Canadian military falling well short of its target for recruiting women

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  26 novembre 2020 | Local, Naval

  Two supply ships alone not enough to ensure navy can resupply fleets: documents

  The Canadian Press NOVEMBER 25, 2020 11:26 AM OTTAWA — Newly released documents show the navy will need help resupplying its fleets at sea even after two multibillion-dollar support vessels are built. The documents obtained by The Canadian Press show that the navy plans to rely on Chantier Davie's MV Asterix and allies to ensure there is no "capability gap" even after the two new joint support ships are finished in next few years. Canada originally planned to buy three new navy support ships when it launched the project more than a decade ago, but cost overruns saw the order cut down to two. The vessels are being built in Vancouver at a combined cost of $4 billion. Yet navy officials have continued to indicate that two support ships are not enough to meet the maritime force's long-term needs, as the government's policy requires the military be able to operate two fleets at sea at the same time. The fear is that the navy will be hamstrung whenever one of the two so-called joint support ships is out of commission, either for repairs or for some other reason. While the documents play down such a threat, they also acknowledge that to prevent a "capability gap," the navy will need to rely on the Asterix as well as "sailing with and leveraging allies and partners who have support-ship capabilities." Canada was forced to rely on allies when its previous two support ships were taken out of service earlier than expected in 2014. Yet such an approach has been criticized as undermining the Canadian military's autonomy and flexibility, which is why the government decided to start leasing the Asterix from Davie in January 2018 until the two new joint support ships arrived. The vessel is in the midst of a five-year leasing arrangement between Ottawa and the Quebec company, with an option to extend the lease by another five years in 2023. The government could also buy the vessel. Parliamentary budget officer Yves Giroux last week estimated the cost of buying the Asterix at $633 million, while extending the contract could cost more than $500 million. Giroux estimated Asterix's sister ship, MV Obelix, could cost $797 million. The Liberal government has so far resisted calls to purchase the Asterix or Obelix, despite pressure from opposition parties as well as Davie and the Quebec government. It has instead repeatedly described the Asterix as a stopgap until the two new joint support ships arrive, the first of which is due in 2023. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan's spokeswoman Floriane Bonneville repeated that message Wednesday. "Our investment into the new joint support ships will provide the full suite of military requirements for at-sea support that the Royal Canadian Navy requires to do the challenging work we ask of them to protect Canadians," Bonneville said in an email. "Until the arrival of the two Protecteur-class joint support ships ... the RCN is mitigating its gap of at-sea support capability through the interim auxiliary oiler replenishment commercial-based service contract involving MV Asterix and collaboration with Canada's allies." In a separate email, Defence Department spokeswoman Jessica Lamirande said a decision on whether to buy the Asterix or extend the lease with Davie "will come in due course and while considering the broader context of the needs of the CAF as a whole." The Asterix, which was at the heart of the failed prosecution of now-retired vice-admiral Mark Norman, is currently docked in Halifax. Since entering service with the navy, it has sailed on a number of Canadian military missions around the world. Conservative defence critic James Bezan, who has been among those pushing the government to buy the Asterix as well as the Obelix, said it is clear the Navy needs the vessels to be able to function properly at sea. "We believe that Asterix should stay in service, that Obelix should be built and that both (joint support ships) be built so that we have the ability to maintain that blue-water fleet," Bezan said. "That way we can send the navy out and if one of our supply ships happens to be out of service, we can backfill it with (Asterix or Obelix)." NDP defence critic Randall Garrison said it has long been clear that Canada needs more than two support ships to ensure the navy isn't impaired whenever one is out of service, though he questioned whether the Asterix is the best fit. The military has previously said the new joint support ships have better systems to avoid mines, protect against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats, a better propulsion system, a bigger helicopter hangar and more self-defence capabilities. "We've always supported three joint supply ships," Garrison said. "Can the Asterix serve as the third in some capacity even though it has reduced capability? I think we should ask the navy that." Davie spokesman Frederik Boisvert in a statement described the Asterix and Obelix as "a class-leading design which has become the envy of global navies." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 25, 2020. https://www.burnabynow.com/two-supply-ships-alone-not-enough-to-ensure-navy-can-resupply-fleets-documents-1.24245341

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  15 novembre 2017 | Local, Aérospatial

  PAL soon hiring for SAR main operating bases

  Posted on November 15, 2017 by Chris Thatcher The in-service support and training systems team behind Canada's new fixed-wing search and rescue (FWSAR) aircraft expects to begin construction on a training centre at 19 Wing Comox, B.C., before the end of the year. Eva Martinez, PAL Aerospace vice president of in-service support, said the first shovel should break ground in December. “We're working on finalizing that date,” she told the Best Defence Conference in London, Ont., on Nov. 1. Canada's 16 C295W aircraft will likely be distributed three per base, with two marked for training and two to be rotated amongst the SAR squadrons to cover for aircraft undergoing maintenance. Airbus Photo The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) will take delivery of the first of 16 Airbus C295W search and rescue aircraft in April 2020 at a renewed main operating base at 19 Wing, scheduled to be stood up in December 2019. Airbus was awarded a $2.4 billion contract in December 2016 to replace the RCAF's fleet of six CC-115 Buffalos and several CC-130H Hercules assigned to search and rescue duty. The contract includes delivery of the aircraft, construction of a state-of-the-art training centre, and the first five years of maintenance and support. Options for an additional 15 years of maintenance and support services could extend the agreement to 2042 and the total value to $4.7 billion. As part of the Airbus team, PAL Aerospace will provide program management services, in-service support (ISS), maintenance and logistics support, heavy maintenance, a mobile repair team, and manage a centralized supply chain. The two companies have created a Canadian joint venture called AirPro to serve as the ISS integrator. And as a Tier 1 supplier to Airbus, PAL will provide direct maintenance, repair and overall (MRO) services as well as logistics and engineering augmentation. While CAE Canada has responsibility for the training program, infrastructure and support, PAL has the task of creating a contractor field office and tool and parts warehouse and staffing an integrated team of aircraft maintenance engineers (AMEs) at the four main operating bases in Comox, Winnipeg, Trenton, Ont., and Greenwood, N.S. It will also set up a central warehouse in Winnipeg to supply all four bases, alongside an MRO facility for heavy inspections and the mobile repair party. An interim warehouse will be created in St. John's, N.L., until the Winnipeg facility is ready in December 2022. “Next year, we begin the wave of hiring,” said Martinez, noting that AMEs, a senior maintenance manager and other personnel will all need to be in place as the facilities and services at each main operating base come online, starting with Comox and then likely Winnipeg, Trenton and Greenwood, “though that may change.” This rendering shows the new fixed-wing search and rescue training centre to be built at 19 Wing Comox, B.C. CAE Image The 16 C295W aircraft will likely be distributed three per base, with two marked for training and two to be rotated amongst the SAR squadrons to cover for aircraft undergoing maintenance, she said. Although St. John's-based PAL has been providing airline, aviation and manufacturing services since 1972, establishing a global reputation in the process, the FWSAR contract has helped put the company “on the map” in Canada, Martinez acknowledged. As part of its central role in the program, PAL will be leaning on a wider supply chain of small and medium Canadian companies to achieve its industrial and technological benefits (ITB) obligations. “[We] will be expecting [our] suppliers to provide the support that we need so we too can meet our ITB and value proposition contractual commitments,” she said. As one of the first large projects to move through the procurement process since the government in 2014 introduced a defence procurement strategy emphasizing value propositions (VP) to enhance economic returns, the “FWSAR contract is actually the first in Canada to fall under a measured VP,” Martinez noted. “In other words, [the VP] wasn't just used for bid evaluation. A variety of tasks have already been pre-determined against which every Tier 1 will have to identify their labour hours specific to each of those tasks.” While Airbus will have an obligation to invest at least 15 per cent of its ITB commitments in small and medium enterprises, PAL's requirement is just 1.4 per cent. Martinez stressed, however, that the company would be looking well beyond that for additional Canadian content. “That does not mean we are going to cap ourselves at 1.4 per cent. We have just as much interest [as Airbus] in working with small and medium enterprises where it makes sense in terms of performance,” she said. https://www.skiesmag.com/news/pal-soon-hiring-sar-main-operating-bases/

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  11 juin 2018 | Local, Aérospatial

  L3 MAS s'associe à Israel Aerospace Industries dans le cadre du projet de systèmes d’aéronefs télépilotés de l'Aviation royale canadienne

  MIRABEL, Québec, 31 mai 2018 – L3 MAS a annoncé aujourd'hui qu'elle s'est associée à Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) pour former l'équipe Artemis, qui offrira dans le cadre du projet de systèmes d'aéronefs télépilotés (projet SATP) de l'Aviation royale canadienne (ARC) le système aérien sans pilote (UAS) Artemis, un système de pointe inspiré du drone Heron TP d'IAI. L'UAS Artemis est une plateforme mature et extrêmement performante dont la capacité opérationnelle a été démontrée. Cet UAS de moyenne altitude et longue endurance (MALE) sera doté d'un large éventail de capteurs et autres charges utiles qui visent expressément à répondre aux besoins du Canada. Il est exceptionnellement bien placé pour permettre au Canada de préserver sa sécurité nationale, ainsi que sa souveraineté, en sol canadien comme à l'étranger. L3 MAS sera l'entrepreneur principal de l'équipe et misera sur sa vaste expérience en matière de soutien en service (SES), de navigabilité, de soutien logistique intégré et de gestion de programmes. Elle chapeautera également l'équipe industrielle canadienne Artemis, qui compte dans ses rangs Pratt & Whitney Canada, laquelle fournira le groupe motopropulseur du véhicule aérien, ainsi que d'autres partenaires canadiens de renom qui seront nommés à une date ultérieure. La solution Artemis apportera des avantages économiques substantiels au Canada, notamment par la création d'emplois locaux à forte valeur. « Le projet SATP offre une occasion en or de doter l'ARC d'une capacité UAS de calibre mondial, a affirmé Jacques Comtois, vice-président et directeur général de L3 MAS. À titre d'entrepreneur principal, d'intégrateur de systèmes de mission et de fournisseur de soutien en service, L3 MAS est impatiente d'ouvrir de nouveaux horizons au sein des secteurs canadiens de la défense et de l'aviation gr'ce à l'UAS Artemis d'IAI. » « IAI est emballée de proposer la solution Artemis, une solution souple et évoluée dont la capacité opérationnelle a été éprouvée, au profit du projet SATP du Canada, a déclaré Shaul Shahar, vice-président directeur d'IAI. Nous sommes heureux d'avoir L3 MAS comme partenaire pour travailler de concert afin de doter l'Aviation royale canadienne de cette capacité impressionnante. Nos solutions uniques procurent de formidables avantages au Canada et nous sommes impatients de pouvoir participer à l'appel d'offres pour le projet SATP. » Dans le cadre du projet SATP, le ministère de la Défense nationale (MDN) acquerra un certain nombre d'UAS MALE, ainsi que les postes de contrôle au sol (PCS), les ensembles de capteurs et le matériel de soutien connexes. Le contrat correspondant devrait être attribué en 2021-2022 et englobera l'acquisition de l'équipement et l'ensemble du soutien en service pour une durée de 20 ans. http://www.mas.l-3com.com/doc/Press_Release/L3%20MAS%20associ%C3%A9%20%C3%A0%20IAI%20sur%20le%20projet%20SATP.pdf