Canadian Admiral: Kids Won't Join the Navy if Ships Don't Have Wi-Fi

Sur le même sujet

• 

  10 août 2018 | Local, Terrestre

  Saudis would only hurt themselves by cancelling Light Armoured Vehicle contract

  DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN Saudi Arabia is expecting a full apology from Canada for a tweet that raised questions about human rights issues in the Middle East country. It is unlikely that would be coming anytime soon. So the dispute between Saudi Arabia and Canada continues. In recent days, Riyadh suspended diplomatic ties with Canada, expelled the Canadian ambassador and recalled its own envoy to Ottawa after Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and her department criticized the regime on Twitter for its arrest of social activists, demanding their immediate release. Angered by the condemnation, Saudi Arabia has also tried to sting Canada's economy by halting future trade and investment deals and by cancelling lucrative scholarships that would have seen 15,000 of its citizens study in Canada. One media report said Saudi banks and pension funds were ordered to sell off their Canadian assets, although that report remains unconfirmed. Bloomberg News has reported that any move by Saudi Arabia to stop new investments and unload assets in Canada is likely to have limited impact. Saudi assets in Canada are confined mainly to stakes in upscale hotel operators, some small stock holdings in companies like Canadian National Railway and grain facilities, Bloomberg noted. What is interesting is what Saudi Arabia hasn't done. It is still willing to sell oil to Canada and has not put any roadblocks on that money-making venture. The Saudi Press Agency confirmed Thursday that the “diplomatic crisis” wouldn't affect the kingdom's petroleum sales to Canada. But that has also raised questions in Canada about why we are buying oil from Saudi Arabia when we have such large reserves ourselves? The big question is whether the Saudis will withdraw from its $15 billion deal to buy Light Armoured Vehicles from General Dynamics Land Systems of London, Ont.? It could happen but such a move would likely only hurt the Saudis. They need the vehicles and to negotiate a new contract with another arms supplier, plus get delivery of that equipment, could take years. Then there is the supply of parts and other support for the existing LAVs that the Saudis previously purchased from General Dynamics. Would shutting down all links to the LAV supply chain make sense for the Saudis? Finance Minister Bill Morneau said Thursday he was still unsure if the General Dynamics contract would be affected. Defence Watch submitted a series of questions to General Dynamics asking whether it would be halting production of LAVs destined for Saudi Arabia and would GD continue to provide spare parts for LAVs already delivered? “General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada declines to comment,” spokesman Doug Wilson-Hodge stated in an email. Full article: https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/saudis-would-only-hurt-themselves-by-cancelling-light-armoured-vehicle-contract

• 

  24 septembre 2018 | Local, Aérospatial

  Canadian military ditches plan to paint new search-and-rescue planes grey, will stick with familiar yellow

  David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen Canada's military has reversed its plan to abandon the familiar yellow paint scheme for the country's new search-and-rescue planes after debate within the ranks over the aircraft's need to be visible on such missions. The new fleet of 16 Airbus C-295W planes will replace the main Royal Canadian Air Force search-and-rescue fleet of Buffalo aircraft as well as the Hercules transport planes which are also used at times in a search-and-rescue role. Postmedia reported last year that RCAF leadership had requested the new planes be painted tactical grey, asking for a change to the original contract which had stipulated the familiar yellow colour scheme, because they wanted the aircraft to be available for other missions, including combat. But the move to the grey paint scheme has now been reversed. “While there was, last year, a stated interest in painting the C-295W grey, a decision was made following further consultation to maintain the iconic yellow colour scheme of the RCAF's current SAR fleet, such as the Buffalo, Twin Otter, Cormorant and Griffon,” the Department of National Defence said in a statement Wednesday. “This colour, which provides a higher level of visibility and recognition in the ground and the air, is also widely known by Canadians — especially those who might find themselves in a situation requiring our aid.” Asked last year about the plan to ditch the yellow paint scheme, the Forces said in a statement to Postmedia that “the RCAF has made the decision to use a grey colour scheme for the C-295W fleet to enable surging flexibility for the very wide range of missions the RCAF is required to conduct, from humanitarian and disaster relief missions, to security missions with partners, and all the way to full spectrum operations.” Military sources said RCAF leadership wanted to redirect some of the planes for use on international missions instead of search-and-rescue. But that unilateral decision sparked heated debate inside the military and DND and, sources said, the air force was forced to abandon its plans. When the federal government awarded the contract to Airbus in December 2016, cabinet ministers highlighted the importance of having the right aircraft for the search-and-rescue job. “With this technology, we are giving our women and men in uniform the tools they need to continue to deliver effective and essential search and rescue operations,” defence minister Harjit Sajjan said at the time. Construction of the first aircraft began in 2017 and the first new planes are expected to be delivered in 2019. They are outfitted with sensors that allow RCAF personnel to share real-time information with searchers on the ground. Equipment also includes sensors for searching in low-light conditions. A centre, equipped with simulators, is being built at Comox, B.C. to support training for the air crews. The RCAF's Buffalo and Hercules aircraft assigned to search and rescue perform more than 350 missions annually, according to the Canadian Forces. The Canadian military is responsible for providing aeronautical search and rescue operations. But the project to purchase the new planes has faced a rough road over the years. The competition was announced in 2004 by the then-Liberal government and re-announced by the Conservative government in 2006. But it took another decade before it could be completed and Airbus declared the winning company. Even then, Leonardo, an Italian aerospace firm, launched a lawsuit against Canada over what it claimed was a rigged purchase that favoured Airbus. That lawsuit was dropped earlier this year, shortly before the federal government awarded Leonardo a new sole-source deal potentially worth billions of dollars to upgrade Cormorant search-and-rescue helicopters. Officials with the Canadian Forces and Leonardo say the ending of the legal action in May had nothing to do with the company being picked for the new project the same month. https://nationalpost.com/news/canadian-military-ditches-plan-to-paint-new-search-and-rescue-planes-grey-will-stick-with-familiar-yellow

• 

  23 janvier 2023 | Local, Aérospatial

  Parliamentary budget officer to examine Liberal government decision to buy F-35

  PBO Yves Giroux sent a letter to Defence Minister Anita Anand on Jan. 16 outlining the data he is requesting from her department.