11 juin 2019 | Local, Aérospatial, Sécurité

Canada puts premium on fighter jets’ ability to conduct attacks on foreign soil

The federal government's plan to buy new fighter jets puts greater emphasis on the aircraft's ability to conduct “strategic attacks” in foreign countries than their capacity to defend Canada and North America from enemy incursions, government documents show.

The importance awarded to the new aircraft's offensive and first-strike capabilities abroad, rather than their defensive capabilities in places such as the Arctic, is causing concerns among some companies in the running for the $19-billion contract to replace Canada's CF-18s, industry sources said.

In particular, some manufacturers have told the government they are worried the process will end up favouring the Lockheed-Martin F-35 at the expense of bids from the Boeing Super Hornet, Saab's Gripen and the Eurofighter Typhoon, which is built by a consortium led by Airbus. The industry sources who spoke about the matter were granted anonymity because federal rules prevent them from speaking publicly.

Federal officials said they are aware of the concerns from various aircraft manufacturers and that government experts are reviewing the evaluation grid. The government is planning to launch the competition for new fighter jets by the end of July.

“We are continuing to have discussions with the companies,” said Pat Finn, the assistant deputy minister in charge of procurement at National Defence.

He added that 80 per cent of the technical requirements are related to NORAD and NATO operations, while the rest are needed to be able to respond to government missions in hot spots around the world. “We're in a good spot for a competition,” he said.

Canada's defence policy, which was released in 2017, made it clear that the priority for the new fighter jets would be defending the country's territory.

“The fighter aircraft fleet is a critical Canadian Armed Forces capability necessary to enforce Canada's sovereignty, enable continental security, and contribute to international peace and stability,” the policy said.

David Perry, a military analyst at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, said the acquisition process to this point gives the impression that foreign missions are more important than domestic ones.

“At the high level, the optics of the way it is presented aren't very good at all,” he said.

The federal government's assessment grid for the new fighter jets is based on an evaluation of all requirements worth a total of 100 points, with 60 points going to technical capabilities, 20 points to the acquisition and sustainment costs, and 20 points to the package of industrial benefits. The government has shared its draft evaluation grid with potential bidders, a copy of which was provided to The Globe and Mail.

Of the 60 points going to technical requirements, 31.5 points are based on the aircraft's performance on six potential missions: conducting NORAD operations, intercepting a foreign aircraft carrying a cruise missile, carrying missions against maritime targets, detecting and attacking foreign aircraft such as enemy fighter jets, providing “close air support” in an attack against targets on foreign soil and participating in a “strategic attack” against a foreign country.

The first two missions, which are seen to be domestic in nature, are worth a total of 3.5 points. By contrast, the mission worth the most points (12 out of 31.5, or nearly 40 per cent of the points in this category) is the one based on an aircraft's ability to conduct a first-strike “strategic attack” in a foreign country, which is known to be a forte of the F-35.

The evaluation grid has led some companies to complain to the government that the process favoured the F-35 at the expense of their aircraft, industry and government sources said.

Following complaints from the American government, the federal government changed last month the way it will evaluate the 20 points related to industrial benefits. Under a new process, Ottawa will no longer force all bidders to commit 100 per cent of the value of the aircraft's acquisition and sustainment on spending in Canada. Instead, manufacturers will lose points in the scoring system if they do not make this commitment, but they will still be allowed to remain in the competition

Before the changes were made, the F-35 could have been automatically disqualified because the international consortium that builds the aircraft doesn't allow for the provision of traditional industrial benefits.

Of the 20 points that are attributed to the cost of the new aircraft, 10 are determined based on the acquisition costs and 10 are determined based on the sustainment of the aircraft after their purchase.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-canada-puts-premium-on-fighter-jets-ability-to-conduct-attacks-on/

Sur le même sujet

10 octobre 2019 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

Opinion: How To Assess Defense Prospects For The Future
Byron Callan During upcoming earnings conference calls, expect some defense contractors to again state that they are well-positioned in high-priority programs and markets that fully align with customer priorities. In addition, planners and analysts are going to be asking a lot more questions about contractor positioning and the outcome of the 2020 U.S. election. Who will be best positioned if President Donald Trump is reelected or if there is a Democrat in the White House in 2021? On the first assertion of “well-positioned,” to a degree it is axiomatic. Defense requirements are validated, so by that very process, they take priority over emerging and yet-to-be-funded requirements. However, if one accepts the premises that Defense Department budgets may be flat for a multi-year period and that demand signals for security are going to rise, the sector will be entering a far more dynamic period in the 2020s than the past 4-5 years. Instead of being “well-positioned,” a broader set of filters may need to be applied. Posture may be a better way to assess contractor outlooks. There are five attributes on which this may be assessed. 1. The priority and relative safety of programs matters both in U.S. and international markets. But that needs to be assessed and reassessed against changed defense needs. Today's major programs of record are likely to change. If there is doubt on that issue, a reading of the U.S. Marine Corps Commandant's Planning Guidance released last July may dispel notions that the next 10 years are going to be stable and predictable. 2. One contractor can disrupt others through new product and service offerings or even a new business model. Examples of the former include Boeing's T-X/T-7 aircraft, which, if evolved into a fighter/attack aircraft, may be good enough for some missions. Kratos' Valkyrie is another example, which could affect demand for manned combat aircraft. On the latter, the Pentagon now intends to purchase launch services instead of expendable launch vehicles. Where else might these sorts of “as a service” models be applied? 3. The pipeline of bid opportunities: There are some large programs that are in competition and for which decisions are pending. The Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent, Long-Range Standoff, Army aviation and ground-vehicle modernization and Navy FFG(X) programs are some of the larger ones that could be decided, but there also are classified ones and swaths of opportunity in unmanned systems, hypersonics, software for data and artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity. International opportunity also clearly matters in assessing how a contractor is postured. 4. The ability to execute within cost and schedule is essential. Human capital, technology application and risk, contracting and supply chain management are critical attributes. This also will tie into the bid pipeline and the degree to which a contractor is postured to pursue new opportunities or if the contractor will have challenges managing its current portfolio of products and services. From the outside looking in at contractors, this attribute may be difficult to measure. Open job position data can be sketchy, but it is one metric to consider. Performance on current programs is another. 5. Contractor culture will be critical in the 2020s. One aspect of culture is how well a contractor anticipates potential changes in defense and security needs. Another is how receptive company leaders are to positioning or repositioning to capitalize on those changes. There will not be solid metrics here, although there are plenty of good questions to ask. In order to anticipate change, contractors are going to have to be wired to understand when and where change is occurring. This has to allow perspectives that may differ from the consensus view to reach leaders so they can assess whether ideas are worth pursuing or if there is a threat to be addressed. Part of this posture entails a willingness to create top cover and breathing space for conflicting views. There will be a natural tendency of company leaders to continue to exploit current business models and protect major products and services. There will likely be very strong pressure from shareholders to sustain or increase operational margins and cash flow and stay within current business lanes. Posture, however, may also include a willingness to take some short-term or even intermediate-term pain and risk in order to better position for the future. Innovation is an overused term these days, and it may be like former Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart's assertion on obscenity: “I know it when I see it.” Be that as it may, contractors must dedicate time to innovation every week in order to achieve it. https://aviationweek.com/defense/opinion-how-assess-defense-prospects-future
7 novembre 2018 | Local, Aérospatial

CAE signs four major Eurpoean training deals
Written by Wings Staff The international expansion of CAE continues with four major training agreements announced in Madrid, Spain, during the 2018 European Airline Training Symposium at the 2018 European Airline Training Symposium. This includes deals with CityJet, easyJet, Polish Airlines and Vueling Airlines. easyJet deal The agreement with easyJet is the largest new contract of the four, valued at more than $170 million over the next 10 years. Under the agreement, all of easyJet's pilots will train at CAE, which will expand its training network to provide the airline with three new European pilot training locations, equipped with a fleet of CAE's latest XR Series flight simulators. CAE will provide easyJet with state-of-the-art pilot training solutions at training centres located in London-Gatwick and Manchester in the UK, as well as Milan, Italy. During easyJet's fiscal year 2018, ending September 30, 2018, the airline has recruited 460 pilots, which is a pilot recruitment record for the airline as it continues to expand across Europe. In the last year alone easyJet has added bases to its network in Berlin Tegel and Bordeaux and now flies more than 1,000 routes on over 300 Airbus A320 family aircraft. In July 2018 easyJet took delivery of the first of 30 A321neo aircraft. As part of the contract, CAE will build a new training centre in London-Gatwick with a dedicated space to serve easyJet's training needs. It will deploy nine Airbus A320-family full-flight simulators (FFSs) and three flight training devices (FTDs) in the new London-Gatwick centre. The agreement also includes two additional training locations in Manchester, UK, and Milan, Italy. The centres will be ready for training starting in the second half of 2019. “This represents one of the biggest deals of its kind in Europe in the last five years and we are pleased to be working with CAE as a trusted and highly innovative training provider to help ensure easyJet is a centre of excellence for crew training,” said Chris Browne, easyJet's chief operating officer. The agreement will see easyJet become the launch customer for new CAE 600XR FTDs, featuring the Tropos 6000XR collimated visual system and a fully enclosed instructor area. easyJet will also utilize the CAE 7000XR Series full-flight simulator with features like CAE XR simulation fidelity and instructor interface, CAE XR lesson and flight-plan upload capabilities. CAE has been delivering pilot training solutions to easyJet pilots since 2004. In 2010, easyJet selected CAE as its launch partner for a cadet Pilot Programme based on the Multi-Crew Pilot Licence (MPL). To date, CAE has selected, assessed, trained and delivered more than 900 co-pilots and captains through the easyJet MPL Integrated ATPL and type-rating training programs for the airline. LOT Polish Airlines deal CAE also reached an exclusive two-year pilot training agreement with LOT Polish Airlines (LOT), flag carrier of Poland, on various Boeing, Bombardier and Embraer aircraft platforms. The airline's pilots began training earlier this fall at multiple CAE training locations in Europe, including CAE Amsterdam, CAE Madrid, CAE London Gatwick and CAE Stockholm. “This agreement helps us invest in the future growth of LOT and helps us attract new pilots on the global competitive aviation market,” said Maciej Wilk, chief operations officer of LOT. The airline's first new pilots have already started their training with CAE. CAE and LOT Polish Airlines share a long-standing relationship of more than 10 years, with the provision of pilot training. “It's an honour to support the growing pilot training needs of LOT Polish Airlines across CAE's training network in Europe, near our airline partner's base in Warsaw,” said Nick Leontidis, CAE's group president, Civil Aviation Training Solutions. CityJet deal CAE also signed an exclusive long-term pilot training agreement with regional airline CityJet. Based in Dublin, Ireland, CityJet operates a fleet of 44 regional jets on a network of wet lease and scheduled services across Europe. CityJet employs over 1,200 staff with crew bases in Amsterdam, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dublin, Helsinki, Paris, Stockholm, Tallinn and Vilnius. CityJet operated over 80,000 flights in the last year carrying over 4.7 million passengers. Under terms of the agreement, CAE will deliver Bombardier CRJ900 pilot training to the airline for a period of eight years following the start of training expected by May 2020. As a result, CAE will deploy a new CAE 7000XR series CRJ900/1000 full-flight simulator (FFS) at CAE Amsterdam by 2020, and will update its current CRJ200/900 FFS to the latest CRJ900 configuration at CAE Copenhagen by the end of 2019. CAE instructors will also provide Bombardier CRJ900 type-rating training at CAE Copenhagen. The airline's flight and cabin crew will continue to train on the platform at CAE Amsterdam, CAE Brussels, CAE Copenhagen and CAE Stockholm. Additionally, to support CityJet's growth plans and meet its training needs, CAE will train the airline's future pilots starting with 12 cadets next year, building on its previous agreement. As part of their 18-month training program, cadets will complete their ground school and flight training at CAE Oxford and CAE Phoenix. Upon successful completion of their training, graduates will be employed by CityJet. “CAE has been a tremendous partner for CityJet over the past few years, developing our future pilots, and providing an outstanding training experience to our pilots and cabin crew,” said Capt. Robert Campbell Smith, General Manager Flight Operations at CityJet. “With this announcement, the increased capacity and the upgraded simulator at CAE Copenhagen will ensure our training needs will be met in the coming years.” CAE explains it has been CityJet's training partner of choice since 2016, providing cadet to captain and cabin crew training, as well as crew resourcing services. Vueling Airlines deal CAE also reached a deal to launch a cadet pilot training program in partnership with Vueling Airlines based in Barcelona, Spain. CAE will select, assess and train up to 80 new pilots over the next four years for the European airline. Starting in the fall of 2018, the selected candidates will begin an 18-month training program at CAE Madrid. The first group of Vueling's cadets will begin EASA theoretical knowledge training at CAE's training centre in Madrid, followed by flight training at CAE Phoenix and CAE Oxford before returning to CAE Barcelona to complete their Airbus A320 type-rating training. “We are excited to partner with CAE and we are confident that our training partner of choice will deliver professional pilots who will be ready to fly confidently,” said Alberto Guerrero, pilots training director at Vueling. CAE has been providing pilot and cabin crew training to Vueling for almost 15 years. More than 1,000 pilots and cabin crew members have been trained for the Spanish carrier, which is part of the International Airlines Group. https://www.wingsmagazine.com/news/cae-europe-15962
23 janvier 2019 | Local, Naval

Canadian navy pressing ahead on life extensions for submarines
By Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press OTTAWA — The Department of National Defence is pushing ahead with plans to extend the lives of Canada's submarine fleet, with the head of the navy hoping some work will start in the coming months. The movement comes as countries around the world have stepped up investments in their submarine and anti-submarine fleets to protect their waters — and operate in waters not under their control. Canada's four Victoria-class submarines have a troubled history since they were bought second-hand from Britain in 1998, with successive governments investing hundreds of millions of dollars in constant repairs and upgrades. But in an interview with The Canadian Press, Royal Canadian Navy commander Vice-Admiral Ron Lloyd said the diesel-powered submarines — HMCS Chicoutimi, Victoria, Corner Brook and Windsor — have finally turned a corner. Lloyd specifically pointed to HMCS Chicoutimi's having recently spent 197 days in the Pacific and Asia even as HMCS Windsor was patrolling the Mediterranean with NATO as proof the submarines are living up to their potential. "The fact we had two boats concurrently deployed, if that doesn't speak to the success of the program, I don't know what does," said Lloyd, who will retire from the military later this year after three years as navy commander. The clock has been ticking on the four vessels: without upgrades, the first of the submarines will reach the end of its life in 2022, according to documents obtained through access to information, while the last will retire in 2027. But the Liberals' defence policy promised to extend the lives of the vessels and Lloyd said defence officials are now working through the details to make sure they can continue to operate into the 2030s. More extensive work is expected to start in about three or four years but Lloyd said efforts are underway to start implementing some minor upgrades by March. Exactly how much upgrading all four submarines will cost remains uncertain, but Lloyd said the figure that officials are working with is about $2 billion. Some experts have previously called for Canada to consider new submarines, rather than extending the lives of the ones it has, but the government has said upgrading the Victoria-class ships is more "prudent." Other experts have said the country doesn't need such expensive vessels. But many other countries around the world are investing in submarine and antisubmarine fleets. NATO has specifically raised concerns about Russian submarines in the North Atlantic, while Canadian frigate commanders patrolling in the Atlantic and Mediterranean have reported more foreign submarines in recent years. "The most proliferated weapon system right now on the planet are submarines," Lloyd said. "They by themselves can impact the outcome of a battle space. And so putting a submarine into a body of water instantly changes the calculus that are currently operating in those bodies of water." Aside from upgrading its submarines, the Canadian military has started to return to its Cold War role as a leader in antisubmarine warfare in the North Atlantic by upgrading its frigates and maritime patrol planes and adding new maritime helicopters. — Follow @leeberthiaume on Twitter. Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press https://www.nationalnewswatch.com/2019/01/22/canadian-navy-pressing-ahead-on-life-extensions-for-submarines/#.XEjDzVxKiUl

Toutes les nouvelles