Canada’s new Space Division: Evolution not revolution

Sur le même sujet

• 

  18 décembre 2019 | Local, Aérospatial

  Lockheed Martin, Canadian UAVs to improve beyond visual line of sight operations

  The ability to fly unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS) significantly improves their effectiveness and potential. The increased range of BVLOS operations requires real-time airspace situational awareness for the UAV pilot and support crew to ensure safe, repeatable operations. Canadian UAVs and Lockheed Martin Canada CDL Systems have signed a memorandum of understanding to provide an unmanned traffic management solution to meet this challenge. This solution will build a complete airspace picture necessary to conduct unmanned operations beyond visual line of sight in Canada and beyond. “A complete airspace picture is an absolute necessity to conduct unmanned flights beyond visual line of sight,” said Dustin Engen, Lockheed Martin Canada CDL Systems business development manager. “When combined, Canadian UAV's Sparrowhawk radar and our VCSi product will offer all users this complete picture and provide the necessary situational awareness for BVLOS flights in Canada and abroad.” Lockheed Martin Canada CDL Systems will provide integration support for the vehicle control station software called VCSi, a universal ground control system based on more than 1.5 million flight hours in military and commercial flight operations. Canadian UAVs will integrate their low-cost, ground-based radar, Sparrowhawk, into VCSi to provide users with a complete airspace picture of manned and unmanned aviation tracking with collision avoidance. Sparrowhawk has been instrumental in Canadian UAVs' first permitted BVLOS flights outside of restricted airspace in Canadian history. The company will also develop hardware and artificial intelligence software as part of Project Skysensus, a five-year investment from Canada's Industrial and Technological Benefit (ITB) Policy. “With Canadian UAVs' advanced market position in BVLOS operations, we are seeing a lot of gaps in what the general market offers to solve fundamental technological issues in unmanned aviation,” said Sean Greenwood, president of Canadian UAVs. “As a result, we developed a technology road-map that invests in a comprehensive tool set to increase flight safety and repeatability as these operations increase in volume and airspace complexity. We have been working with Lockheed Martin CDL Systems for several years and we are very excited by this agreement to formalize the relationship.” https://www.skiesmag.com/press-releases/lockheed-martin-canadian-uavs-to-improve-beyond-visual-line-of-sight-operations

• 

  15 janvier 2020 | Local, Aérospatial

  Canadian government to spend estimated $800M more to keep aging CF-18s in fighting shape

  OTTAWA — The federal government is planning to invest hundreds of millions of dollars more to ensure Canada's aging CF-18s can still fight while the country waits for replacement jets, which were originally expected years ago. The extra money comes after the federal auditor general warned in late 2018 that Canada's fighter jets risked being outmatched by more advanced adversaries due to a lack of combat upgrades since 2008 and will result in new weapons, sensors and defensive systems for the fleet. Royal Canadian Air Force commander Lt.-Gen. Al Meinzinger estimated the added cost will be around $800 million, which is on top of the $3 billion the government has already set aside to extend the lives of the CF-18s and purchase 18 secondhand fighter jets from Australia. “Canada has a history of upgrading their fighter aircraft,” Meinzinger said in a recent interview with The Canadian Press. “It's a consequence of the fact that over time, threats ... advance as technology advances.” The air force did not initially plan any upgrades to the CF-18s' combat systems after 2008 because it expected to retire the last of the fleet by 2020, when a new fleet of jets was to have taken over. Instead, thanks to how successive governments have managed — or mismanaged — the jet file over the past decade, a competition to select a new fighter for the air force is only now underway. Even then, the last CF-18 isn't scheduled to be retired until 2032. The air force “imagined perhaps transitioning the fighter force a little bit earlier,” Meinzinger acknowledged, which is why the need to invest in the CF-18s' combat systems wasn't taken — or even apparent — earlier. “Because we anticipate flying the aircraft longer, this is why we're doing what we're doing to ensure we've got at least parity with the threats that we would see over that timeline before we can transition to the new fighter,” he added. The federal auditor general flagged concerns with the combat effectiveness of Canada's CF-18s in a report in November 2018, warning that the planes “will become more vulnerable as advanced combat aircraft and air defence systems continue to be developed and used by other nations.” The auditor general also found that even though the Department of National Defence had decided to invest money into the CF-18s to keep them flying past 2020, it “removed upgrades to combat capability,” in part because of “cost concerns.” Documents obtained by The Canadian Press through the Access to Information Act show the auditor general's office initially wanted to say the fleet was “not fully capable for combat.” But defence officials said that could “compromise operational security” and suggested toned down language. “We've got an excellent capability,” Meinzinger said when asked about the state of the fleet. “The fighter force has got an outstanding reputation globally. They stand the watch 24/7, 365 under the NORAD rubric. ... I don't want Canadians to be worried about where we're at today.” The U.S. Marines are looking at keeping their F-18s — upon which the CF-18 is based — in the air until the 2030s, and Meinzinger said the two forces are working together to identify the best ways to do that. “We've made it a priority and we're moving as fast as we can to get it delivered,” he said. “Obviously our intent is always to ensure that we're making the investments such that we believe that we've got at least parity against the threats that we would face.” https://nationalpost.com/news/air-force-to-spend-hundred-of-millions-more-to-keep-cf-18s-fighting-fit

• 

  24 avril 2020 | Local, Aérospatial

  COVID-19 prompts purchase of new medical transportation system for RCAF aircraft

  David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen The Canadian Forces is hoping to purchase what it is calling an aeromedical bio-containment evacuation system that can be outfitted on its C-17 or C-130J aircraft. The equipment, also known as ABES, will be capable of transporting highly infectious disease patients on the aircraft. The Royal Canadian Air Force is looking to have these delivered to 8 Wing Trenton, Ontario by Oct. 31, 2020, said Department of National Defence spokesman Dan LeBouthillier. “This project is in support of federal efforts to assist civil authorities and non-governmental partners in responding to major international and domestic emergencies,” he explained. “As required, this acquisition will provide the whole of government approach with additional tools to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.” He noted the Canadian military already has interim capabilities in this area as the RCAF can transport a patient with a highly infectious disease in a specialized isolation unit by aircraft. “The ABES will enhance our ability to move more patients much more efficiently over a longer distance,” he noted. The ABES must be able to accommodate a minimum of four patients, according to the industry notice the federal government put online. The RCAF is also interested in acquiring additional isolation units to supplement those that will be available through the ABES. The units will be able to be transported by the majority of RCAF aircraft and will consist of individual, hard-shell, durable isolation units that can be reused by the Canadian military as well as lightweight, single-use isolation units. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/covid-19-prompts-purchase-of-new-medical-transportation-system-for-rcaf-aircraft/