Canadian navy pressing ahead on life extensions for submarines

Sur le même sujet

• 

  27 juin 2023 | Local, Naval

  La Garde côtière canadienne inaugure officiellement une nouvelle station de recherche et sauvetage à Kingston (Ontario)

  Kingston, Ontario - La ministre des Pêches, des Océans et de la Garde côtière canadienne, l’honorable Joyce Murray, et le député de Kingston et les Îles, Mark Gerretsen, inaugureront la nouvelle station de recherche et sauvetage de la Garde côtière canadienne à Kingston, en Ontario. Date :               Le 28 juin 2023 Heure :            15 h (HNE) Lieu :               Station de recherche et sauvetage de la Garde côtière canadienne                          Port olympique de Portsmouth (la station est située dans le port)                          93, rue Yonge, Kingston (Ontario) Remarque : La station est située à l’angle sud-est du port. Après avoir tourné dans le port, continuez tout droit jusqu’au bord de l’eau, tournez à gauche (nord), puis à l’est vers le mur de la prison au bord de l’eau. Tournez à droite sur la voie de service en gravier, qui se dirige vers le sud jusqu’à la station de la Garde côtière. https://www.canada.ca/fr/garde-cotiere-canadienne/nouvelles/2023/06/la-garde-cotiere-canadienne-inaugure-officiellement-une-nouvelle-station-de-recherche-et-sauvetage-a-kingston-ontario.html

• 

  21 février 2020 | Local, Terrestre

  New armoured vehicle fleet faces more problems – civilian vehicle hit near Petawawa

  DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN The Canadian military is investigating potential problems with brakes on its new armoured vehicle fleet which may have contributed to a number of incidents, including where one of the 18-tonne vehicles hit a car near Petawawa. There have been eight reported incidents involving problems with stopping or issues with brakes affecting the Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicles, or TAPVs. A formal safety advisory was issued Feb. 12 to the army units using the $600-million TAPV fleet. But the use of the vehicles is not being restricted at this time. The brake issues started being reported in January 2018 and the intermittent problem has only occurred at speeds in the range of five to 15 kilometres an hour, according to the Canadian Forces. “We are working with experts to try and determine if there is a problem with the vehicles braking performance at low-speed, and if the problem is isolated to a few vehicles or the result of something that may affect the wider fleet,” noted army spokesman Lt.-Col. Doug MacNair. So far, the Canadian Forces and Department of National Defence has been unable to replicate the reported problem, nor have inspections uncovered any obvious causes. There have been no injuries as a result of the incidents. Among the eight incidents is a Feb. 3 accident during which a TAPV rolled through a red light and hit a civilian vehicle near Canadian Forces Base Petawawa. No injuries were reported, and Ontario Provincial Police issued a ticket to the TAPV driver for failing to stop at a red light. Driver error was the “apparent problem” according to the Canadian Forces. But sources point out the driver in question reported problems with the TAPV brakes. During a change of command parade in Halifax in November 2019 a TAPV hit a wall causing minor damage after the brakes failed to stop the vehicle. A soldier near the vehicle had to “take evasive action to avoid being struck,” according to the Canadian Forces. In one case the brakes on a TAPV caught fire. In the aftermath of several other incidents involving brake failure large amounts of ice were found in the brake drums. In another case a TAPV hit the side of a bridge during training. “Following each of these incidents, technicians were unable to locate a problem with the brakes after they conducted technical inspections,” the Canadian Forces added. In 2016 the TAPV fleet had brake issues. At that time it was determined the anti-lock braking system on the vehicles was engaging erratically at higher speeds. A retrofit was introduced across the entire fleet to deal with that problem. The military says there is no evidence to suggest a connection between the 2016 braking issues and these latest incidents. Last year this newspaper reported on a series of rollovers and fires affecting the TAPV fleet. Between April 2014 and January 2019 there had been 10 incidents when Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicles have tipped on to their sides, six where they have rolled over completely, and four where they have caught fire. Pat Finn, then the assistant deputy minister in charge of procurement at the Department of National Defence, said at the time there have been no serious injuries as a result of the incidents. Finn suggested the rollovers might be caused because of the high centre of gravity the vehicles have. Training was improved to deal with the issue of rollovers. No explanation was provided at the time for the cause behind the fires. The TAPVs have also faced other problems, according to DND documents obtained by this newspaper using the Access to Information law. The TAPV program has “experienced a number of significant technical issues, particularly affecting vehicle mobility,” then-Conservative defence minister Rob Nicholson was told in August 2014. There have been problems with the suspension, steering and other items on the vehicle, according to the briefing document for Nicholson. The technical issues significantly delayed the test program for the vehicles, the document added. The Conservative government announced the TAPV contract in 2012 as part of its re-equipping of the Canadian Army. Canada bought 500 TAPVs from Textron, a U.S. defence firm, at a cost of $603 million. The TAPV is a wheeled combat vehicle that will conduct reconnaissance and surveillance, security, command and control, and armoured transport of personnel and equipment. The TAPV project cost taxpayers a total of $1.2 billion, which not only includes the vehicles but also includes the building of infrastructure to house them, as well as the purchase of ammunition and service support for the equipment. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/new-armoured-vehicle-fleet-faces-more-problems-civilian-vehicle-hit-near-petawawa

• 

  2 janvier 2019 | Local, Naval

  China’s advances in Arctic may pose security threat to Canada

  By EMANUELE SCIMIA Calgary academic believes Beijing will conduct naval operations in the Arctic soon and that China's next-generation nuclear subs will have 'under-ice' capabilities China's growing focus on the Arctic Ocean has drawn the eye of circumpolar nations, including Canada, which lays claim to the waters of the Northwest Passage. The Canadian government tends to downplay the military threat posed by Beijing, but at the same time has voiced concern about its disrespect for international rules in dealing with territorial disputes in the China seas, and the possibility that it could replicate its intimidatory tactics in the High North. The Chinese rolled out their Arctic policy last January. The Asian giant considers itself a “near-Arctic” state, and wants a stake in the region's development as ice melting is creating new business opportunities – a concept reiterated by Gao Feng, China's special representative for Arctic Affairs, at the Arctic Circle Conference in Seoul on December 8. Beijing aims to set up the polar leg of its Belt and Road Initiative for better connectivity across Eurasia and beyond. The Chinese are keen to utilize new Arctic sea routes to narrow the distance and cut transport time with Europe for their cargo ships, besides exploiting the region's natural resources and investing in infrastructure projects. Canada's Department of National Defense spokesperson Jessica Lamirande told Asia Times that her country was committed to cooperation with other states in the Arctic, provided they abide by international law, including environmental, navigation and other standards. Against this backdrop, “Canada welcomes continued discussions with China on Arctic issues,” she said. Arctic militarization Militarization of the Arctic is becoming reality. Russia is busy reinforcing military positions in its polar territory and will require foreign warships that want to sail through its Arctic waters to give prior notification to the Defense Ministry starting from next year. The USS Harry S Truman sailed beyond the Arctic Circle in October, the first time a US aircraft carrier has operated in these latitudes since the early 1990s. The warship then joined the Northern Atlantic Treaty Organization in Norway for its largest military exercises after the fall of the Soviet Union. Still, it is worth noting that the British-led Joint Expeditionary Force also includes circumpolar states such as Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland, which are all concerned with Russia's military build-up in the High North. But Lamirande said the Canadian armed forces had not seen an increase in Chinese military presence in the country's Arctic region. “While there is no immediate military threat in Canada's Arctic, our military carefully monitors the changing security environment in the polar areas and is focused on exercising surveillance and control there,” she insisted. “All of the waterways that are commonly referred to as the Northwest Passage are internal waters of Canada and we have an unfettered right to regulate them.” Underestimating China's challenge Not everyone shares Canada's optimistic view of the Chinese commitment to the Arctic. Robert Huebert, a senior fellow at the University of Calgary's Center for Military and Strategic Studies, thinks it is naive on the Canadian government's part to believe that China will not conduct naval operations in the Arctic in the future. “The Chinese have expanded their overall naval capability from 1994 on to the point of becoming the real world's second-largest navy,” he said. “Not to mention that China's naval shipbuilding currently surpasses that of any other country, including the United States.” Huebert noted that Beijing had shown its interest in having Arctic and near-Arctic operations in 2016 when it sent a five-vessel taskforce to the Bering Sea, and later deployed naval units to visit some Nordic countries and hold drills with the Russian navy in the Baltic Sea. “All of this points to a Chinese desire to have vessels that will be able to operate globally,” the Canadian scholar said. “Given the activities of both American and Russian submarines in the Arctic, and given the Chinese intention to become a challenger to both of these navies, it is inevitable that China will soon have an Arctic capability for its naval forces.” Cooperation with the US Canada is trying to beef up its military potential in the High North, but it may not be up to the task of coping with a serious external threat in the region. The Royal Canadian Navy will have six new Arctic and offshore patrol ships down the line. Lamirande explained that jetty infrastructure was being upgraded at Esquimalt and Halifax dockyards to berth these vessels. She said that a new jetty was under construction at Halifax, Canada's naval base on the Atlantic coast, and would be ready for use in the spring of 2019. Similar work is also underway for two new jetties at the naval facility in Esquimalt, which hosts the country's Pacific fleet, with this project expected to be completed in the late 2020s. “Work to establish a docking, replenishing and refueling facility in Nanisivik [in Canada's northern Nunavut territory] is well advanced and expected to be operational in 2019,” she added. According to Huebert, the new Arctic and offshore patrol ships are not designed to respond to an expanding Chinese (and Russian) submarine threat in the Arctic. “The vessels are important in providing Canada's navy with the opportunity to learn how to operate in the Arctic region,” he pointed out. However, to be able to counter the Chinese and the Russians in the Arctic waters, he said Canada would have to work closely with the United States to improve the underwater mission of NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command). “It was agreed in 2005 that NORAD would have a maritime detection mission, but there have been limited efforts to actually operationalize this requirement,” Huebert admitted, adding that prospects of any improvement in the immediate future were not that great, given the strained relations between US President Donald Trump's administration and the Canadian government. To complicate the issue, Washington asserts that the Northwest Passage is an international strait, and not Canadian territorial waters. “Nevertheless there will be a requirement to improve underwater detection systems, and those that can in fact operate at a distance from the northern section of North America,” Huebert said. “Given the range of new weapon systems that are now coming online, this will be an increasingly complicated challenge for the two North American countries.” Submarine deployment China launched its first home-built polar icebreaking vessel in September and is said to be working on a nuclear-powered icebreaking cargo vessel. A Chinese icebreaker made its way into the Canadian Arctic in August 2017. Professor Huebert noted that the Chinese navy actually has more icebreakers operational today than either the American or Canadian naval forces. More importantly, it has been reported that the Chinese are studying submarine technology for deployment in the Arctic waters. For Huebert, an increase in China's submarine activities in the polar region is a plausible scenario, and Ottawa should not underestimate it. “As the emerging naval challenger to the United States, China will inevitably develop a submarine capability to enter the Arctic,” he warned. In his view, China's new Type 094 and next-generation Type 096 nuclear-powered missile submarines will likely have “under-ice” capacities, posing a great threat to both Canada and the US. http://www.atimes.com/article/chinas-advances-in-arctic-may-pose-security-threat-to-canada/amp/