22 septembre 2024 | Local, Sécurité
Eight decades after the United States extended its security umbrella to cover Canada, the alliance is being undermined by Washington's growing exasperation with Ottawa's attitude toward defence spending.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-united-states-nato-defence-spending-1.7329925
19 octobre 2023 | Local, Terrestre, C4ISR
Media are invited to attend Exercise ARDENT DEFENDER at 5 Canadian Division Support Base (5 CDSB) Gagetown on October 23, 2023.
26 avril 2018 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR
DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN Here is defence industry news from my article in the latest issue of Esprit de Corps magazine: MDA, a Maxar Technologies company, signed a contract worth around $8 million to provide the Department of National Defence with what is being called a 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, according to the firm. MDA's solution is based on the Puma AE (All Environment) unmanned aircraft built by Aeroviroment.The photo above courtesy of the U.S. Navy shows the Puma AE. 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. 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. In addition, MDA, also announced it has signed a contract with an unnamed international customer for the provision of turnkey, unmanned aircraft system surveillance services. The contract includes options for additional years. MDA's UAS service will use a fleet of Schiebel CAMCOPTER S-100 rotary-wing unmanned aircraft to provide surveillance information. MDA will be responsible for all aspects of the service including acquisition of all the systems and required infrastructure, training, airworthiness, logistics, supply chain, maintenance and all flight operations, the firm noted. The S-100 aircraft is a vertical takeoff and landing UAS, which does not require a prepared area or supporting launch or recovery equipment. It operates day and night and is a very capable platform for a wide range of different surveillance payloads to meet a broad set of mission requirements. MDA's UAS service will equip the S-100 fleet with L3 WESCAM MX-10 EO/IR payloads. The MX-10 is a high-performance, multi-sensor multi-spectral imaging system for tactical surveillance missions. It carries multiple sensors including both high-definition day modes and night infrared modes. The MX-10 is currently operational for twelve nations worldwide on the S-100. Pratt & Whitney Canada has signed a 12-year Fleet Management Program agreement with Specialist Aviation Services for 24 PW210A engines powering 12 Leonardo AW169 helicopters. The program has been specifically tailored to SAS's needs and helps reduce operating costs and simplifies fleet operations management, according to Pratt and Whitney. Operating primarily in the United Kingdom, SAS provides support to emergency services and other major organizations that rely on aircraft to support their operations. SAS is one of the fleet leaders on the AW169 program. Rheinmetall has won the first request for proposals for preliminary studies relating to European Union defence research financed by the EU's European Defence Union. Under a project known as “Generic Open Soldier Systems Reference Architecture”, or GOSSRA, the European Commission has put the Düsseldorf-based tech group in charge of a consortium consisting of partners from nine different EU member states. Under the GOSSRA project, studies will be conducted into developing an open reference architecture as the basis of EU-wide standardized soldier systems. This includes electronics, voice and data communication, software solutions, man-machine interfaces, sensors and effectors. Rheinmetall makes the German Bundeswehr's IdZ-ES soldier system as well as the Canadian military's Argus system. http://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/royal-canadian-navy-getting-new-miniature-maritime-drone-this-summer-update-on-defence-industry-news-and-contracts
27 avril 2020 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
Canadian Armed Forces members are mobilizing to help provinces and territories Emergencies are first handled by local authorities and municipal services such as firefighters, the police and medical professionals, but when first responders are overwhelmed, provinces and territories can request support from the federal government. After the request is approved, the federal government's response is managed by Public Safety Canada, who may ask the Canadian Armed Forces for help by stepping in under Operation LENTUS, the Canadian Armed Forces response to natural disasters in Canada. The same request process applies to the COVID-19 pandemic, only the CAF is responding under Operation LASER — the activation of Contingency Plan LASER “for the response to a pandemic of influenza-like disease.” Operation LASER consists of four phases. Phase one is pandemic preparedness, involving mitigation planning and monitoring of potential worldwide pandemic threats. Phase two, which began on March 2, is pandemic alert. This includes active monitoring of an evolving pandemic threat and implementing some restrictions. Phase three is the CAF's response to the pandemic. This means the CAF is able to deploy when help is requested and approved from a province or territory. Phase four is post-pandemic restoration, which is the resumption of CAF services and operations to normal levels. Phase one is also resumed. Since March 13 the CAF has been at phase three after the Chief of the Defence Staff, Jonathan Vance, approved the CAF response to the pandemic. Last month the federal government prepared 24,000 members of the Canadian Armed Forces, a total of one quarter of their regular and reserve members, to deploy in the event that a province requested their support. Since then, Quebec has requested the CAF's assistance. The province specified that it needed medical personnel to help nursing homes struggling with outbreaks of COVID-19 and staff shortages. Quebec's request was approved by the federal government and CAF medical personnel have arrived at five nursing homes. On April 22, Ontario also requested help from the federal government and the CAF for their long-term care nursing homes, which was approved the following day. CAF medical officers must have completed a medical degree from an accredited university before applying to the Medical Officer Training Program (MOTP). Once completed and accepted into the MOTP, officers are trained within the military to ensure their performance follows under military policies and in environments abroad. This includes the completion of the Basic Military Officer Qualification in Quebec before they can complete the Common Health Services course, which is provided by the Defence Learning Network. They also attend the Canadian Forces Health Services Training Center in Borden, Ontario, where they “are introduced to the organizational structure and history of the Canadian Forces Medical Service and the unique circumstances of practicing military medicine.” Medical officers then can choose to either specialize their medical practice or acquire advanced training in several fields of medicine. CAF members are also helping process materials for Personal Protective Equipment at Public Health Agency warehouses across Canada. In Northern Canada, they are prepared to assist remote communities to combat outbreaks. The CAF has activated three Northern Saskatchewan Ranger Patrols, gathering firewood for residents during their winter season as the pandemic continues. https://runnermag.ca/2020/04/explainer-what-the-canadian-military-is-doing-for-canadians-during-the-pandemic/