31 mai 2019 | Local, Aérospatial, C4ISR
At the CANSEC Exhibition, Leonardo has announced that it has signed a multi-million Euro contract with prime contractor QinetiQ to provide a number of PicoSAR Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA, also known as ‘E-Scan') radars. The radars will equip the new unmanned intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) aircraft that have been ordered by the Canadian Armed Forces. Designed and manufactured by Leonardo in Edinburgh, U.K., PicoSAR will be employed by Canadian military units at sea and on land, for both domestic and international operations.
PicoSAR offers high-performance E-scan surveillance capabilities in an extremely compact package. It is ideally suited for installation aboard the Canadian Armed Forces new system, which is based on the lightweight UMS Skeldar V-200 unmanned aerial system (UAS). With PicoSAR on-board, operators will benefit from a range of modes including high resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging and ground moving target indication (GMTI). Together, these will deliver an effective all-weather ground mapping and surveillance capability for ISTAR missions.
PicoSAR is an extremely flexible system and has flown on more than 10 different aircraft. The radar has been flown in Oceania, the Far East, the Middle East, Europe, North Africa, North America and South America and has been acquired by more than 10 customers. PicoSAR is part of a wider portfolio of airborne radars that include M-Scan (mechanically-scanning) and E-scan (electronically scanning) systems for both surveillance and fire-control missions.
28 février 2024 | Local, Aérospatial
The cost of the Liberal government’s nearly seven-year-old marquee defence plan has jumped by over $50 billion — mostly due to anticipated work on modernizing continental defence and delays in projects that should be underway — the federal budget watchdog said Wednesday.
29 juin 2020 | Local, Aérospatial
Murray Brewster · CBC News · Posted: Jun 25, 2020 5:03 PM ET | Last Updated: June 26 One of the companies bidding to sell Canada a new fleet of fighter jets made a public pitch today highlighting its long-standing, cross-country economic relationships and history of delivering high-paying aerospace jobs. The presentation by Boeing executives and an independent research firm arrives against a background of a pandemic-ravaged economy and a looming federal deadline to submit bids to replace the air force's aging CF-18 fleet. The aerospace giant, headquartered in Chicago, Ill., is one of three companies that will hand in their final submissions at the end of July with the aim of delivering new jets by 2025. The other two are Lockheed Martin — with its F-35 stealth jet — and Saab, which will offer up the latest version of its Gripen fighter. Boeing plans to pitch its Super Hornet fighter. The most up-to-date version of the jet, known as the Block 3, was delivered recently to the U.S. Navy for use on aircraft carriers. In its presentation, the company estimates the value of its direct economic activity in Canada — both commercial and defence — at $2.3 billion, resulting in 11,000 jobs across the country. The independent report estimates that when indirect spending is taken into account, the U.S. multinational contributes $5.3 billion and 20,700 jobs to Canada's economy. Boeing's decision to make its case publicly is significant in part because federal finances are reeling under the weight of an anticipated $252 billion deficit and staggering levels of unemployment brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Defence spending tends to suffer whenever federal governments — regardless of their political stripes — grapple with high deficits. There has been bad blood between the Liberal government and Boeing ever since the U.S. company led the charge against Quebec aerospace manufacturer Bombardier in a trade complaint over passenger jets. The disagreement led to the federal government cancelling a planned sole-source order for a handful of Super Hornets as an interim arrangement while the replacement competition continued. The U.S. Navy, one of Boeing's biggest customers for fighter jets, recently said it wanted to begin focusing on a replacement for the Super Hornet, which was designed and entered service in the early 2000s. Jim Barnes, a senior Boeing executive, told a conference call of reporters on Thursday that there is no planned retirement date for the Super Hornet. He claimed the warplane offers the most economical solution for Canada in terms of the cost of flying and operating fighter aircraft. He said he foresaw the fighter being in service with the U.S. Navy for "decades to come." The company's argument was recently given a boost when Germany decided to buy 45 Super Hornets as a replacement for its Tornado fighters. The deadline for final submissions in Canada's competition is now July 31, after it was pushed back on at least two occasions. Barnes said Boeing is ready to submit and will meet the deadline. He acknowledged the company asked for the latest extension because of the pandemic. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/boeing-jet-fighters-cf18-1.5627353
26 septembre 2024 | Local, Terrestre
The Canadian military has just as much of a problem with training as it does with recruiting, a House of Commons committee was told Thursday.