19 novembre 2019 | Local, Aérospatial

Boeing pitches guarantee of billions of dollars of work for Canadian firms if its Super Hornet is picked by Canada

DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN

U.S. aerospace giant Boeing is pitching its guarantee of billions of dollars of work for Canadian companies as well as keeping aircraft maintenance in country as it tries to convince the Liberal government to select a new version of the Super Hornet fighter jet.

Boeing is hoping that new technology on the Super Hornet and its commitment to place as much as $30 billion of work with Canadian firms will result in it winning the competition to build 88 jets.

The move comes as the NDP and aerospace unions are becoming more vocal about the need for Canada's fighter jet replacement project to pay major dividends for the economy.

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh said last week he would be pushing that issue when Parliament returns and he hopes to have a discussion with the Liberal's new defence minister about how Canadian jobs can be created and sustained by the program.

Boeing had been non-committal to the Canadian program as it reviewed the bidding requirements throughout the summer. But that changed last week when Boeing confirmed it was in the race.

“We wouldn't be having this conversation if we didn't think we had a very realistic chance of winning,” Boeing executive Jim Barnes said in an interview with this newspaper.

Lockheed Martin's F-35 stealth fighter is considered the top contender in the project that will see the purchase of new jets at a cost of between $15 billion and $19 billion. Saab of Sweden is also in the competition, offering the Gripen fighter jet.

The issue of guaranteed economic benefits for Canada could be a problem for the Liberal government, which under pressure from the U.S., changed the procurement rules to allow the F-35 to be considered. Because of the way the U.S.-led F-35 program is structured, Lockheed Martin cannot provide guarantees of any work for Canadian firms, a stance that in the past would have disqualified a company from bidding on a major defence acquisition.

In early September, the union representing machinists in the aerospace industry warned that the changes made for Lockheed Martin would come at the expense of other firms offering guaranteed work for Canada's aerospace sector. In addition, the union is worried that if Canada were to purchase the F-35 then most of the key maintenance would be done in the U.S., putting in jeopardy 600 jobs at L-3 in Mirabel, Que. L-3 conducts maintenance on the Royal Canadian Air Force's current CF-18 fighter fleet.

Barnes said Boeing was surprised about the change in the Canadian competition that lifted the need for guarantees on providing domestic firms with work equal to, or more than, the cost of the project. Boeing has L-3 on its fighter jet team as well as Peraton Canada Corp., CAE Inc., GE Canada and Raytheon Canada.

Barnes said over the years the Canadian government has built up a capability to maintain its fighter jets at home by using those companies. “So we are leveraging that investment by the government of Canada,” he added.

Boeing officials say they are confident in guaranteeing billions of dollars of work for Canadians as the company has an extensive presence in both military and commercial aerospace around the world as well as its own facilities in Canada.

Lockheed Martin has countered that while there are no guarantees of work on the F-35 program, Canadian firms have picked up more than $1.3 billion in contracts on the project over the last 12 years. The amount of those contracts could significantly increase as more F-35s are delivered to the U.S. and Canada's allies, Lockheed Martin officials have noted.

Boeing is offering what is known as the Block 111 Super Hornet, an advanced version of the existing aircraft.

Earlier this year the U.S. Navy confirmed it is purchasing 78 of the aircraft which are equipped with a new computer, sensors and data links to boost the amount of information that can be received or transmitted. The aircraft also has satellite communications, which is important for Arctic operations, Boeing noted. Some stealth aspects have also been added and Boeing says it has been able to increase the life of the aircraft from 6,000 flight hours to 10,000 flight hours.

It is also pitching the new Super Hornet as less costly to maintain. The aircraft costs about $18,000 U.S. an hour to operate compared to the F-35 which costs $44,000 U.S.

The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin are working on reducing that F-35 cost.

Bids for the Canadian program must be submitted by the spring of 2020, and the winner is expected to be determined by early 2022. The first aircraft would be delivered by 2025.

Technical merit will make up the bulk of the assessment at 60 per cent. Cost and economic benefits companies can provide to Canada will each be worth 20 per cent.

A trade dispute between Canada and Boeing over duties on Canadian-made civilian passenger jets prompted the Liberals to include in the fighter jet competition a clause that would consider any economic harm a company has done to Canada.

Barnes said that clause is in the bidding documents. Boeing, however, does not see that as a problem for the company as it ultimately lost the trade dispute.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/boeing-pitches-guarantee-of-billions-of-dollars-of-work-for-canadian-firms-if-its-super-hornet-is-picked-by-canada

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18 décembre 2018 | Local, Aérospatial, C4ISR

Maxar's MDA and Orbital Insight Announce Expanded SAR Satellite Imagery Agreement
Orbital Insight will use MDA high-resolution imagery to strengthen oil inventory product RICHMOND, BC and PALO ALTO, CA, Dec. 17, 2018 /CNW/ - MDA, a Maxar Technologies company (NYSE: MAXR) (TSX: MAXR), and Orbital Insight, a leading provider of geospatial analytics, today announced the latest agreement providing new datasets for Orbital Insight's product offerings. MDA will provide high-resolution imagery from its RADARSAT-2 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite to Orbital Insight, which will process and transform the data into actionable intelligence for the energy industry. "Building on an already strong relationship with a second Orbital Insight contract award, MDA will provide valuable insight into energy supply chains by enabling timely, reliable imaging of global oil storage sites, regardless of cloud cover," said Mike Greenley, group president of MDA. "This solution reinforces the unique and powerful combination of RADARSAT-2's large imaging capacity and timely data delivery, with Orbital Insight's geospatial analytics capabilities, to grow the market for information derived from SAR imagery." MDA's RADARSAT-2 has global monitoring capabilities, including a large collection capacity and high-resolution radar imaging. The satellite acquires data regardless of light or weather conditions, due to its active imaging mechanism. As a result, RADARSAT-2 provides an accurate and reliable source of information about ground activity such as changes in oil tank inventories. Orbital Insight will use the imagery to create oil inventory information that is incorporated into its energy products, which include the Global Geospatial Crude Index, a single number that objectively captures global crude inventory insights on a daily basis. Orbital Insight's customers use the Global Geospatial Crude Index to make economic decisions with confidence in global energy markets. "Having access to cutting-edge datasets strengthens our product offerings, so we're pleased to deepen our relationship with MDA as a key imagery provider," said Dr. James Crawford, founder and CEO of Orbital Insight. "SAR imagery is valuable because it provides information even if conditions on the ground aren't visible due to weather or lighting. Expanding this partnership delivers direct customer value." This new contract expands Orbital Insight's relationship with Maxar Technologies. The geospatial analytics firm also has a multi-year partnership with DigitalGlobe focused on high-resolution electro-optical satellite imagery and DigitalGlobe's Geospatial Big Data platform (GBDX). Orbital Insight refines its analytic capabilities using DigitalGlobe's satellite imagery at petabyte-scale on GBDX, revealing insights for industry use cases such as estimating harvest yields, making more accurate retail predictions, and monitoring global energy and natural resource markets. About MDA MDA is an internationally recognized leader in space robotics, space sensors, satellite payloads, antennas and subsystems, surveillance and intelligence systems, defence and maritime systems, and geospatial radar imagery. MDA's extensive space expertise and heritage translates into mission-critical defence and commercial applications that include multi-platform command, control and surveillance systems, aeronautical information systems, land administration systems and terrestrial robotics. MDA is also a leading supplier of actionable mission-critical information and insights derived from multiple data sources. Founded in 1969, MDA is recognized as one of Canada's most successful technology ventures with locations in Richmond, Ottawa, Brampton, Montreal, Halifax and the United Kingdom. MDA is a Maxar Technologies company (TSX: MAXR; NYSE: MAXR). For more information, visit www.mdacorporation.com. About Maxar Technologies As a global leader of advanced space technology solutions, Maxar Technologies (formerly MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates) is at the nexus of the new space economy, developing and sustaining the infrastructure and delivering the information, services, systems that unlock the promise of space for commercial and government markets. As a trusted partner, Maxar Technologies provides vertically integrated capabilities and expertise including satellites, Earth imagery, robotics, geospatial data and analytics to help customers anticipate and address their most complex mission-critical challenges with confidence. With more than 6,500 employees in over 30 global locations, the Maxar Technologies portfolio of commercial space brands includes MDA, SSL, DigitalGlobe and Radiant Solutions. Every day, billions of people rely on Maxar to communicate, share information and data, and deliver insights that Build a Better World. Maxar trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange as MAXR. For more information, visit www.maxar.com. About Orbital Insight Orbital Insight develops geospatial analytics to help its clients unlock societal and economic trends at a global scale. The company works with petabytes of geospatial data, including imagery from satellites, drones and other sources. Using computer vision and machine learning technologies, it processes and transforms this data to enable businesses, governments and NGOs to make better decisions. Learn why Fast Company voted Orbital Insight one of the most innovative companies of 2017 and 2018 at www.orbitalinsight.com. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements and other information included in this release constitute "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") under applicable securities laws. Statements including words such as "may", "will", "could", "should", "would", "plan", "potential", "intend", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate" or "expect" and other words, terms and phrases of similar meaning are often intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Forward-looking statements involve estimates, expectations, projections, goals, forecasts, assumptions, risks and uncertainties, as well as other statements referring to or including forward-looking information included in this release. Forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from the anticipated results or expectations expressed in this release. As a result, although management of the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. The risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to, the risk factors and other disclosures about the Company and its business included in the Company's continuous disclosure materials filed from time to time with Canadian and U.S. securities regulatory authorities, which are available online under the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com, under the Company's EDGAR profile at www.sec.gov or on the Company's website at www.maxar.com. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements. All such forward-looking statements are based upon data available as of the date of this release or other specified date and speak only as of such date. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements in this release as a result of new information or future events, except as may be required under applicable securities legislation. Contact Wendy Keyzer | MDA Media Contact | 1-604-231-2743 | wendy.keyzer@mdacorporation.com Jason Gursky | Maxar Investor Relations | 1-303-684-2207 | jason.gursky@maxar.com SOURCE Maxar Technologies Ltd. Related Links www.maxar.com https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/maxars-mda-and-orbital-insight-announce-expanded-sar-satellite-imagery-agreement-702924451.html
15 juin 2020 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

Auditors target Defence Department for poor oversight of military-spending plan
Saskatoon / 650 CKOM The Canadian Press June 14, 2020 10:28 am OTTAWA — The Department of National Defence has been called out for assigning less than three people to monitor the rollout of the Liberal government's plan to spend hundreds of billions of dollars in new military equipment, troops and training. The criticism is contained in an internal Defence Department audit and follows previous concerns that delays and other problems are slowing implementation of the plan, which was unveiled in 2017 and promised to spend $553 billion in the military over 20 years. The plan known as Strong, Secure, Engaged (SSE) is seen as critical for replacing much of the military's aging equipment and adding new capabilities such as armed drones and defences in cyber and space that are needed for 21st-century warfare. Yet the Defence Department earlier this year revealed that more than 100 of the roughly 300 capital projects associated with the plan were facing delays, with the delivery dates for some urgently needed equipment pushed several years into the future. The audit report dated last November but only recently published online underscores the importance of monitoring and oversight to ensure the plan is properly implemented over the next two decades. Auditors instead found "limited dedicated resources to co-ordinate and monitor implementation" of the plan, according to the report, with fewer than three full-time staff members specifically tasked with the job. By comparison, there were 32 staff members assigned to oversee a cost-cutting exercise launched by the previous Conservative government in 2013 that aimed to eliminate $1.2 billion in annual waste within the department. That effort met with limited success. "The capacity of the SSE implementation team is limited and as such, certain monitoring functions and independent validation of information are not being performed," according to the audit report. The auditors also flagged concerns that the lack of monitoring meant senior defence officials were not receiving clear and accurate information about the state of the plan, raising fears about bad decisions being made. Defence Department spokeswoman Jessica Lamirande said some of the issues identified by the auditors have been addressed while work on others is underway, though she did not say how many staff are now responsible for monitoring the plan. "We welcome reviews of this nature, which help us find where adjustments and improvements can be made to ensure the continued efficient progress and oversight of the policy," Lamirande said in an email. "All of these audit recommendations are being addressed, with several already completed and the others well underway. In fact, some recommendations validated work that was already in progress." Defence analyst David Perry of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute expressed surprise at the auditors' findings given senior officials had emphasized the importance of properly implementing the plan when it was released three years ago. That emphasis included monitoring progress, which Perry described as fundamental for identifying problems and areas that need attention — such as delayed procurement projects — to ensure the military gets what it has been promised and needs. The need to properly implement the plan and eliminate delays is even more important now, he added, given fears the federal government could start cutting defence spending as it seeks to find ways to pay for its COVID-19 emergency programs. "You've got a government whose wholesale attention is focused on the response to COVID," Perry said. "Any kind of delay in a program and the department basically not seizing the moment that it's got opens up potential vulnerability given the huge degree of economic and fiscal uncertainty that the department and government are facing right now." This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 14, 2020. Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press https://www.ckom.com/2020/06/14/auditors-target-defence-department-for-poor-oversight-of-military-spending-plan/
24 avril 2022 | Local, Aérospatial

L3Harris remporte un contrat de 482 millions $ US (609 M$ CA) auprès de l'Aviation royale canadienne pour le prolongement du soutien des CF-18
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