Canada not sending fighter jets to Europe next year as Air Force rearms, regroups

Sur le même sujet

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  8 mars 2021 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

  Investing in Canadian Solutions for COVID-19//Investir dans les solutions canadiennes pour combattre la COVID-19

  Investing in Canadian Solutions for COVID-19 In the spring of 2020, IDEaS pivoted to capitalize on the novel ideas of Canadian innovators in the fight against COVID-19. We are proud to report that 48 contribution agreements were awarded in the past few months, valued at $8.64 million, and were recently announced by Defence Minister Harjit S. Sajjan. The new contribution agreements will support research and development efforts in the realm of COVID-19 in four specific challenge areas: sanitization of workspaces; pandemic decision making; re-using protective equipment; and moral trauma on the frontline. You can read the news release and see the full list of recipients here. Investing in Defence & Security Capabilities: Read the 2019-2020 IDEaS Annual Report See how some of your IDEaS have come to life! IDEaS has invested significantly in Canadian S&T over the last year, and organizations have been transforming their innovative thinking into tangible solutions for CAF and DND. We wanted to take the opportunity to celebrate our collective efforts and achievements in the IDEaS 2019-2020 Annual Report IDEaS has been able to continue building on the success achieved in 2019-2020. To date we have funded over 440 defence and security solutions and invested more than $160M in Canadian innovators. See the full list of IDEaS funded recipients. And some of these solutions are already being delivered to defence & security stakeholders! Investir dans les solutions canadiennes pour combattre la COVID-19 Au printemps 2020, IDEeS s'est orienté pour capitaliser sur les nouvelles idées des innovateurs canadiens dans la lutte contre la COVID-19. Nous sommes fiers d'annoncer que 48 accords de contribution, d'une valeur de 8,64 millions de dollars, ont été signés et annoncés récemment par le ministre de la Défense Harjit S. Sajjan. Les nouveaux accords de contribution appuieront les efforts de recherche et développement dans le cadre de la COVID-19 dans quatre domaines de recherches spécifiques: • désinfecter les espaces de travail; • prise de décisions dans le cadre d'une pandémie; • réutiliser l'équipement de protection; et • traumatisme moral en première ligne. Vous pouvez lire le communiqué de presse et voir la liste complète des récipiendaires. Investir dans le développement de capacités en défense et sécurité: Lisez le rapport annuel 2019-2020 du programme IDEeS Regardez comment certaines de vos IDEeS ont pris vie ! IDEeS a investi considérablement dans la Science et la Technologie canadienne au cours de la dernière année, et les organisations ont transformé leur pensée novatrice en solutions concrètes pour les FAC et le MDN. Nous voulions profiter de l'occasion pour célébrer nos efforts collectifs et nos réalisations dans le rapport annuel 2019-2020 du programme IDEeS. IDEeS a pu continuer à miser sur le succès obtenu en 2019-2020. À ce jour, nous avons financé plus de 440 solutions de défense et de sécurité et investi plus de 160 millions de dollars sur des innovateurs canadiens. Consultez la liste complète des récipiendaires financés par IDEeS. Et plusieurs de ces solutions sont en train d'être transférées à nos partenaires de la défense et de la sécurité.

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  26 avril 2018 | Local, Aérospatial

  RCAF hints at capabilities that may guide future fighter acquisition

  Chris Thatcher The Canadian government is still a year away from issuing a request for proposals for its next fighter jet, but the general leading the future fighter capability project has indicated what capabilities may drive the Royal Canadian Air Force's (RCAF's) eventual statement of requirements. In a presentation to the Aerospace Innovation Forum in Montreal last week, MGen Alain Pelletier, chief of the Fighter Capability Program, emphasized the importance of a platform with the flexibility to adapt to changing threats over a period of at least 30 years. Setting the future fleet of 88 jets in the context of NATO and NORAD missions, he emphasized the challenge of anticipating, adapting and acting in a threat environment where potential adversaries are investing heavily in longer-range “anti-access/area denial” capabilities, surface-to-air missile systems, exploitation of the electro-magnetic spectrum, and cyber weapons. Pelletier, a CF-188 Hornet pilot with two tours in the Balkans, noted the “operational disadvantage” Canadian pilots currently face from anti-aircraft and surface-to-air threats. In recent NATO air policing missions over Romania and Lithuania, “we fly to a potential threat area knowing that our location and number is known by the adversaries while the intent and willingness...to employ their weapon systems remains unknown,” he said. This was especially true during the CF-188 deployment on Operation Impact over Iraq and Syria. Though the theatre was considered a semi-permissive environment, “had the Syrian government intent changed regarding the use of their airspace, only effective self-protection systems and exploitation of the electro-magnetic spectrums could have protected our fighters against a 20 second engagement by a surface-to-air missile,” he observed. The current NATO environment features a range of advanced surface-to-air systems that “are mobile, digitized, passive, and carry missiles with a cruise speed capability and a classified range in excess of 300 kilometres,” he said. A sortie might begin in a permissive environment but end in a contested one, so the “capabilities of the aircraft at the beginning of the mission [will] define if the future fighter will have an operational advantage.” The NORAD picture is equally challenging. Russian activity in the North has increased in the past several years, Pelletier noted, “with Russian bombers potentially armed with low observable cruise missiles being escorted by fighters...like the advanced [Sukhoi] Su-35 and eventually the Su-57 [first seen] in the Syrian theatre of operations.” “Exploitation of the electro-magnetic spectrum allows Russian platforms to know where Canadian NORAD fighters are,” limiting Canadian options to respond, he added. “The bottom line remains that the defence of Canada and North America requires a future fighter that can adapt and act decisively.” Consequently, a critical requirement of the next fighter jet will be interoperability with NORAD and NATO partners. In particular, Pelletier underscored the importance of being able to share intelligence among 2 Eyes and 5 Eyes partners collected by their respective national assets. The 2 Eyes partnership of Canada and the United States, and the 5 Eyes group of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the U.S., has been essential to understanding and operating in conflict zones. He also emphasized that operations are heavily dependent on the systematic collection, coordination, fusion, production and dissemination of defence intelligence. “In a fighter aircraft, all systems employ or exploit this information for the use of mission data files, threat libraries, all of which allow the pilots to effectively conduct their mission. Commonality and a growth path are required to ensure the seamless fusion of all systems through the life of the fleet to 2060 and beyond.” NATO and NORAD systems and intelligence interoperability requirements are not new, but the RCAF's demand for 2 Eyes/5 Eyes compatibility could present a barrier for countries and manufacturers that are not part of those closed groups. Several times during his presentation, Pelletier also repeated the need for an aircraft and mission and weapons systems that could be “continuously” upgraded well into the 2060s. Given the innovation forum's focus on disruptive technologies, Pelletier noted the opportunities and threats posed by autonomous systems operating in an integrated and networked fashion, swarming unmanned systems, advanced exploitation of the electro-magnetic spectrum, hypersonic speed, directed energy, quantum technology, and artificial intelligence. All may eventually be part of the next fighter, but he cautioned industry that any advantage would only happen if the technology could be rapidly implemented and integrated and supported by government policy and rules of engagement. https://www.skiesmag.com/news/rcaf-hints-capabilities-may-guide-future-fighter-acquisition/

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  8 août 2018 | Local, Aérospatial

  Modernization program could see Cormorant helicopters return to Trenton

  DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN The federal government's plan to move ahead with the modernization of Cormorant search and rescue helicopters could see the return of Cormorants on the flight line at Trenton, Ont., says the Canadian Forces. The RCAF is hoping for “the potential re-introduction of the CH-149 Cormorant helicopter to Trenton” once the Cormorant modernization program is finished, it added. If that happens the Griffon helicopters currently assigned to 424 Transport and Rescue Squadron, would be returned to the Tactical Utility Helicopter role, according to the military. The Italian aerospace firm, Leonardo, will do the modernization on the Cormorants as part of a project to upgrade the helicopters and to add seven more aircraft to the flight line. No timeline has been provided for the modernization and a contract has yet to be signed. In the meantime, the CH-146 Griffon helicopters continue to fulfill the rotary wing search and rescue role from 8 Wing Trenton. A number of improvements have been made to the CH-146 Griffon helicopters based at 8 Wing Trenton to enhance their operational capability in the SAR role, according to the RCAF. These improvements include:  Critical aircraft performance parameters have been increased to allow crews to remain in the hover for longer periods during exercises and rescue missions  The Griffon's rescue hoist has been upgraded to increase its speed and responsiveness during critical rescue operations  A new life raft system and a low altitude warning system were installed, both of which improve crew safety during operations over water  New avionics were fitted in late 2012 to improve long range communication capabilities and provide the ability to track the helicopter's exact location during missions  The aircraft's bubble windows were repositioned to maximize the spotters' effectiveness while conducting visual searches from the Griffon https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/modernization-program-could-see-cormorant-helicopters-return-to-trenton