23 juillet 2021 | Local, Aérospatial

Canada pays another US$71M for F-35 development - Wings Magazine

OTTAWA — Canada has quietly made another multimillion-dollar payment toward development of the F-35 stealth fighter despite uncertainty over whether it

https://www.wingsmagazine.com/canada-pays-another-us71m-for-f-35-development

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  • Ottawa awards $2.4B contract to finish building navy's supply ships

    16 juin 2020 | Local, Naval

    Ottawa awards $2.4B contract to finish building navy's supply ships

    The decision signals the project won't be delayed by pandemic-driven deficit spending Murray Brewster · CBC News · Posted: Jun 15, 2020 2:45 PM The Liberal government has awarded a $2.4 billion contract to finish the overall construction of the navy's long-awaited supply ships. Today's announcement moves forward a Joint Support Ship program over a decade-and-a-half in the making. It also appears to signal the federal government remains committed to its multi-billion shipbuilding program despite record levels of pandemic-driven federal deficit spending. The contract, with Seaspan's Vancouver Shipyards, is for the construction of two replenishment vessels, Public Services and Procurement Canada said in a statement. Now that the construction deal has been signed, the overall price tag of the program — including design — is expected to be $4.1 billion, up from an earlier estimate of $3.4 billion. Seven years ago, the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) predicted the cost would end up where it has — an estimate that was roundly criticized and dismissed by the Conservatives, who were in power at the time. "The government announcement today did not have a whole ton of detail, so it's hard to do an exact comparison, but I certainly think that PBO estimate from a long time ago has held up pretty well over time," said Dave Perry, an expert in defence procurement and vice president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. The first supply ship is to be delivered in 2023, and the second vessel is supposed to arrive two years later. The yard started construction on certain portions of the first ship in 2018, while final design work was still underway — something that alarmed and even baffled some defence and shipbuilding experts. 'Business as usual' With the federal deficit expected to swell to over $252.1 billion because of COVID-19 relief measures, many in the defence community had been speculating that existing spending plans for the supply ships would be curtailed or scaled back. In a statement, federal Public Services Minister Anita Anand suggested the Liberal government is committed to staying the course. "This contract award is yet another example of our ongoing commitment to the National Shipbuilding Strategy, which is supporting a strong and sustainable marine sector in Canada," she said. Perry said he takes it as a sign the Liberals intend to proceed with their defence construction plans in the face of fiscal and economic uncertainty. "It is an indicator that, despite being business under some very unusual circumstances, it is still government business-as-usual under COVID," he said. In the same government statement, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan pointed out that an enormous amount of preparation work has been done already and he's pleased the project is moving forward. "An impressive amount of work has already gone into the construction of these new ships, and I look forward to their arrival in the coming years." said Sajjan. Construction during COVID-19 A senior executive at Seaspan said work to adapt the design from the original German plan (the Canadian ship is based on the German Navy's Berlin-Class replenishment vessel) was completed last year and work on the superstructure of the first Joint Support Ship — started in 2018 — has been proceeding apace, even through the pandemic. "It is well advanced," said Amy MacLeod, the company's vice-president of corporate affairs. "We are ready to continue. We're very, very happy with the quality of the ship, the progress of the ship, the momentum that we have and the expertise we have gained." The shipyard did not pause construction due to the pandemic — but it did have to figure out ways to carry on under strict physical distancing rules. "We, like everybody else, had to understand how to run a business in a pandemic," said MacLeod. "We made a lot of changes on how we build our ships." Turnstiles to enter and exit the yard were eliminated and the company went high-tech with a "heat map" that shows where everyone is working and how much space there is between individual workers. "And where we couldn't ensure appropriate social distancing because of COVID, we stopped that work." Perry said the gap between the construction of the two supply ships worries him to a degree. Seaspan intends to construct an ocean science vessel for the coast guard under a plan agreed to with the Liberal government in 2019. Any delay or hiccup in the construction of that ship could mean the delivery of the second naval vessel is pushed back even further, Perry said. Extending the navy's range News of the contract will come as a relief to the navy. Having replenishment ships to refuel and rearm frigates would allow the navy to deploy entire task groups to far-flung parts of the world. "With these warships, the Royal Canadian Navy will be able to operate with even greater flexibility and endurance," said Vice-Admiral Art McDonald, commander of the navy. "These ships will not only form part of the core of our naval task groups, they also represent a vital and strategic national asset that will enable the Navy to maintain its global reach and staying power." A tortured history It was 1994 when the replacement program was first discussed. The deficit-slashing years of that decade meant the plan was shelved. Resurrected in 2004, the Liberal government of former prime minister Paul Martin hoped to have the ships in the water by 2008 to replace the three-decade-old supply ships the navy had been operating. Faced with cost estimates well over what they had expected, the Conservative government of former prime minister Stephen Harper shelved the Liberal plan on the eve of the 2008 federal election. More than five years later, the navy was forced to retire both aging supply ships after one of them was crippled by a devastating fire. The absence of replenishment capability led the Harper government to lease a converted civilian supply ship from a private company, Federal Fleet Services, which operates out of the Davie Shipyard in Levis, Que. That plan led to a political and legal scandal when the former commander of the navy, Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, was accused of leaking cabinet secrets related to the plan. The Crown withdrew the charge a year ago after a protracted pre-trial court battle. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/supply-ship-navy-seaspan-1.5612770

  • Le Canada envoie des instructeurs en soins médicaux en appui à l’opération UNIFIER et prolonge le programme de formation de sapeurs en Pologne

    7 mars 2023 | Local, Autre défense

    Le Canada envoie des instructeurs en soins médicaux en appui à l’opération UNIFIER et prolonge le programme de formation de sapeurs en Pologne

    Le 7 mars 2023 – Kingston (Ontario) – Défense nationale/Forces armées canadiennes Aujourd’hui, le premier ministre Justin Trudeau et la ministre de la Défense nationale Anita Anand ont annoncé que le Canada a envoyé sept techniciens médicaux et adjoints médicaux en provenance d’unités des Services de santé des Forces canadiennes (SSFC) des Forces armées canadiennes (FAC) en Pologne, où ils aideront des membres des forces armées de l’Ukraine à acquérir les compétences nécessaires pour sauver des vies avec efficacité en situation de combat. Ces instructeurs en soins médicaux canadiens seront intégrés au programme d’instruction dirigé par la Pologne, qui est axé sur des compétences médicales tactiques avancées et met un accent particulier sur la survivabilité au combat. L’instruction commencera au début de mars et chaque cours devrait durer environ un mois. Le personnel des FAC participant à ce programme d’instruction provient d’unités partout au Canada. En outre, le Canada prolonge jusqu’en octobre 2023 ses efforts en cours pour former des sapeurs ukrainiens en Pologne dans le cadre de l’opération UNIFIER. Par l’entremise de cette formation offerte depuis l’automne 2022, environ 45 membres des FAC aident des sapeurs de combat ukrainiens à acquérir des compétences spécialisées portant notamment sur la reconnaissance technique et l’utilisation d’explosifs pour les travaux de démolition et de déminage. Depuis février 2022, le Canada s’est engagé à fournir plus d’un milliard de dollars en aide militaire à l’Ukraine. Ces dons comprennent huit chars de combat principaux Leopard 2, un véhicule blindé de dépannage, plus de 200 véhicules blindés, un système national de missiles surface-air perfectionné (NASAMS) accompagné de munitions, 39 véhicules blindés d’appui tactique, des armes antichars, des armes légères, des obusiers M777 accompagnés de munitions, des caméras pour drones à haute résolution, des vêtements d’hiver et plus encore. Citations « L’attaque de la Russie contre l’Ukraine est une attaque contre la démocratie, la liberté et la souveraineté. Devant cette guerre injuste et horrible, l’appui du Canada envers l’Ukraine demeure inébranlable.  Grâce à des dons d’aide militaire, à la formation de sapeurs ukrainiens et, maintenant, à la formation d’Ukrainiens en premiers soins au combat, le Canada dote les forces armées de l’Ukraine des compétences et de l’équipement dont elles ont besoin pour gagner cette guerre et sauver des vies. Nous épaulerons l’Ukraine pendant aussi longtemps qu’il le faudra. » L’honorable Anita Anand, ministre de la Défense nationale Faits en bref Les membres des Forces armées canadiennes soutiennent les Forces armées ukrainiennes au Royaume-Uni et en Pologne dans le cadre de l’opération UNIFIER en leur offrant de l’instruction pour acquérir diverses compétences militaires. De 2015 à 2023, le Canada a formé plus de 35 000 membres des forces de sécurité de l’Ukraine dans le cadre de l’opération UNIFIER. Les Forces armées canadiennes contribuent à l’acheminement de l’aide militaire destinée à l’Ukraine en Europe depuis le Canada et au nom de nos Alliés et partenaires. Elles ont notamment transporté plus de sept millions de livres de dons militaires depuis mars 2022. https://www.canada.ca/fr/ministere-defense-nationale/nouvelles/2023/03/le-canada-envoie-des-instructeurs-en-soins-medicaux-en-appui-a-loperationunifier-et-prolonge-le-programme-de-formation-de-sapeurs-en-pologne.html

  • Naval contracts and technology developments on display at CANSEC 2019

    3 juin 2019 | Local, Naval

    Naval contracts and technology developments on display at CANSEC 2019

    DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN The CANSEC 2019 defence trade show in Ottawa has wrapped up, and while much of the focus and talk was on new fighter jets, the naval side of procurement didn't escape notice. A number of firms have recent contracts or technology advancements, as outlined in this article in Esprit de Corps magazine. ATLAS ELEKTRONIK GmbH recently announced successful SeaSpider sea trials that were done in co-operation with the German Bundeswehr Technical Center for ships and naval weapons, maritime technology and research. The SeaSpider is the world's first dedicated Anti-Torpedo Torpedo. Trials in the Baltic Sea were conducted on a WTD 71 multipurpose vessel, according to the company. Those involved the full “sensor to shooter” chain with Torpedo Detection, Classification and Localisation, or TDCL sonar, being successfully demonstrated with the third generation SeaSpider prototype with its above water launcher. At the test range both a Mk37 torpedo derived AUV and torpedoes of the DM2A3 type served as the threats. Those were detected and localized with passive and active TDCL and the data was used to cue the SeaSpider launch. SeaSpider acquired the threats and homed in into closest point of approach, the firm noted. The successful “intercept” was verified by acoustic and optical means. Saab's Sea Giraffe AMB naval radar will be used for the Royal Canadian Navy's Joint Support Ships. Saab will do the work on the project both in Sweden and Halifax. Deliveries of the radars are to take place between 2020 and 2022. Seaspan Shipyards has awarded MAN Energy Solutions Canada of Vancouver, BC, a contract valued at $55 million for work on the Royal Canadian Navy's new Joint Support Ships or JSS. MAN is one of several major systems integrators that Seaspan is working with in order to meet its commitments under the National Shipbuilding Strategy, the firm noted. Under this contract MAN will provide propulsion and power generation components for the JSS. This will include two MAN 12V32/44CR (Common Rail) propulsion engines equipped with environmental protection SCR technology, reduction gears, propulsion shafts, propellers, ship service diesel generator sets, and an emergency diesel generator set. Work on these components will take place in Europe at MAN's manufacturing facilities. Work taking place in Canada will include MAN providing the integration for these systems, training, testing, and support during the harbour acceptance trials and the JSS sea acceptance trials, according to Seaspan. MDA, a Maxar company, announced that it has signed a $4 million contract with Lockheed Martin Canada. That deal is for the initial phase of design work for the Canadian Surface Combatant ship's Electronic Warfare system. The Águas Azuis Consortium, formed by thyssenkrupp Marine Systems, Embraer Defense & Security and Atech, was selected by the Brazilian Navy for the construction of four defence ships in the Tamandaré Corvettes Class Program as preferred bidder. With thyssenkrupp Marine Systems' leadership and its naval systems expertise, the Águas Azuis Consortium companies will now form a specific purpose company for the implementation phase of the program, the firms noted. Atech, an Embraer Group company, will be the supplier of the Combat Management System and Integrated Platform Management System of the Tamandaré Class corvettes. It will be involved in the transfer of technology in cooperation with ATLAS ELEKTRONIK, a subsidiary of thyssenkrupp Marine Systems, and L3 MAPPS. Embraer Defense & Security will integrate sensors and weaponry into the combat system. Kognitiv Spark of Fredericton, NB will be providing the Royal Canadian Navy with the opportunity to test a Mixed Reality Remote Assistant Support system as part of a project that aims to improve maintenance and repairs aboard naval vessels. The system can be used by RCN marine technicians and weapons engineering technicians to ensure that RCN ships remain at a high-level of readiness for both routine training and operational deployments, according to the firm The project hopes to validate technology adopted from Kognitiv Spark, whose software is designed for use with the Microsoft HoloLens. The software leverages Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality, and the integration of Artificial Intelligence to improve efficiencies with ship operations including repairs, maintenance and knowledge transfer, the firm added. For remote maintenance, a subject-matter expert using this system can see what the HoloLens wearer sees from anywhere in the world. The expert can provide guidance using real-time voice and video, interactive 3D holograms and content, and live IoT data. Alternatively, the technician can use locally stored data to assist with routine tasks when a remote expert is not available. The holographic support is designed to improve decision making by facilitating decisive action and reducing errors by providing clarity and certainty of comprehension. Kognitiv Spark says it was awarded the contract due in part to its reputation from ongoing work with the Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/naval-contracts-and-technology-developments-on-display-at-cansec-2019

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