8 décembre 2017 | Local, Naval
PARIS, ROME, and VICTORIA, British Columbia — Naval Group and Fincantieri are out of the running to compete in Canada's program to acquire a fleet of new surface combatants after they failed to submit a bid through the formal process and instead sent a proposal directly to the Canadian government.
The companies had offered Canada a proposal to construct 15 ships at Irving Shipbuilding in Nova Scotia for a fixed cost. But the proposal circumvented the government's procurement procedure, which required formal bids to be submitted to Irving by Nov. 30. Naval Group and Fincantieri did not follow that requirement.
The Canadian government announced Tuesday it had rejected the proposal from the two firms. “The submission of an unsolicited proposal at the final hour undermines the fair and competitive nature of this procurement suggesting a sole source contracting arrangement,” Public Services and Procurement Canada, or PSPC, which is overseeing the procurement, said in a statement. “Acceptance of such a proposal would break faith with the bidders who invested time and effort to participate in the competitive process, put at risk the Government's ability to properly equip the Royal Canadian Navy and would establish a harmful precedent for future competitive procurements.”
Canada's decision effectively removes Naval Group and Fincantieri from taking part in the program since the companies never submitted a formal bid, government officials noted.
Public Services and Procurement Canada declined to say how many bids were received for the Canadian Surface Combatant project. Besides a bid from the BAE-Lockheed Martin Canada consortium for the Type 26 frigate, only two other companies have acknowledged bidding.
A team led by Alion Canada is offering the Dutch De Zeven Provinciën-class air-defense and command frigate. The Spanish shipyard, Navantia, has submitted a bid based on its F-105 frigate design.
Canada expects to make a decision on the winning bid sometime in 2018.
The program to build 15 new warships is estimated to be worth CAN$62 billion (U.S. $49 billion). The program was originally estimated to cost CAN$26 billion, but that figure has been revised a number of times and has been climbing steadily over the last several years.
Fincantieri and Naval Group had hoped the proposal of a fixed price tag of about CAN$30 billion for a new fleet might sway the Liberal government, as it would eliminate much of the risk and would offer a proven warship design. The proposal had the backing of the French and Italian governments and was made directly to Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan.
Naval Group and Fincantieri took note Canada had rejected their joint bid that filed outside the competition for a frigate fleet, but they were still ready to offer the design of their warship for local assembly, the companies said Wednesday.
“We acknowledge the position expressed by the Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) not to take into consideration the offers submitted outside the process of the Canadian Surface Combatant program (CSC) Request For Proposal (RFP),” Naval Group and Fincantieri said.
“Nevertheless, Naval Group and Fincantieri remain at the disposal of Canada to contribute to the modernization of Canadian forces with a sea-proven warship, currently in service with the French and Italian Navies, that would minimize the scheduling gaps for design and construction of all the ships in Canada and maximize value for money,” the companies said.
Asked on Wednesday how Fincantieri and Naval Group will react to Canada's rejection, Fincantieri CEO Giuseppe Bono declined to give a direct response but did suggest there might be room for compromise.
“We don't want to take risks,” he said, adding: “we need to see what makes sense” and “the customer is always right.”
In addition, he said the design of the ship offered to Canada would be more similar to the Italian version than the French.
“We have made a joint offer of a FREMM, which is close to the Italian version if only because Italy has an anti-submarine warfare version,” he said.
The terms of the Canadian competition posed a problem as the tender required bidders to hand over intellectual property and there was danger it might end up in the wrong hands, an analyst said.
“The problem from the outset is how the Liberals have set the competition,” said Robbin Laird, of consultancy International Communications and Strategic Assessments, based in Paris and the Washington, D.C., area.
“One would think that with ... the U.S. and Australia launching new frigates as well as the French and Italians working on a new frigate program, the approach would be to leverage the allied global recapitalization effort,” he added. “Yet what the Canadian government has focused upon is simply forcing competitors to provide intellectual property to their own Canadian shipyard without any real protection against leakage of that technology to China or to other competitors.”
In their direct bid to the Canadian government, the European partners offered a speedy start of shipbuilding in 2019, which they said would help sustain local jobs. A frigate generally takes about four years to build.
The Franco-Italian frigate was offered with the Thales Sea Fire radar, a multifunction digital system, an industry executive said. Naval Group offered its Senit combat management system, with Fincantieri delivering the ship design.
Thales developed the flat-paneled Sea Fire for the FTI, an intermediate frigate ordered for the French Navy and aimed mainly for export markets.
Anti-submarine systems included Thales Captas hull-mounted and towed array sonars, specialist website Mer et Marine reported. The weapons could include a 127mm gun and two vertical launchers for surface-to-air missiles, which would likely be Aster but would also be available for American weapons.
29 octobre 2018 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
DND Ombudsman, Management & Program Consultants, L3 Technologies, Ultra Electronics, CAF/NATO. https://defence.frontline.online/article/2018/5/10562-Who%27s-Where%3F
25 février 2020 | Local, Aérospatial
News release February 25, 2020 - Gatineau, Quebec - Government of Canada The Government of Canada is committed to providing members of the Royal Canadian Air Force with the fighter aircraft they need to do their jobs, and ensuring the best possible value for Canadians. At the request of industry, the March 30 deadline for preliminary proposals for the Future Fighter Capability Project has been extended. Eligible suppliers now have until June 30, 2020 to complete and submit their proposals. This extension supports our commitment to conduct an open, fair, and transparent competition. Procurements of this magnitude are complex, and submission of a good proposal is important for suppliers and for Canada. This extension allows eligible suppliers to address recent feedback on their security offers, ensuring that Canada receives competitive proposals that meet its technical, cost and economic benefits requirements. Quotes “The government set out an aggressive timeline to implement this very complex, high-value procurement, and while we understand the importance of this procurement for our women and men in uniform, our focus is on moving the process forward as quickly as we can, while ensuring that all bidders have the time they need to put forward their best proposal.” The Honourable Anita Anand Minister of Public Services and Procurement “Our government is making the necessary decisions to get the best aircraft for the Royal Canadian Air Force and Canada. This extension will allow the eligible suppliers to make their best possible offer to ensure that we are able to provide the equipment our members need at a fair cost to Canadians.” The Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan Minister of National Defence “Canada's Industrial Technological Benefits policy is expected to generate high-value jobs and economic growth for Canadian aerospace and defence businesses for decades. Ensuring that all suppliers have the opportunity to put their best bid forward is important to ensure strong economic benefits are secured for Canadians.” The Honourable Navdeep Bains Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Quick facts This is the most significant investment in the Royal Canadian Air Force in more than 30 years and is essential for protecting the safety and security of Canadians and meeting international obligations. Officials conducted extensive engagement with Canadian aerospace and defence industries to ensure that they are well positioned to participate in the procurement. Canada is using a phased-bid compliance process, which is an additional measure to ensure that bidders will have an opportunity to address non-compliance in their proposals related to mandatory criteria. Following evaluation of preliminary proposals, a dialogue phase may be conducted with one or more compliant bidders to reduce the risk that a proposal is eliminated due to an error or omission. Proposals will be rigorously assessed on elements of capability (60%), cost (20%) and economic benefits (20%). All proposals will be evaluated according to the same evaluation criteria. Canada's Industrial and Technological Benefits Policy, including a Value Proposition applies to this procurement. This is expected to generate high-value jobs and economic growth for Canadian aerospace and defence businesses for decades. Associated links Future Fighter Capability Project National Defence: Fighter jets Integrating Australian jets into the current Royal Canadian Air Force fighter fleet Contacts Cecely Roy Press Secretary Office of the Honourable Anita Anand 343-549-7293 Media Relations Public Services and Procurement Canada 819-420-5501 media@pwgsc-tpsgc.gc.ca Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook https://www.canada.ca/en/public-services-procurement/news/2020/02/canada-grants-extension-to-the-deadline-for-preliminary-responses-to-the-future-fighter-capability-project-request-for-proposals.html
21 mars 2023 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité, Autre défense
Tout comme le Canada, nos alliés de l'Organisation du Traité de l'Atlantique Nord (OTAN) cherchent à suivre le rythme de développement des technologies émergentes et perturbatrices. C'est pourquoi l'OTAN met en place l'accélérateur d'innovation de défense pour l'Atlantique Nord, ou DIANA. DIANA proposera de nouveaux programmes d'innovation dans toute l'Alliance, qui chercheront à profiter des opportunités et à contrer les menaces présentées par les technologies de pointe. L'équipe du Directeur général Innovation Recherche et Développement (DGIRD) du ministère de la Défense nationale et les Forces armées canadiennes (MDN/FAC) et le personnel du programme DIANA de l’OTAN tiendront des séances d'information virtuelles sur DIANA et sur la façon dont ce programme peut profiter aux innovateurs canadiens, à partir du 25 avril 2023. Le Canada étant membre de l'OTAN, les innovateurs canadiens pourront participer à tous les processus initiés par DIANA. À la suite de leur sélection par le programme, les innovateurs auront également accès à un réseau d'accélérateurs et de centres d’essai dans plus de 20 pays alliés en Amérique du Nord et en Europe. Les séances d'information suivantes sont disponibles pour les innovateurs canadiens intéressés. Notez qu'aucune inscription n'est requise pour ces sessions mais qu’un nombre maximum de 1000 participants est permis par session. Si vous n’êtes pas capable de participer à une des 4 sessions plus bas, un enregistrement sera disponible à une date ultérieure. Option 1 Date: 25 avril 2023 à 9h (HAE) Langage: Anglais Option 2 Date: 25 avril 2023 à 11h (HAE) Langage: Français Option 3 Date: 26 avril 2023 à 9h (HAE) Langage: Anglais Option 4 Date: 26 avril 2023 à 11h (HAE) Langage: Anglais Cliquez ici pour joindre la réunion Ou appelez (audio uniquement) +1 343-803-5382, 784218200# Canada, Ottawa-Hull ID de conférence téléphonique : 784 218 200# Trouvez un numéro local Cliquez ici pour joindre la réunion Ou appelez (audio uniquement) +1 343-803-5382, 784218200# Canada, Ottawa-Hull ID de conférence téléphonique : 784 218 200# Trouvez un numéro local Cliquez ici pour joindre la réunion Ou appelez (audio uniquement) +1 343-803-5382, 784218200# Canada, Ottawa-Hull ID de conférence téléphonique: 784 218 200# Trouvez un numéro local Cliquez ici pour joindre la réunion Ou appelez (audio uniquement) +1 343-803-5382, 784218200# Canada, Ottawa-Hull ID de conférence téléphonique: 784 218 200# Trouvez un numéro local Chaque séance d'information comprendra une présentation, suivie d'une période de questions et réponses. Les questions devront être soumises à l'avance, au plus tard le 14 avril 2023 à la boîte de courriel suivante : drdcnatodiana-rddcotandiana@forces.gc.ca. Pour avoir des informations additionnelles au sujet du programme DIANA, vous êtes invités à visiter le site internet du programme (en anglais seulement).