2 novembre 2024 | International, Naval
India boosts submarine fleet as region’s warship traffic picks up
India is working on a new class of attack submarines after the government approved almost $5 billion for the program.
26 février 2020 | International, Aérospatial
Canada's protracted fighter jet procurement race hits new delay
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's protracted effort to buy 88 new fighter jets hit a new delay on Tuesday when the government granted potential bidders another three months to submit their proposals.
Governments of various stripes have been trying for well over a decade to replace a fleet of ageing Boeing Co CF-18 jets, some of which are more than 40 years old. Last July, Ottawa launched the competition for a contract worth between C$15 billion ($11.30 billion) and C$19 billion.
The deadline for submitting preliminary proposals had been end-March. But the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that at the industry's request, the deadline had been pushed back to June 30 to give bidders more time to address security questions.
In 2017, Canada announced it would buy a fleet of older Australian F-18 jets to help keep the air force operational until the new planes start arriving in 2025.
“Here we go again with more Liberal dithering and delaying because of Trudeau's weak leadership. Meanwhile our air force is stuck with old rusted out fighters from Australia!” tweeted legislator James Bezan of the official opposition Conservatives.
The main contenders are Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing, while Sweden's Saab AB is also participating. Last August Airbus SE withdrew, citing onerous security requirements.
The office of Procurement Minister Anita Anand said the government had outlined what security steps contenders needed to take to ensure their planes could operate with allies.
European jets must meet stringent standards required by the United States, which with Canada operates the North American Aerospace Defense Command.
Canada has experienced many military procurement problems since the early 1990s, variously featuring search and rescue helicopters, trucks, close combat vehicles and submarines.
David Perry, a defense analyst at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute think tank, said Ottawa routinely extended time lines to ensure useful feedback from potential suppliers.
“This is a project where they have been progressively adding time for well over a decade,” he said by phone. “The net result is that they keep pushing back (the time) when they will actually get new aircraft.”
Airbus and other contenders had complained Ottawa appeared to be tilting the race in favor of Lockheed Martin's F-35 plane, which the Royal Canadian Air Force wants. Canada is part of the consortium that developed the plane.
None of the three contenders was immediately available for comment.
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17 octobre 2024 | International, C4ISR, Sécurité
U.S. Charges Two Sudanese Brothers for Record 35,000 DDoS Attacks
Sudanese brothers charged for 35,000 DDoS attacks targeting Microsoft, hospitals, and global networks in 2023.
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17 juin 2020 | International, Terrestre
Senate bill adds funding for Army helicopter program and to buy more drones
By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — The Senate Armed Services Committee's version of the National Defense Authorization Act recommends increasing funding for the future long-range assault aircraft and to buy additional drones, according to a summary report released Thursday. On the whole, the senators seem to have focused more on programs from the Air Force and Navy, largely leaving the Army untouched, per the summary. However, full language has yet to be released. The Army requested $178 billion for fiscal 2021, down slightly from its fiscal 2020 request of $182 billion. The FLRAA program, which seeks a new long-range assault aircraft by 2030, is receiving $5 million more than was requested. It is the second year in a row Congress has increased funding for the program above what the Pentagon asked for, following a $76 million increase in FY20 to drive down technical risk and speed up delivery. FLRAA is one of two key programs for modernizing Army aviation. The Bell V-280 Valor tilt rotor and the Sikorsky-Boeing SB-1 Defiant coaxial are both contending for the FLRAA contract. The competition for the program of record will begin in 2022, with a plan to field the first unit equipped in 2030. The Senate is also adding $165 million for the purchase of additional MQ-1 unmanned aircraft for the Army to “meet state requirements for unmanned fixed wing ISR.” Additional language requires the secretary of the Army “submit a plan to operationally deploy or forward station in an operational theater or theaters” two batteries of interim cruise missile defense capability. On the cyber front, another $5 million is slated for Army operation and maintenance to “provide Cyber Mission Forces with more resources to access, operate, and train as required by increased operational demand.” Although not Army-specific, the NDAA language emphasizes the importance of the overall cyber posture, including an analysis of the Cyber Mission Force and an “evaluation of cyber reserve force options, which could provide capable surge capability and enable [the Department of Defense] to draw on cyber talent in the department sector.” Overall recruitment targets for the service is set at 485,000, adjusted own slightly from what the Army predicted in its FY21 budget request. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2020/06/11/senate-bill-adds-funding-to-army-helicopter-program-drones