Bluedrop receives Boeing contract to provide courseware support for CH-147F Chinook

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  2 octobre 2019 | Local, Aérospatial

  Pratt and Whitney awarded $2.19B for F-35 engines

  BySommer Brokaw Oct. 1 (UPI) -- Pratt & Whitney has been awarded more than $2 billion in a contract modification to a previously awarded contract for F-35 strike fighter jet propulsion system. The $2.1B contract, announced Monday by the Department of Defense, calls for the production and delivery of F135 propulsion systems for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter jet, including 112 F135-PW-100s for the Air Force, 46 F135-PW-600s for the Marine Corps, and 25 F-135-PW-100s for the Navy. The company also will deliver non-U.S. Department of Defense participants and foreign military sales customers with long lead components, parts and materials associated with 129 F135-PW-100s and 19 F135-PW-600s propulsion systems under the contract modification. Work will be performed mostly in East Hartford, Conn., where Pratt and Whitney, a division of United Technologies, is based, and remaining work will be performed in Indianapolis, Ind., and Bristol, Britain. Work on the contract is expected to be finished in February 2023. Pratt & Whitney has been chronically late in delivering engines for the F-35 program and was placed under a previously unreported "Corrective Action Request" last year by the the Defense Contract Management Agency, citing "poor delivery performance" for a batch of engines. Mark Woodbury, DCMA spokesman, said at the time that the company needed to demonstrate that it has delivered on its promise to solve the problems that led to DCMA's request for action. The $428 billion F-35 program is expected next year to enter full-rate production, which is the most lucrative phase of weapons program for contractors. A source close to the program told Military.com the fighter jet will not complete its already-delayed formal operational test phase this fall because of a setback in the testing process. The setback involved an unfinished phase of Joint Simulation Environment, according to the source. The JSE projects weather, geography and range, allowing test pilots to prove the aircraft's "full capabilities against the full range of required threats and scenarios," according to a 2015 Director, Operational Test & Evaluation report. Pratt & Whitney was awarded a $3.4 billion contract in June for F-35 engines, in that case 233 propulsion systems, more than half of which are for foreign military sales customers and non-Department of Defense participants in the program. The F-35 Lightning II is a single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft with a range of more than 1,350 miles with internal fuel, according to the U.S. Air Force. It was introduced to the Air Force in 2016. https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2019/10/01/Pratt-and-Whitney-awarded-219B-for-F-35-engines/7751569946503/

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  7 décembre 2018 | Local, Aérospatial

  Feds to move military aircraft testing from Alberta to Ottawa, but Cold Lake politicians say they're in the dark

  David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen and Tyler Dawson DND officials said there had been consultation about the move with local politicians. 'It's totally not true,' said local MP David Yurdiga The federal government will create a new centre of excellence in Ottawa to support aircraft testing, but it will come at the cost of relocating staff and shutting down existing military facilities in Alberta. The move affects the Canadian military's Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment, or AETE, which has been at Cold Lake, Alta. since 1971. Under the new plan AETE would be relocated to the international airport in Ottawa and partnered with the National Research Council Flight Research Laboratory and Transport Canada Aircraft Services Directorate to create a centre of excellence for flight testing and evaluation. The move would affect almost one-third of the unit, which employs 166 military personnel and 22 public servants. The remaining two-thirds would be reassigned to other air force functions, said Department of National Defence spokesman Dan Le Bouthillier. Moving AETE will save $14 million a year and free up space for the arrival of more fighter jets at Cold Lake. Canada is in the process of purchasing used fighter aircraft from Australia and the federal government has committed to buying 88 new jets to replace the existing fleet of CF-18s. “This partnership will streamline our flight testing and evaluation capability, while ensuring sufficient space is available for the arrival of additional fighter aircraft in Cold Lake,” Le Bouthillier said. The move, however, is not sitting well with local politicians. David Yurdiga, the Conservative MP for the area, said he'd heard about the move on Monday when it was raised at the House Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts. DND officials briefing the committee said there had been consultation about the move with local politicians. “It's totally not true,” said Yurdiga. Craig Copeland, the mayor of Cold Lake, said the city hasn't yet received a briefing from officials in Ottawa. “It's been sort of verbally mentioned over the years that there would be a re-org,” he explained. “We're hoping to get somebody to brief us.” Details about the exact number of jobs that will be moved from Alberta are still not clear. It is not known how many of the air force personnel who will be reassigned to new jobs would continue to operate from Cold Lake. Yurdiga said the loss of jobs would hit the community hard but he added that defence minister Harjit Sajjan had assured him there would be a “net benefit” to the community. “Cold Lake can't afford to lose even one position,” Yurdiga said. “There are so many unanswered questions and uncertainty is what the community is facing,” he added. Copeland said he had heard an estimate of 50 jobs being lost. That would be a real blow to the area, already suffering from depressed oil prices, and with a home foreclosure rate, he said, of around 10 per cent. “That is concerning to me,” Copeland said. “On the one hand it's tough to see people leave our community but on the other hands, we are hopeful — and expecting — that the Canadian military's going to be investing (locally) for the new fighter jet program.” AETE currently occupies the second-largest and newest hangar at Cold Lake, which will be repurposed for other air force needs, including the new fighter program. The final details of the move are still being worked on, including costs, Le Bouthillier said. DND is in ongoing discussions with the Ottawa International Airport Authority regarding the location of the new centre, he added. The costs for relocating AETE are included in the $470 million the Liberal government has set aside for buying the used Australian F-18 fighter jets, and would not take place before summer 2021. The Cold Lake location was primarily selected for AETE because of the large evaluation range nearby and its favourable climate for flight testing. AETE employs test pilots, flight test engineers, qualified systems evaluators, specialist engineers, and technologists. Postmedia first revealed the proposal to move AETE in April 2016. The plan first started under the Conservative government but the Liberals continued with the relocation initiative. At the time the Canadian Forces said it would still use the bombing ranges associated with the Cold Lake installation but other test work could be moved. At the time, the military told defence industry representatives the remote Cold Lake location made it challenging to attract or retain people and that relocating could save money. https://nationalpost.com/news/so-many-unanswered-questions-feds-to-move-military-aircraft-testing-from-alberta-to-ottawa-but-locals-say-theyre-in-the-dark

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  18 juillet 2022 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité, Autre défense

  It’s time to get serious about fixing defence procurement: opinion

  By Alan Williams In the recent debate over Canada's troubled defence procurement system some have advocated for the need for more flexible rules to expedite delivery of military equipment. For example, the suggestion has been made that there is a requirement to provide Treasury Board Ministers with the ability to recommend waiving or amending policies to allow military equipment to be purchased to meet urgent requirements. Such action is unnecessary as the government currently has this capability. Under section 513 1 (d) of the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA), the government can bypass competition and sole source acquisitions when, “if strictly necessary, and for reasons of urgency brought about by events unforeseeable by the procuring entity, the goods or services could not be obtained in time using open tendering.” This clause is often used to provide the military with the goods and services it needs during wartime.