3 juillet 2019 | Local, Aérospatial
Canadian special forces will receive three new surveillance aircraft from the U.S. with the planes expected to arrive in 2022.
But the cost is substantially more than what the U.S. Air Force spends to buy the same or similar aircraft.
The three Beechcraft King Air planes, to be based at CFB Trenton in Ontario, will be outfitted with sensors and equipment to intercept cell phone and other electronic transmissions. Canadian special forces and, potentially, other government departments will use them for missions overseas and in Canada.
The agreement for the aircraft was finalized on April 26 with the U.S. government. Three aircraft and equipment will be delivered in the spring of 2022, the Canadian Forces noted.
The agreement signed with the U.S. government is for $188 million (CAN).
The U.S. Air Force lists the cost of the MC-12W surveillance aircraft as $17 million each or around $23 million Canadian. That includes communications/sensors and modification of the aircraft for that equipment. So three aircraft should cost in total about $70 million Canadian, give or take.
It is not clear why Canada is spending more than double the cost of the aircraft than the U.S. Air Force. It could be that the aircraft are not exactly the same but does that account for more than double the cost?
Postmedia asked the Canadian Forces for an explanation last week but there has been no response.
If an answer is provided then this article will be updated.
The main contractor for the planes is Beechcraft in Wichita, Kan.
29 novembre 2023 | Local, Aérospatial
National Defence fast-tracked removal of Aurora aircraft by a decade despite spending hundreds of millions modernizing the planes
26 mai 2020 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
Le Conseil national de recherches du Canada (CNRC) et Services publics et approvisionnement Canada (SPA) sont à la recherche d'une plateforme d'échange numérique intelligente qui mettra en contact les chercheurs, les fournisseurs de soins de santé et les fournisseurs de solutions avec des appareils et des informations pour répondre à COVID-19. Le CNRC est également à la recherche de réactifs magnétiques pour effectuer des diagnostics moléculaires du virus COVID-19. Vous pensez pouvoir résoudre l'un de ces défis ? Participez pour avoir la chance de recevoir du financement pour prouver votre faisabilité de votre solution et la développer ! Possibilités de financement de COVID-19
15 janvier 2020 | Local, Sécurité
DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN Updated: January 13, 2020 The RCAF is still working its way through various legal issues as it tries to come up with an official Canadian name for the Airbus C-295 aircraft, the service's new fixed wing search and rescue plane. The new name was supposed to be selected by November at the earliest and December at the latest. But now the RCAF says it doesn't know when it will announce a name for the planes. “The list of possible names for the CC-295 has been further narrowed down, and those names are currently undergoing legal, contractual, and trademark vetting,” RCAF spokesperson Major Jill Lawrence explained to Defence Watch. “Once the process is complete, and when appropriate, the RCAF will formally announce the new name. At this time, there is no anticipated date for that announcement.” No details were provided on the new shortlisted names. The RCAF first consulted the operational search and rescue community which came up with ten names, later narrowed down to five. After that, the public was asked to vote on the names. Around 33,000 people voted, according to Lt.-Col. Steve Neta, the director of RCAF public affairs. Another 1,600 comments were left on various RCAF social media sites. The RCAF then went back to its search and rescue personnel for more consultation. The RCAF published the five names being considered and an explanation for each name: CANSO II: Canso aircraft served with 11 RCAF squadrons during the Second World War. They operated from both coasts and were employed in coastal patrols, convoy protection and submarine hunting. After the Second World War, Cansos served with the RCAF in photo reconnaissance and search and rescue roles until they were finally retired in November 1962. GUARDIAN: A guardian is an entity that protects a community under a set of values. IRIS: Iris refers to the faculty or power of seeing. Iris was also the goddess of sea and sky in ancient Greek mythology. KINGFISHER: Found all across Canada, this bird patrols up and down rivers, constantly searching for prey. Within the First Nations of the Northwest, the kingfisher has long been recognized for its speed and agility, as well as its keen searching and hunting skills. A kingfisher was depicted on the 1986 Canadian five-dollar banknote in the “Birds of Canada” series. TURNSTONE: Turnstones are one of the migratory marvels of the Arctic bird world. They have been known to fly more than 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) in a single day. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/rcaf-still-dealing-with-legal-issues-on-new-rescue-aircraft-name-military-doesnt-know-when-it-will-be-able-to-announce-a-name