Canada wraps up participation in NATO’s Exercise STEADFAST DEFENDER 2024

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  29 juin 2018 | Local, Aérospatial

  Airbus Delivers on Industrial and Technological Benefits for Fixed Wing Search & Rescue aircraft (FWSAR) Program with UTAS Landing Gear on A350-1000

  OTTAWA, June 28, 2018 /CNW/ - UTC Aerospace Systems (UTAS) Landing Systems site in Oakville, Ontario, is Airbus' sole supplier for the main landing gear of the A350-1000, the world's newest long range widebody airliner. With 168 A350-1000s ordered by airlines around the world, the cooperation is expected to bring long-term, sustainable and high-quality work to Canada, this also resulting through the Industrial and Technological Benefits (ITB) associated with the Airbus C295 FWSAR program. The program looks to provide business even beyond the duration of the current FWSAR ITB achievement period. "I am pleased to see that UTC Aerospace Systems' expertise is being recognized through this important contract with government suppliers. Our government is leveraging its purchasing power to bring economic benefits and jobs to Canadian firms, enabling them to grow and innovate, which is creating highly-skilled jobs and economic growth in Oakville and across the country," said the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED). UTC Aerospace Systems celebrated an important milestone earlier this year with the entry into service of its first Airbus A350-1000 landing gear, flying today with two operators. "At UTC Aerospace Systems, our Landing Systems business has a long history of operating in Canada and partnering with Airbus," said the company's Oakville Vice President Frank Karakas. "We're proud of that legacy, and look forward to building on it in the years to come." The manufacturing of the landing gear also incorporates a sizeable element of Canadian Small Medium Business (SMB) volumes, thus benefitting the local supply chain. The project also supports numerous ISED goals, such as world product mandates, export enhancement, sustainable business and SMB involvement. "Airbus and UTAS have been partners for many years and this new technology incorporated into the A350-1000 widebody airliner is just another example of how we continue to support Canadian innovation," said Simon Jacques, President, Airbus Defence and Space Canada. The A350-1000 is the latest member of Airbus' leading widebody family, showing high level of commonality with the A350-900 with 95% common systems part numbers and Same Type Rating. As well as having a longer fuselage to accommodate 40% larger premium area (compared to the A350-900), the A350-1000 also features a modified wing trailing-edge, new six-wheel main landing gears and more powerful Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines. Along with the A350-900, the A350-1000 is shaping the future of air travel by offering unprecedented levels of efficiency and unrivalled comfort in its 'Airspace' cabin. With its additional capacity the A350-1000 is perfectly tailored for some of the busiest long-haul routes. The FWSAR programme is supporting approximately $2.5 billion (CAD) in ITB value return to Canada, through high-volume, long-term partnerships with companies, such as UTC Aerospace Systems. About Airbus Airbus is a global leader in aeronautics, space and related services. In 2017 it generated revenues of € 59 billion restated for IFRS 15 and employed a workforce of around 129,000. Airbus offers the most comprehensive range of passenger airliners from 100 to more than 600 seats. Airbus is also a European leader providing tanker, combat, transport and mission aircraft, as well as one of the world's leading space companies. In helicopters, Airbus provides the most efficient civil and military rotorcraft solutions worldwide. https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/airbus-delivers-on-industrial-and-technological-benefits-for-fixed-wing-search--rescue-aircraft-fwsar-program-with-utas-landing-gear-on-a350-1000-686854821.html

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  7 décembre 2018 | Local, Aérospatial

  Senate committee outlines recommendations for Canadian SAR

  by Ken Pole As the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) gears up for the late 2019 arrival of the first of 16 new Airbus CC-295 fixed-wing search and rescue (FWSAR) aircraft, a Senate committee said the government should consider the deployment of even more search and rescue (SAR) aircraft. “This would be a multi-year, mega-government dollar capital procurement project,” the Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans acknowledged in an exhaustive new report, When Every Minute Counts: Maritime Search and Rescue. “Repositioning current aeronautical SAR assets is not feasible . . . at this time because the fleet is fully utilized.” The November 2018 report is based on more than two years of study and hearings, which wrapped up in October. While most witnesses were heard in Ottawa — including senior RCAF, Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) and Transport Canada officials, as well as representatives of several industries — the committee also travelled to bases across the country as well as visiting officials and SAR facilities in England, Ireland, Norway and Denmark. RCAF fixed- and rotary-wing assets are a key element in covering nearly 18 million square kilometres of land and sea. In 2017, the Joint Rescue Coordination Centres in Victoria, Trenton and Halifax responded to 10,003 SAR calls, 62 per cent of them maritime. The committee predicts that the number of calls in the Arctic will increase as global warming results in a longer ice-free navigation period. Accordingly, the report recommends that the CCG establish additional primary search and rescue stations in the Canadian Arctic, where no SAR aircraft are currently based. It also calls on the Department of National Defence (DND) to authorize a pilot project which would see private civilian helicopters provide coverage in the North as well as in Newfoundland and Labrador, where the committee says “a disproportionately high number” of SAR incidents occur. In addition to the possible privatization of some missions (CHC Helicopter and Cougar Helicopters Inc. appeared before the committee), the committee also said the CCG should be an independent agency. “The Canadian Coast Guard . . . is hampered by its position within Fisheries and Oceans Canada, which leaves it at the mercy of the department for funding and prevents it from receiving long-term sustainable capital funding.” SAR reaction times were also an issue for the committee. It was told that the CCG's official time is 30 minutes from when a helicopter or ship is tasked until it departs, but that it usually takes less than 15 minutes in the case of a surface vessel, because they are probably on the water already. In comparison, the RCAF has a reaction time of 30 minutes during a typical eight-hour working day five days a week, and two hours at all other times. “Like the CCG vessels, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) crews are often airborne sooner than the targeted reaction time, around 20 minutes during working hours and one hour outside of working hours,” the committee notes. “However, there was considerable discussion regarding what witnesses called the CAF's ‘two-tier reaction time.' It was stressed that the two-hour reaction time guaranteed outside of working hours had . . . resulted in missions becoming recovery-oriented instead of rescue-oriented. In their view, the CAF should have a reaction time of 30 minutes, 24/7/365, like the CCG.” DND witnesses told the committee the concern had been addressed “to the extent possible” and it was the responsibility of SAR commanders in the three regions to align the 30-minute reaction time to coincide with the observed periods of greatest maritime SAR activity. “Overall, the committee was told that shifting the regular weekly schedules without increasing the total number of hours worked has improved readiness.” It also was told it was impossible for the RCAF to maintain 30-minute readiness at all times because “pilots and SAR aircrew members have a limit on how long they can engage in flying operations.” Sustaining a 30-minute target would require crews to remain poised on flight lines. “The two-hour reaction time allows the pilots and aircrews to be ‘fresh' and able to deliver a SAR response for up to 14, 16, 18 hours, which allows them to then go longer, further distances. Moreover, the increased level of readiness would require more aircraft, add more maintenance and necessitate infrastructure upgrades.” The committee says that despite improvements, Canada's SAR reaction time is “not at par” with other countries. “Aeronautical SAR assets operated in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Denmark respond within 15 minutes during the day and between 30 and 45 minutes at night.” The committee says that given current shortfalls in the RCAF's pilot, flight engineer and SAR Technician cadres, it isn't possible to impose similar reaction times on RCAF crews. But it says it hopes the RCAF will reconsider its reaction time targets once personnel shortages are addressed. https://www.skiesmag.com/news/senate-committee-outlines-recommendations-for-canadian-sar

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  19 décembre 2022 | Local, Naval

  Government has spent $4.8 billion so far on new warships — construction of first vessel expected in 2024

  The new figures presented to the House of Commons provide a limited window into some of the spending so far on the Canadian Surface Combatant or CSC project.