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On the opening day of CANSEC 2017, Canada's largest defence and security tradeshow, standing before a collage of innovative technologies that had shaped the sector over the past century, Navdeep Bains, minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, applauded Lockheed Martin for completing its $1.4 billion industrial and technological benefit (ITB) commitments for the CC-130J Hercules. “To remain competitive, Canada must be committed to innovation,” said Bains as he described Lockheed's final investments in four small companies developing novel applications in artificial intelligence (AI), sensing equipment, multi-functional materials for solar panels and wireless power transfer. “That means continuously finding new ways of doing things better.” Unexpected as the public acknowledgement was, the words rang true for Charles Bouchard. Looking for better ways of doing business is almost a mantra for the chief executive of Lockheed Martin Canada. But perhaps not in places you might expect. “Innovation–that is the future of this company,” he told Skies in a recent interview. Lockheed Martin is best known as a defence company, the largest weapons contractor in the United States, with military-related revenues of around US$50 billion. And Bouchard makes no bones about that. But when he describes Lockheed's future areas of innovation, it's in space and deep-sea exploration; in energy management and conservation, perhaps in Canada's northern communities; in quantum computing, cybersecurity, AI, robotics and other ground-breaking technologies like automation, directed energy and synthetic biology. “This is what excites me about this company. This is what the future looks like and we in Lockheed Martin get to see it,” said the retired Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) lieutenant-general, who, over the course of a 37-year career, held senior positions in NORAD and NATO. “For us it's always, what's the next bound?” That corporate thinking has shaped Lockheed's approach to the companies in which it chooses to invest. ITBs, making investments in Canadian companies and academic research equal to the value of a major defence contract, might be an obligation, a crucial box to be checked in any proposal–and the more regional representation, the better. But, they also present an opportunity to explore the cutting edge of technology, capture new ideas and capabilities, and secure long-term partnerships. All of which can be game-changing. “A successful ITB is when we have met our commitment, and, even better, when we can do that on time or ahead of time like we did with CC-130J,” explained Bouchard. “But it's also when we leave [a company] bigger and better than when we came in. If you look at our investments in quantum computing–D-Wave Systems and QRA–we not only met our commitments, we left them stronger. This is not a transactional deal, it's a transformational deal.” Gabe Batstone understands the value of that deal well. A former CEO of NGrain, an early supplier to Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, he said establishing a relationship with the defence and security giant was one of his first priorities after co-founding Ottawa-based Contextere. “It is a significant benefit to a small company,” he said of Lockheed's $1.1 million investment in his AI software. “The money is certainly part of it. But as much as anything, it's being able to say that Lockheed Martin has invested and will be a user of your technology. That's significant when you go to talk to other large manufacturers, whether in aerospace or other sectors. “And the association with a company that is transformational, that's also big,” he added. “It gives you credibility that would be very hard to attain in other ways.” As part of an ITB investment for the CC-130J, Contextere is developing an AI-powered solution to deliver real-time notification to Lockheed maintenance workers on their phones. The technology is premised on the fact that, “close to 25 per cent of the time when people go to put warm hands on cold steel, they are unable to finish the procedure,” said Batstone. “Sometimes there's an error, sometimes they don't have the right tool. Other times the problem they originally identified isn't the one they have now come to encounter. There's some natural inefficiency as it relates to the maintenance of complex assets.” In addition to increasing worker productivity, reducing errors and improving safety, the software offers a way to capture the knowledge and skills of an aging workforce and utilize wearable technology like Microsoft HoloLens or Samsung GearHub to share those insights with a new generation. “We've got this huge blue collar workforce, not just in aerospace but in everything from elevator mechanics to power and utility workers, and they are retiring with all this tribal and enterprise knowledge,” said Batstone. “How do we capture that and disseminate it to Millennials, who learn and operate in a completely different way? Lockheed obviously has a huge skilled workforce and they are not immune from the realities of demographics.” The initial investment is intended for Lockheed's workforce, but the capability could be extended to third-party service providers like Cascade Aerospace of Abbotsford, B.C., one of only two approved C-130 Hercules service and heavy maintenance centres, or frontline military maintainers. “It will go down in the history of Contextere as one of the early highlights and seminal moments in our growth,” said Batstone about Lockheed's ITB investment. SEEING STABILITY The value of the Lockheed brand can't be understated, said Jim Andrews, general manager of Lockheed Martin Commercial Engine Solutions (LMCES). Andrews was part of Air Canada Technical Services in Montreal, the forerunner to Aveos Fleet Performance, whose assets and tools were acquired by Lockheed Martin Canada in 2013. From a start of just seven employees when the engine maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility re-opened in September 2013, LMCES Montreal has grown to over 250 people and doubled revenue year over year. It has a mandate to reach around 500 employees. “The previous facility had a very good name around the world for quality and service,” said Andrews, “and we've hired back many of the same people, but the name Lockheed Martin does bring comfort to the airlines that we deal with. Everyone thinks military, but even the commercial airlines see stability; they see financial strength.” LMCES provides MRO services to international air forces and recently closed a deal with the U.S. Air Force for work on the KC-10 aerial refuelling tanker. But in the past 18 months, the company has signed exclusive agreements with Frontier Airlines and Air Wisconsin for work on CFM56-5 and CFM34-3 engines, respectively, adding to a customer base that includes major North American and European airlines. Andrews said LMCES deliberately rebranded itself as a commercial entity to attract a global market and assure prospective customers the facility had a commercial focus. The brand has helped attract talent in Montreal's large aerospace cluster, where engine manufacturers like Pratt & Whitney Canada and GE Aviation are also seeking young technicians and engineers from the region's numerous colleges, universities and business schools. “We're still in our infancy...[but] the world is open to us,” said Andrews. “We have the Lockheed name, the Montreal location, an extremely skilled workforce and a very good reputation for doing what is right, committing to our customers and executing on what we say.” CDL's John Molberg would agree about the value of the Lockheed name. In 2012, Lockheed acquired CDL Systems, a Calgary-based firm of 60 employees founded in 1992 from technology developed by Defence Research and Development Canada-Suffield. Its software for unmanned aerial systems ground control stations was already well established–it had amassed over 1.5 million flight hours on more than 30 different platforms, and had as its primary customer the U.S. Army with the MQ-1C Gray Eagle, RQ-7 Shadow, and RQ-5 Hunter, among others. Now, as part of Lockheed's Rotary and Mission Systems business, CDL Systems is seeing opportunities beyond the military, said Molberg, its business development manager. The company recently released Hydra Fusion Tools, a suite of tools that allows users to fuse and create a 3D world from captured terrain data. More impressive, the software can generate real-time, precise 3D models from multiple 2D images through what is known as simultaneous localization and mapping. “Right now, as far as I'm aware, no one else has the capability to do a live 3D model,” said Molberg. While military and police are logical customers for a tactical terrain picture that can be manipulated and measured and provide change analysis in real time, “You'd be surprised how many businesses are interested in this–pipelines, building roads, pouring concrete. It's a new way of looking at the terrain [and] making the most of big data.” OFFERING SOLUTIONS The acquisition of Sikorsky Aircraft in November 2015 also provides Lockheed with another entry into the civil side of Canadian aviation. Sikorsky, of course, has had a firm footprint in Canada for years with corporate clients and offshore providers like Cougar Helicopters and HNZ. Chief executive Bouchard said the immediate priority remains on the military side with the introduction of the CH-148 Cyclone into service with the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). It may then shift to an eventual replacement for the CH-146 Griffon–Lockheed believes the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk might fit the likely requirements. But there is no question “Canada is helicopter country,” said Bouchard, and Lockheed will be looking beyond the oil and gas sector that tends to drive helicopter sales to other areas in natural resources management, support to Arctic operations, medevac, and augmenting search and rescue capability. “We are looking not only at the more conventional helicopters, but also at the use of unmanned helicopters, whether it's pipeline monitoring, fighting forest fires or resupply,” he said, noting the partnership with Kaman Aerospace that has transformed the K-Max helicopter into an unmanned platform capable of autonomous or remote-controlled operations. “Anything that is boring, dangerous or repetitive can be done without a pilot on board.” He added, “Take it one step bigger and we are talking about airships.” Lockheed is expecting to launch its first commercial airship next year with Quest Rare Minerals, which plans to eventually operate a fleet of seven helium-filled aircraft from its Strange Lake rare earth mining facility along the Quebec-Labrador border. “I'm not limited by what we have today,” said Bouchard. “I can envision what we'll have tomorrow. I don't approach [problems] with the idea that, this is what we make, therefore this is where I want to go. It's more, what are the challenges of the customer and how can we be the solution? That's why we are always looking for new ideas.” SERVICE AND SUPPORT Among those new ideas is a change in approach to in-service support (ISS). One of the ongoing challenges for military aircraft is keeping pace with technology. In 2016, Cascade Aerospace, an operating unit of IMP Aerospace & Defence, completed a block upgrade on the RCAF's 17 CC-130J Hercules aircraft, a fleet acquired in 2007 and introduced into service beginning in 2010. Though the transport aircraft were barely five years old, changes across the global fleet and new Canadian requirements necessitated a sizeable upgrade package. Previously, with legacy CC-130 fleets, the RCAF would have likely managed an incremental program. With the J-model, however, Lockheed Martin has retained all intellectual property and data. Together with its global customers and suppliers, it develops and tests each upgrade package before providing maintenance centres like Cascade with a single kit for each aircraft. In this case, the upgrade from Block 6.0 to 7.0 involved three large modifications: a multinational block involving changes developed and available to all C-130J operators; a U.S. Air Force developed block; and a series of design requirements unique to Canada. To confirm new systems could be installed and integrated, the first RCAF aircraft was modified and tested by Lockheed Martin in Marietta, Ga., before complete kits for the remaining 16 were sent to Cascade. “That is how most of our fleets will continue to be postured,” LGen Mike Hood, RCAF commander, said of the new ISS approach. “We will continue to upgrade them in blocks along with our allies that are flying those aircraft. It is certainly a change in our operating concept since I started flying in the late '80s.” For Cascade, the block approach was a significant change from how it had long maintained legacy CC-130 fleets. But it represents “an easier way of conducting several modifications together,” Pierre Carignan, Cascade's director of C-130 programs, said at the time. “It is more efficient because you only open up things in the airplane once. ...[H]istorically, Canada would perhaps ask the contractor to do a few modifications together, but not necessarily this many all at once.” That early success has encouraged Lockheed to consider a similar approach to the long-term maintenance for the CH-148 Cyclone. The company maintains a dedicated CC-130J team in Ottawa to respond to Canadian ISS needs, but the office remains connected to the global program. “I think it is a good balance between keeping our own proprietary information protected while at the same time providing the customer with service and teaming up with Canadian companies to make sure we share information,” said Bouchard, acknowledging that access to intellectual property can be a sticky and even contentious issue for ISS. “I've never worried about Canada receiving the information it requires to protect its sovereignty.” Whether that approach is extended to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is, of course, contingent on the next-generation jet being selected to replace Canada's CF-188 Hornets. But already the F-35 is prompting a new model for engaging with Canadian industry. Rather than ITBs, the JSF program is constructed around “best value,” a process by which companies from participating nations compete and are selected to provide components not just for their country's aircraft, but for the entire F-35 fleet, which could exceed 3,500 airplanes. But the ITB principle of helping small- and medium-sized companies reach global markets remains the same. Because of the exacting manufacturing techniques and requirements for the F-35, Lockheed and its partners, BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman, put a premium on finding innovative companies “that could learn.” One example often cited is Ottawa-based Gastops, a recipient of CC-130J ITB-related investments that also supports the F-35, based in part on its earlier relationship with the F-22 Raptor. Building components for the F-35 says a lot about your capabilities elsewhere, suggested Bouchard. “If you get the Lockheed seal of approval, that tells future customers that you have advanced manufacturing capability,” he said, pointing to companies like Mississauga-based Magellan Aerospace that provides the horizontal tail assemblies. “If you can meet F-35 standards, you can meet automotive or even satellite requirements.” With or without the F-35, the Lockheed Martin footprint in Canada is large and growing. Whether in military, or, increasingly, in commercial aerospace, the company has found innovative ways to do business differently. And it is drawing on a lot of Canadian ingenuity to achieve it. https://www.skiesmag.com/features/emphasizing-innovation/

Posted on November 23, 2017 by Chris Thatcher When the federal government delivered its 2017 budget last spring, innovation was mentioned 262 times and served as the focal point for numerous new initiatives. The centrepiece was the Innovation and Skills Plan, a series of proposals that included additional venture capital funding, new support for innovation in key growth areas and superclusters, and Innovation Canada, an initiative to bring siloed projects and funding programs for innovators under one roof. More recently, the government in its 2017 defence policy introduced IDEaS (Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security), a program currently seeking Treasury Board approval that will invest $1.6 billion over the next 20 years to generate solutions to complex challenges across the Canadian Armed Forces. It will also speed up the development of new technologies through contests, sandbox trials, research networks and other programs. The devil is always in the details of such initiatives, and all are in the early stages. Still, they have been widely welcomed by the aerospace sector. However, innovation is not for the inexperienced, four seasoned small business executives cautioned during the annual Canadian Aerospace Summit on Nov. 7. While government programs often appear to be tailored to recent graduates with youthful enthusiasm, true innovation doesn't succeed without business acumen. “It takes experience; it takes patience,” said Gabe Batstone, a self-described serial entrepreneur with over two decades in the tech sector, who recently launched Ottawa-based Contextere, an artificial intelligence firm focused on applications for blue collar workers that has secured funding from BMW, Lockheed Martin and Samsung. Aerospace and defence programs can take years to mature and regulations invariably play a big part in the introduction of any new technology, he said. “To bring emergent technology into complex organizations, it's about procurement [expertise], about sales, about relationships, about [understanding] regulations. The technology is the least difficult part.” In fact, tried and true business practices focused on customer relations are essential to entrepreneurial success. “I was never worried about the technology,” said John Mannarino, president of Montreal-based Mannarino Systems and Software, a company that has grown from a one-man consultancy to over 60 employees specializing in engineering services and airborne software. Rather, innovation has come from listening to customers and suppliers, and that takes time. “I had to learn.” In an address to the Summit, hosted by the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada, Michael Anderson, president of Saab North America, observed that innovation does not happen without an element of risk. “The organization that has the best ability to effectively mitigate risk while providing an environment that promotes risk-taking will eventually be a successful innovator and, of course, a successful business.” But there is a point at which small companies cannot take on more risk, said Dave Muir, president and CEO of Ottawa-based Gastops, a health monitoring firm that has developed sensor and analysis tools for complex aircraft and engines. “The larger companies are pushing risk way more down into the supply chain than they were. As a small fish there is only so far out from the shore you can swim before bad things happen.” The pace of change is also creating challenges for small business, and it's not limited to technology. Development cycles, production schedules, and time to market have all been compressed in recent years. For Patrick Thera, president of SED, a division of Calian that has been developing commercial satellite and ground systems solutions for over 50 years, that means being shrewd about where and with whom to invest. “Key collaborations are very important,” he said, noting that “coopetition” has sometimes made for unexpected partners. “One day you're competing against a fellow company and the next you're partnering with that company.” Gastops, too, has invested far more than previously in establishing collaborative networks to further its innovation. “I strongly believe, especially for a small company, that you cannot do innovation in the aerospace industry by yourself alone in the back room,” said Muir. Adapting to the pace of change can be especially difficult if you don't have the necessary specialized skills in your company. All four executives acknowledged the challenge of finding top software and engineering talent when much larger companies in every sector are pursuing the same people. But they also argued that as products become more sophisticated, expertise in procurement, project management, intellectual property and marketing is critical to innovation and a company's growth. When you are competing against cool start-ups with world-changing visions, “you have to go a long way to show people that you do offer a lot of things that they can take pride in, that you save lives every day with the technologies you create,” said Thera. https://www.skiesmag.com/news/innovation-requires-experience-aiac-panel

Tampa, Florida, USA, November 20, 2017 - (NYSE: CAE; TSX: CAE) - CAE USA has been awarded subcontracts from Lockheed Martin to support the design, development and manufacture of six C-130J weapon systems trainers (WSTs) for the United States Air Force and Air National Guard. The orders for these six C-130J WSTs were booked during CAE's second quarter of fiscal year 2018 and included in the quarterly earnings announcement done on November 10, 2017. "We are pleased to continue our long-standing partnership with Lockheed Martin on the design and development of training systems for the C-130J Super Hercules," said Ray Duquette, President and General Manager, CAE USA. "The high-fidelity capabilities of these C-130J weapon systems trainers allow the Air Force to increase the amount of synthetic training used throughout the overall training curriculum, which ultimately enhances safety, efficiency and mission readiness for the aircrews." The C-130J WSTs are full-motion, full-mission simulators that accurately simulate the aircraft and its various missions. The simulators recreate the sounds, motion, virtual environment and all other systems required to provide a high-fidelity, realistic flight training environment. These six C-130J WSTs will be delivered to various air bases during 2020 and 2021. http://www.cae.com/CAE-USA-awarded-subcontract-from-Lockheed-Martin-to-support-development-of-C-130J-weapon-systems-trainers/

FORT COLLINS, Colorado/VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Remote GeoSystems, North Shore Rescue and Talon Helicopters are pleased to announce the successful deployment of a geoDVR™ Gen2 with a FLIR daylight EO/IR gyro-stabilized video camera on an Airbus TwinStar (AS355) for Search and Rescue (SAR) missions. The geoDVR Gen2 is an advanced mil-spec DVR for recording multiple channels of HD & Standard-Definition geospatial full motion video in airborne and rugged vehicle environments. The geoDVR's ability to reliably record HD color and IR, along with continuous GPS data and Live Moving Maps, makes it ideally suited for professional airborne search & rescue, law enforcement and infrastructure inspection applications that utilize multi-sensor gimbal video cameras. “Remote Geo has a reputation for building one of the industry's most dependable and user-friendly airborne geospatial video recorders, complete with flexible post-flight mapping tools. So the geoDVR Gen2 was an obvious choice when we were asked to fly the FLIR on the TwinStar for mountain search and rescue,” says Peter Murray, Founder/Operations Manager at Talon Helicopters. North Shore Rescue and Talon Helicopters team operate the geoDVR and FLIR during ground training in October 2017 “Adding the FLIR camera to North Shore Rescue's toolbox has been a great enhancement to NSR's capabilities. Having the ability to record and geo-track the location of the video seemed essential to maximizing the full potential of the FLIR camera. The geoDVR allows searchers to review recorded video for clues that may or may not have been observed during the flight,” says Jim Loree, North Shore Rescue SAR Manager and Air Operations Coordinator. According to Loree, “This feature could also be highly valuable in a large-scale disaster such as an earthquake where widespread areas are surveyed for damage. Emergency Operation Centers would be able to use the data to help them make decisions on where and how to deploy resources based on the exact location and extent of damages provided by the video recording.” North Shore Rescue and Talon Helicopters will use the geoDVR with a FLIR generously donated by Port of Vancouver to perform helicopter-based SAR operations with color and infrared. Then, using LineVision™ software post-flight, North Shore Rescue will review the geoDVR videos and flight tracks overlaid on Google Earth and Esri maps for training mission planning and recovery operations. Since North Shore Rescue is an all volunteer organization, Remote GeoSystems donated 18 LineVision Esri Maps and LineVision Google Earth licenses as part of the implementation. ### About North Shore Rescue North Shore Rescue (North Shore Search and Rescue) is a volunteer community-based Mountain Search and Rescue Team based in Vancouver, BC and performs approximately 130 rescue calls a year. The team consists of approximately 45 volunteers skilled in search and rescue operations in mountain, canyon and urban settings. The team has existed for 50 years, making it one of the oldest SAR teams in Canada. During this time the number of calls each year has gradually increased. Over the past 50 years the team has been involved in more than 2500 search and rescue operations volunteering over 200,000 hours of effort. These calls have involved over 2000 subjects, and approximately 25% of the calls have involved subject injuries or death. Learn more by visiting http://www.northshorerescue.com/ About Talon Helicopters Talon is Vancouver's number one supplier of helicopter services, and the region's largest supplier of intermediate helicopters. Talon is locally owned and operated, and provides exceptional customer service with 20 years of incident and accident free operations. Specialized mission services include search & rescue, broadcast and film, wildfire suppression and utility patrols/operations. Learn more by visiting http://www.taloncopters.com/ https://www.remotegeo.com/north-shore-rescue-talon-helicopters-geodvr-flir-sar/

Canada is waiting to hear back from Australia on its offer to purchase F-18s from that country. The Australian planes would be added to the RCAF's flight line to shore up the existing fleet of CF-18s. But if that deal does proceed the RCAF expects that structural work will have to be done to extend the lives of the planes. RCAF commander Lt.-Gen. Michael Hood suggested to Defense News and FlightGlobal that L-3 in Quebec would get any upgrade contract since that firm has done similar work for the airforce on its existing CF-18s. But Hood told Defense News at the Dubai airshow that even with that work to be done, the RCAF would be able to acquire the Australian aircraft “within the next couple of years” once a decision is made. http://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/australian-f-18s-being-considered-by-canada-to-need-overhaul-to-keep-flying?utm_source=skies-daily-news-news-from-the-web

From the Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force's Joint Unmanned Surveillance and Target Acquisition System (JUSTAS) project was established to procure an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) for the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). The project is currently in the options analysis phase. This fall, the project's name was changed to Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) project. This change is consistent with recent changes in the lexicon and classification systems of our allies, and is a more accurate reflection of how the systems are operated. As outlined in Strong, Secure, Engaged, released in June 2017, Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) have become integral to modern military operations. Remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) such as the RCAF's CU-170 Heron and other unmanned aircraft have been deployed on Canadian military operations in the past and offer several advantages including the ability to remain airborne significantly longer than current strategic surveillance platforms. The use of remotely piloted aircraft also reduces the risk to CAF personnel operating the aircraft from a distance and within a lower threat environment, and will also aid in identifying potential threats to CAF personnel in area of operations. Remotely piloted aircraft will be equipped with a variety of payloads and sensors to detect items of interest in all-weather operations including into Canada's Arctic, and will be able to assist in a range of missions from persistent surveillance to supporting search and rescue, to combat operations. The RPAS project anticipates that remotely piloted aircraft can in fact be employed in all eight core missions outlined in Strong, Secure, Engaged, both domestically and overseas. Directly, the RPAS project supports initiatives 91 and 92, which state the government will also “invest in a range of remotely piloted systems” and “conduct research and development of remotely piloted land, sea and aerial capabilities.” The RPAS project Although the name has changed, the RPAS project's aim remains to provide an integrated persistent long-range, intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance capability. The project will operate as part of a system-of-systems network and will be capable of providing near-real time information to tactical, operational and strategic commanders to support both domestic and deployed operations, and when required, provide a precision strike capability to support operations. The project will complement existing capabilities within the CAF, such as the CP-140 Aurora long range patrol aircraft. The RPAS project is not a platform replacement. Project phases The RPAS project is currently in the options analysis phase: Options analysis allows departmental senior management to make informed decision on the best way to implement a project, attempting to achieve the capability identified in a manner that is acceptable to the Government. During this phase, options are formulated, cost and benefits assessed, and a business case for the options developed. The definition phase of a project marks the transition from determining what should be done to deal with a lack of a capability, to determining how the preferred option will be implemented. A project is planned during this phase. Activities include carrying out a detailed review of the project requirements and risk assessment as well as costing and planning for the implementation phase and a preferred procurement strategy selected. Projects in the implementation phase have received the approvals required to enter into contracts and commit to the expending funds and resources for the project to proceed to completion. Initial operational capability, when the ability to employ the capability is first attained, is planned for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, based on direction contained in Strong, Secure, Engaged. Project costs Costs are being evaluated as part of the options analysis phase and will be further refined during the definition phase. The estimated cost will depend on the approved procurement strategy, infrastructure and the type of platform(s) chosen. Costs will include associated sensors, ground elements and infrastructure. Number of aircraft No decision has been made concerning the number of aircraft. The number of RPASs will be sufficient to meet three simultaneous lines of tasking and may be affected by the procurement strategy, infrastructure, and specific platform(s) chosen. Economic benefits The Industrial and Technological Benefits Policy, including the Value Proposition will apply to this procurement, requiring that the prime contractor on this project invest 100 percent of the contract value back into Canada's economy. The Value Proposition is the economic commitment that bidders make to Canada up front at bid time, which is a scored and weighted factor in winner selection. This becomes a contractual commitment for the winning bidder. Value Proposition requirements are tailored to each procurement to allow the government to steer investments and take advantage of the unique economic opportunities offered by each project. RPAS uses Domestically, the RPAS will provide a strengthened ability for surveillance of the maritime and northern approaches to Canada and support to search and rescue operations. The RPAS will allow the CAF to assist other government departments in support of special security events, such as international summits, aid to the civil authorities – such as response to forest fires or floods – and Assistance to Law Enforcement Agencies operations. Overseas, the RPAS will be capable of detecting, recognizing, identifying, and tracking targets of interest in complex environments and integrate with the systems required to process and fuse the collected information into actionable intelligence. RPAS precision strike capability Strong, Secure, Engaged indicates that the RPAS will have a precision strike capability – it will be capable of being armed. The ability to target and execute precision strikes ensures that if a threat is detected that it can also be addressed at that time. As with any use of weapons systems, the CAF will operate in accordance with domestic and international laws. Operations will be conducted in strict accordance with all the controls, procedures, and rules of engagement that govern the use of force or any other weapon. All of these systems would be remotely piloted by CAF personnel who would be directly involved in the decision making process to execute a strike. However, the RPA(s) will be armed only if necessary for the assigned task(s). Operating environments The RPAS will be able to operate worldwide, in all weather conditions, at any time of day with the range and endurance to cover all of Canada's airspace from any suitable operating location. The system will also need to be able to operate in low-to-medium threat environments, within joint environments with other government departments, and as part of a coalition with our allies. The Royal Canadian Air Force ensures the sovereignty of Canada through its ability to respond rapidly to any threat. The investment in the RPAS project, as outlined in Strong, Secure, Engaged, enhances the RCAF's capability to continue to provide agile, integrated air power with the necessary reach to fulfill any requirement asked by the Government of Canada. Interested suppliers should direct question related to this project to the Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) contracting authority. Article: http://www.rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca/en/news-template-standard.page?doc=update-and-new-name-for-the-joint-unmanned-surveillance-target-acquisition-system-justas-project/j9u7rzyf

Posted on November 15, 2017 by Chris Thatcher The in-service support and training systems team behind Canada's new fixed-wing search and rescue (FWSAR) aircraft expects to begin construction on a training centre at 19 Wing Comox, B.C., before the end of the year. Eva Martinez, PAL Aerospace vice president of in-service support, said the first shovel should break ground in December. “We're working on finalizing that date,” she told the Best Defence Conference in London, Ont., on Nov. 1. Canada's 16 C295W aircraft will likely be distributed three per base, with two marked for training and two to be rotated amongst the SAR squadrons to cover for aircraft undergoing maintenance. Airbus Photo The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) will take delivery of the first of 16 Airbus C295W search and rescue aircraft in April 2020 at a renewed main operating base at 19 Wing, scheduled to be stood up in December 2019. Airbus was awarded a $2.4 billion contract in December 2016 to replace the RCAF's fleet of six CC-115 Buffalos and several CC-130H Hercules assigned to search and rescue duty. The contract includes delivery of the aircraft, construction of a state-of-the-art training centre, and the first five years of maintenance and support. Options for an additional 15 years of maintenance and support services could extend the agreement to 2042 and the total value to $4.7 billion. As part of the Airbus team, PAL Aerospace will provide program management services, in-service support (ISS), maintenance and logistics support, heavy maintenance, a mobile repair team, and manage a centralized supply chain. The two companies have created a Canadian joint venture called AirPro to serve as the ISS integrator. And as a Tier 1 supplier to Airbus, PAL will provide direct maintenance, repair and overall (MRO) services as well as logistics and engineering augmentation. While CAE Canada has responsibility for the training program, infrastructure and support, PAL has the task of creating a contractor field office and tool and parts warehouse and staffing an integrated team of aircraft maintenance engineers (AMEs) at the four main operating bases in Comox, Winnipeg, Trenton, Ont., and Greenwood, N.S. It will also set up a central warehouse in Winnipeg to supply all four bases, alongside an MRO facility for heavy inspections and the mobile repair party. An interim warehouse will be created in St. John's, N.L., until the Winnipeg facility is ready in December 2022. “Next year, we begin the wave of hiring,” said Martinez, noting that AMEs, a senior maintenance manager and other personnel will all need to be in place as the facilities and services at each main operating base come online, starting with Comox and then likely Winnipeg, Trenton and Greenwood, “though that may change.” This rendering shows the new fixed-wing search and rescue training centre to be built at 19 Wing Comox, B.C. CAE Image The 16 C295W aircraft will likely be distributed three per base, with two marked for training and two to be rotated amongst the SAR squadrons to cover for aircraft undergoing maintenance, she said. Although St. John's-based PAL has been providing airline, aviation and manufacturing services since 1972, establishing a global reputation in the process, the FWSAR contract has helped put the company “on the map” in Canada, Martinez acknowledged. As part of its central role in the program, PAL will be leaning on a wider supply chain of small and medium Canadian companies to achieve its industrial and technological benefits (ITB) obligations. “[We] will be expecting [our] suppliers to provide the support that we need so we too can meet our ITB and value proposition contractual commitments,” she said. As one of the first large projects to move through the procurement process since the government in 2014 introduced a defence procurement strategy emphasizing value propositions (VP) to enhance economic returns, the “FWSAR contract is actually the first in Canada to fall under a measured VP,” Martinez noted. “In other words, [the VP] wasn't just used for bid evaluation. A variety of tasks have already been pre-determined against which every Tier 1 will have to identify their labour hours specific to each of those tasks.” While Airbus will have an obligation to invest at least 15 per cent of its ITB commitments in small and medium enterprises, PAL's requirement is just 1.4 per cent. Martinez stressed, however, that the company would be looking well beyond that for additional Canadian content. “That does not mean we are going to cap ourselves at 1.4 per cent. We have just as much interest [as Airbus] in working with small and medium enterprises where it makes sense in terms of performance,” she said. https://www.skiesmag.com/news/pal-soon-hiring-sar-main-operating-bases/

Fincantieri of Italy and Naval Group of France have confirmed they will jointly bid the FREMM frigate for the Canadian Surface Combatant program. Bids are due on Nov. 30. Fincantieri General Manager Alberto Maestrini told analysts of the joint bid in a Nov. 10 teleconference. CSC will see the construction of 15 new warships. Maestrini also said the FREMM frigate would be well-suited for another pending program, according to a report in Defense News. “We think it will also match perfectly the requirements put forward by the U.S. Navy in their recent request for design proposals for the Future Frigate Program,” Maestrini told analysts. http://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/french-and-italian-firms-to-submit-joint-bid-on-canadian-surface-combatant

PAL Aerospace and CarteNav Solutions Announce launch of Force Multiplier An Industry leading “On Demand” Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance special mission platform On the occasion of the Dubai Air Dhow, DAS, PAL Aerospace announced the first public appearance of an On-Demand, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Special Mission Platform named the Force Multiplier. Force Multiplier is an Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance platform for special missions operations. Ownership, operation, and maintenance are all responsibilities of PAL Aerospace and clients simply acquire the actionable data and experience that they require on this industry leading platform. The Special Mission platform is equipped with two full mission system suites, AMASCOS®, from Thales, and AIMS-ISR® from CarteNav – both mission system software suites which will accommodate a diverse range of ISR applications. Both mission systems will integrate to the Thales SEARCHMASTER® radar which is the highest performance-to-weight radar on the market. The solution fits interim and immediate requirements for surveillance and/or training missions under an on-demand contracting model. PAL Aerospace has operated over 250,000 flight hours of Special Missions and has over 40 Years of Fixed Wing Operations and Surveillance Experience. Our experience as an operator of surveillance missions leaves us uniquely qualified to bring this new platform to market with a view towards client needs and future innovation. Brian Chafe, Chief Executive Officer of PAL Aerospace, stated, “The announcement of this ISR asset is transformational for our organization. We are committed to delivering this platform so our customers can react when they need it most. We are confident that our clients will appreciate the approach that we have taken to provide a flexible, proven, reliable and low-risk solution.” Rick Hillier, General (retired – Former Chief of the Canadian Defense Staff), Chairman - PAL Aerospace, LLC stated “We are pleased to announce this significant investment at the Dubai Air Show to reinforce our commitment to this region and our over 10 year commitment to the people of the UAE.” "The entire CarteNav team is excited by the launch of Force Multiplier and are pleased to be a partner on this initiative. We are looking forward to delivering advanced ISR mission system and information management capabilities for a diversity of end customer's mission requirements. In addition, Force Multiplier is a platform that is ideal for ongoing innovation and advanced product development.” said Paul Evans, President of CarteNav Solutions. Speaking of the partnership, Philippe Duhamel, EVP Defence Mission Systems activities at Thales said, “We have a longstanding cooperation with PAL Aerospace where we have commonly addressed the UAE's and other clients' needs and delivered maritime patrol aircraft with a comprehensive suite of ISR solutions in past. Through the Force Multiplier and the collaboration with PAL Aerospace, Thales will be able to further extend its service offering and demonstrate our capabilities to our entire global customer base.” https://www.palaerospace.com/s/Media-Release-PAL-Aerospace-Force-Multiplier-Launch.pdf