19 juillet 2023 | Local, Aérospatial
The Global 6000 aircraft is ready to be transformed by Saab into its Airborne Early Warning and Control solution known as GlobalEye.
10 septembre 2023 | Local, Terrestre, Sécurité
Spending cuts to hit National Defence and Canadian Forces but officials say no job losses expected.
14 juillet 2020 | Local, Aérospatial
Extra-large autonomous submarines may revolutionize intelligence gathering and espionage under the sea. One of these ground breaking projects is the U.S. Navy's Boeing Orca extra-large uncrewed underwater vehicle (XLUUV). It is much larger than any other underwater drone currently in the water. But there is a historical precursor that, despite its epic Cold War story, is not widely known. And its mission, to lay covert sensor networks in the arctic, may be as relevant today as it was then. During the Cold War, NATO believed that Russian submarines were using the ice cap in the Canadian Arctic as cover to covertly move between the Atlantic and Pacific. So the U.S. and Canada placed a special sonar network there, deep under the ice. Canadian engineers had to build the world's largest autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), Theseus, to lay a cable where ships could not reach. The project started in the 1980s, at a time when Russian submarines were getting much quieter. To listen for them, a joint U.S. and Canadian sonar array was to be placed several hundred miles north of the remote Canadian base at CFS Alert. The array was codenamed Spinnaker, in honor of the bar where scientists made many of the unclassified decisions in the project. This was similar to the now-famous SOSUS (Sound Surveillance System), but used classified technology to match its operational circumstances. In fact it must have been much more advanced than the original SOSUS. Connecting the sonar array to the base would require laying a fiber-optic cable for hundreds of miles under permanent ice cap. The solution was to build the world's largest autonomous underwater vehicle. The uncrewed submarine would swim from an ice hole nearer to the base all the way to the Spinnaker array. As it went the cable would unreel out of the back. Thus ‘Theseus' got its name from the mythical hero of Ancient Greece who trailed thread behind him when he ventured into the labyrinth to fight the Minotaur. When we think of advanced Canadian military projects which were ahead of their time, the Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow springs to mind. That delta-winged Mach-2 fighter flew in the 1950s and was cutting edge technology at the time, one of the all-time great aircraft. But it was cancelled abruptly in 1959 before it could enter service. The Theseus AUV is up there with the Avro Arrow, but less well recognized. And unlike the Arrow, it was used operationally, in one of the boldest projects started during the Cold War. The project had many secret aspects. Years later much of what we know about the project comes from Bruce Butler, one of the core team involved. Bulter has written a book, Into the Labyrinth (on Amazon), and recently talked to the Underwater Technology Podcast about the project. Theseus was 35 feet long and about 4 feet across. In AUV terms this is large, even today. In modern naval terminology it would be categorized as a large-displacement uncrewed underwater vehicle (LDUUV). The Spinnaker sonar system was placed on the sea floor right on the edge of the arctic shelf. It was about 84 degrees north, up in the top right-hand corner of Canada, near to Greenland. Such an advanced project took years to realize, so it was not until spring 1996 when Theseus could go to work laying the cable. The whole operation was pushing the boundaries of uncrewed underwater vehicles at the time. Despite some close calls along the way, Theseus was able to navigate to the Spinnaker, letting out the vital thread as it went. Many details of the project and technology involved are still classified. And we may never know whether Spinnaker ever picked up any Russian submarines. By the time it had been laid the Russian Navy was in steep decline following the end of the Cold War. But with a resurgent Russian Navy today, the relevance of systems like Spinnaker may be greater than ever. And one of the roles which large submarine drones like the Orca might do is lay cables on the sea floor, unseen from above. Historical precedents like Theseaus can help us understand the way that these might be employed, and the challenges that they will face. https://www.forbes.com/sites/hisutton/2020/07/12/canada-secret-cold-war-drone-submarine-is-still-relevant-today/#121a2da51e96
31 mai 2019 | Local, C4ISR
Le scanner 3D portable de classe métrologique permet maintenant d'inspecter les enfoncements et les assemblages sur tous les modèles d'avions commerciaux de Boeing Creaform, le leader mondial en solutions de mesure 3D portables et de solutions de contrôles non destructifs (CND), annonce aujourd'hui que son scanner 3D portable de classe métrologique HandySCAN 3D™ permet d'enregistrer les attributs physiques des enfoncements et des assemblages pour tous les modèles d'avions commerciaux de Boeing. Boeing a publié une lettre de service comprenant un guide pour l'utilisation des scanners 3D pour mesurer les enfoncements et les assemblages sur les avions. La solution SmartDENT 3D™ et le scanner HandySCAN 3D ont été utilisés pour le processus des exigences de qualité de Boeing dans la lettre de service. « Creaform est fier de constater que des leaders tels que Boeing se tournent vers des solutions de numérisation 3D pour l'inspection des défauts de surface. Avec SmartDENT 3D, notre objectif est de fournir le processus d'évaluation des dommages le plus précis possible à nos clients, afin qu'ils prennent des décisions sécuritaires et documentées, tout en remettant leurs avions en service », déclare Jérôme Beaumont, Responsable des ventes globales NDT chez Creaform. Aperçu des avantages de SmartDENT 3D : Vitesse : 80 fois plus rapide que la technique de jauge de profondeur. Il s'agit de l'outil d'inspection des dommages de surface pour avions le plus rapide et fiable disponible sur le marché. Mesures de qualité métrologiques pour la maintenance d'avion : Le scanner dispose d'une exactitude allant jusqu'à 0,025 mm, d'une résolution allant jusqu'à 0,100 mm, d'une répétabilité élevée et d'un certificat traçable. Évaluations de réussite/échec intuitives : Avec sa conception intuitive et la visualisation du logiciel en temps réel, les solutions de CND de Creaform garantissent des courbes d'apprentissage courtes et une influence minime de l'expérience de l'opérateur sur l'exactitude des résultats. Visualisation en direct et portabilité : Avec moins d'un kilo sur la balance, le scanner portable est l'outil parfait pour travailler dans les hangars ou directement à l'extérieur. Les utilisateurs peuvent facilement effectuer une inspection de surface 3D sur n'importe quelle pièce d'un avion sur lesquelles ils utiliseraient des techniques manuelles, y compris sur et sous les ailes. En plus de leur conformité avec la lettre de service de Boeing, les scanners HandySCAN 3D de Creaform sont cités dans le manuel de l'équipement technique d'Airbus, plus particulièrement dans leur manuel de réparation des structures. Les ingénieurs de la qualité et les opérateurs MRO souhaitant réduire leurs délais d'exécution et leur rentabilité peuvent contacter Creaform pour en apprendre davantage sur les solutions CND. https://www.creaform3d.com/fr/news/le-scanner-handyscan-3d-de-creaform-satisfait-aux-exigences-de-boeing