer to go from government approval to design selection than the Australians,
In the paper, Mack points to excessive red tape, inexperience among officials working on the project, and a general lack of drive to change the process to make it more efficient and cost-effective.
For example, the Australian government made the decision up front to restrict the competition to three shipbuilders and their warship designs, whereas Canada only required shipbuilders to qualify to compete, which over 10 of them did.
The initial request for proposals for the Canadian surface combatant also included hundreds of mandatory technical requirements characterized in great detail which proved problematic and led to an eventual overhaul of the process. In comparison, for Australia's future frigate, there were only a few mandatory requirements of any kind with further guidance provided to bidders via a question and response process.
Mack also pointed out that in Canada, the project management office was about the same size as in Australia but entirely drawn from the public service and the Canadian Armed Forces, with a significant number of team members having little or no applicable industry experience or knowledge, whereas in Australia, the office was populated by knowledgeable contractors.
The Canadian government, Mack concludes, has traditionally worn blinders when it comes to executing complex procurement projects.
“It takes a serious investment of effort to study what others are doing,” he writes.
“One useful place to start is by comprehensively exploring other nations' approaches to identify gems we might adopt and trial before we need to buy warships again.”
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September 12, 2019 | Local, Land
Canadian government quietly signs $2 billion defence contract with General Dynamics
By DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN A $2 billion dollar contract for new armoured vehicles was quietly signed with General Dynamics Land Systems earlier this month. The Liberal government originally announced Aug. 18 that negotiations were underway for the sole source deal to purchase 360 combat support Light Armoured Vehicles from General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada in London, ON. A notice on the federal government's procurement website noted that Public Services and Procurement Canada, on behalf of National Defence, awarded the contract to General Dynamics valued at $2 billion on Sept. 5. That cost includes initial spare parts, technical manuals and training. Public Services and Procurement Canada did not issue a news release about the major award. The department did not respond to a request for comment. The overall project is estimated to cost $3 billion but that includes in-service support, construction of new facilities and other support to the program. The combat support Light Armoured Vehicles was originally announced by the Liberal government with an estimated cost between $500 million and $1.5 billion. The plan was to award the contract in 2023 after a competition between defence firms. But with the federal election looming the deal was fast-tracked by the Liberals, joining a series of recent defence-related funding announcements. A competition was jettisoned, replaced with a sole-source deal with General Dynamics. The deal includes a $650 million repayable loan to General Dynamics. Details have not been released. General Dynamics will provide the new vehicles in eight variants. They will be used as ambulances and in other roles such as vehicle recovery, engineering, mobile repair, electronic warfare and as command posts. The current fleet of armoured support vehicles is comprised of the LAV II Bison and the M113 tracked vehicle. The DND stated the contract was sole-sourced to General Dynamics as the firm builds most other armoured vehicles for the Canadian Forces and having a vehicle based on the same chassis allows for savings in maintenance and training. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/canadian-government-quietly-signs-2-billion-defence-contract-with-general-dynamics
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November 10, 2021 | Local, C4ISR, Security
IDEaS announces more opportunities with the launch of its 3rd Innovation Networks call for proposals \\ Le programme IDEeS annonce plus d’opportunités avec le lancement de son 3e appel à propositions pour les résea
New Innovation Networks call: Faster, Stronger, More Secure: Advancing 5G capabilities and concepts for Defence and Security In response to the rapid development and deployment of commercial 5G technologies, the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces (DND/CAF) are seeking to stimulate the application of advances in technologies for 5G and beyond to defence and security problems. IDEaS' newest Innovation Networks challenge Faster, Stronger, More Secure: Advancing 5G capabilities and concepts for Defence and Security aims to develop research clusters (called Micro-nets) to leverage existing work on commercial applications to address DND/CAF needs with applications for: Architectures for Defence and Security Operations; Assured Performance and Security; Applications and Sensors. Since 2018, IDEaS funded 12 micro-networks through the 1st and 2nd Call for Proposals (Advanced Material and Autonomous Systems), investing more than $18 million in research and development under this element alone. Funding is through a non-repayable contribution, with up to $1.5 million available per Micro-net over a three year research period. The deadline to submit a letter of intent to the 5G micro-network is December 7, 2021. To learn more about the application process, visit our website. Webinar on Aerospace & Space Opportunities in Australia for Canadian innovators The Ontario Aerospace Council is hosting a complimentary information session on Aerospace & Space which will detail opportunities available to Canadian innovators in Australia's aerospace and space sectors. The webinar is scheduled for November 15, 2021 from 2:00pm – 3:00pm EST. To learn more and to register, please visit: https://theoac.ca/event/AerospaceInAustralia2021 The IDEaS Team Plus rapide, plus fort, plus sécurisé : avancer les capacités et les concepts 5G pour la défense et la sécurité En réponse au développement et au déploiement rapides des technologies 5G commerciales, le ministère de la Défense nationale et les Forces armées canadiennes (MDN/FAC) cherchent à stimuler l'application des avancées technologiques pour la 5G et au-delà aux problèmes de défense et de sécurité. Le plus récent défi des réseaux d'innovation Plus rapide, plus fort, plus sécurisé : avancer les capacités et les concepts 5G pour la défense et la sécurité vise à développer des groupes de recherche (appelées micro-réseaux) pour tirer parti des travaux existants sur les applications commerciales afin de répondre aux besoins du MDN/des FAC avec des applications pour : • Architectures pour les opérations de défense et de sécurité ; • Performance et sécurité assurées ; • Applications et capteurs. Depuis 2018, IDEeS a financé 12 micro-réseaux via les 1er et 2e appels de propositions (matériaux de pointe et systèmes autonomes), investissant plus de 18 millions de dollars en recherche et développement sur ce seul élément. Le financement est assuré par une contribution non remboursable, avec jusqu'à 1,5 million de dollars disponibles par micro-réseau sur une période de recherche de trois ans. La date limite pour soumettre la lettre d'intention au défi d'innovation des micro-réseaux 5G est le 7 décembre 2021. Pour en savoir plus sur le processus de candidature, visitez notre site Web. Webinaire sur les opportunités aérospatiales et spatiales en Australie pour les innovateurs canadiens Le Conseil de l'aérospatiale de l'Ontario organise une séance d'information gratuite sur l'aérospatiale et l'espace qui détaillera les possibilités offertes aux innovateurs canadiens dans les secteurs de l'aérospatiale et de l'espace en Australie. Le webinaire est prévu pour le 15 novembre 2021 de 14 h 00 à 15 h 00 HNE. Pour en savoir plus et pour vous inscrire, veuillez visiter : https://theoac.ca/event/AerospaceInAustralia2021. L'équipe IDEeS