26 mars 2024 | Local, Terrestre
Canada’s ban on Israeli arms sales baffles industry
The association representing Canadian defense firms says it is in the dark about the status of equipment exports to Israel.
26 octobre 2018 | Local, Naval
Coast guard ship breakdown ends 48-year science survey streak
Paul Withers · CBC News
North Atlantic Fisheries Organization meeting highlighted unreliability of Canada's research vessels
For the first time in 48 years, Canadian fisheries scientists failed to complete an annual summer survey off Nova Scotia because of a mechanical breakdown on their coast guard research ship, adding to concerns over the reliability of Canada's research vessel fleet.
"There have been instances in the past where we have been unable to do sections of a survey, but we've been usually able to cover most of the area in question," said Kent Smedbol, regional manager of population ecology at DFO Science Maritimes.
"This is the first time that a substantial portion of the survey we were not able to complete."
The 36-year-old coast guard ship Alfred Needler was scheduled to carry out the summer survey, which involves bottom trawling for multiple species and environment data collection, on the Scotian Shelf from Cape Breton to Georges Bank.
The information would have been used to predict commercial fish stocks that support fisheries worth tens of millions of dollars.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has been conducting the survey since 1970 from its base at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Halifax.
Salt water knocks out motor, generator
But even before the survey started in July, salt water in rough seas got into — and burned out — the Needler's trawl motor and generator, rendering the vessel unusable, said deputy coast guard commissioner Mario Pelletier.
"That's critical equipment in order to conduct the survey, so they needed to come back to repair it," Pelletier told CBC News.
"And given what just happened we wanted to make sure to prevent it so it doesn't happen in the future. So we put some extra work to make sure it would be protected from future salt water exposure should the ship be in rough seas again."
'We do what we can with the resources'
DFO tried, but was unable, to charter a commercial fishing trawler.
Another coast guard research vessel, the Teleost, was pressed into service for an abbreviated mission.
The southern Scotian Shelf from Yarmouth to Halifax was sampled but two-thirds was missed entirely.
"It is difficult. This is what we are asked to do by the department. So we do what we can with the resources we have at hand," said Smedbol.
Stock assessment for species north of Halifax will not be updated this year.
The Teleost broke off the survey at the end of July to carry out a scheduled ecosystem survey in Quebec.
"Given our survey was already delayed, we didn't want to impact the survey in another region by trying maintain the use of the Teleost. It was best to have a full survey uninterrupted in the other region," said Smedbol.
Same ship missed another survey in 2018
This was the second time in 2018 the Needler was sidelined and unavailable for a scheduled science survey. It also missed the annual winter survey on Georges Bank because it was stuck in an extended refit. Wasted steel decking had been discovered.
The Teleost was expected to fill in on the Georges Bank mission. However, it was also unavailable because its scheduled refit had to be extended.
In that case, DFO was able to charter the Mersey Venture at cost of $300,000 for an abbreviated 11-day mission.
International criticism of Canadian 'deficiencies'
The unreliability of Canadian government research vessels, including the Needler, was highlighted at a science council meeting of the North Atlantic Fisheries Organization this past June.
Canada provides scientific survey data in areas off its coast to the international fisheries management agency.
The NAFO science council report said "substantive mechanical issues with the Canadian research vessels resulted in very poor coverage of [Division 3L]" off southern Newfoundland in 2017.
"This marks the second time in three years that the spring survey coverage of Division 3L has been very poor."
The council report said that in 2017, for the third time in four years, a deepwater survey off Labrador was not covered, and for the fifth time in six years, a deepwater survey was not covered in southern Newfoundland.
The scientists said the data holes make it harder to evaluate trends in biomass and abundance for a number of species.
"Deficiencies in survey coverage also add uncertainty to the results of research on environmental trends and ecosystem status, functioning and productivity," the science council said.
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2 octobre 2019 | Local, Aérospatial
Pratt and Whitney awarded $2.19B for F-35 engines
BySommer Brokaw Oct. 1 (UPI) -- Pratt & Whitney has been awarded more than $2 billion in a contract modification to a previously awarded contract for F-35 strike fighter jet propulsion system. The $2.1B contract, announced Monday by the Department of Defense, calls for the production and delivery of F135 propulsion systems for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter jet, including 112 F135-PW-100s for the Air Force, 46 F135-PW-600s for the Marine Corps, and 25 F-135-PW-100s for the Navy. The company also will deliver non-U.S. Department of Defense participants and foreign military sales customers with long lead components, parts and materials associated with 129 F135-PW-100s and 19 F135-PW-600s propulsion systems under the contract modification. Work will be performed mostly in East Hartford, Conn., where Pratt and Whitney, a division of United Technologies, is based, and remaining work will be performed in Indianapolis, Ind., and Bristol, Britain. Work on the contract is expected to be finished in February 2023. Pratt & Whitney has been chronically late in delivering engines for the F-35 program and was placed under a previously unreported "Corrective Action Request" last year by the the Defense Contract Management Agency, citing "poor delivery performance" for a batch of engines. Mark Woodbury, DCMA spokesman, said at the time that the company needed to demonstrate that it has delivered on its promise to solve the problems that led to DCMA's request for action. The $428 billion F-35 program is expected next year to enter full-rate production, which is the most lucrative phase of weapons program for contractors. A source close to the program told Military.com the fighter jet will not complete its already-delayed formal operational test phase this fall because of a setback in the testing process. The setback involved an unfinished phase of Joint Simulation Environment, according to the source. The JSE projects weather, geography and range, allowing test pilots to prove the aircraft's "full capabilities against the full range of required threats and scenarios," according to a 2015 Director, Operational Test & Evaluation report. Pratt & Whitney was awarded a $3.4 billion contract in June for F-35 engines, in that case 233 propulsion systems, more than half of which are for foreign military sales customers and non-Department of Defense participants in the program. The F-35 Lightning II is a single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft with a range of more than 1,350 miles with internal fuel, according to the U.S. Air Force. It was introduced to the Air Force in 2016. https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2019/10/01/Pratt-and-Whitney-awarded-219B-for-F-35-engines/7751569946503/
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22 mai 2019 | Local, Autre défense
C2MI ET VARITRON INAUGURENT LE PREMIER CENTRE DE FABRICATION DE POINTE AU CANADA CONSACRÉ À L’ASSEMBLAGE DE CARTES ÉLECTRONIQUES ET À L’ÉLECTRONIQUE IMPRIMÉE
C2MI et Varitron inaugurent le premier centre de fabrication de pointe au Canada consacré à l'assemblage de cartes électroniques et à l'électronique imprimée Bromont et Saint-Hubert (Québec), 17 mai 2019 – C2MI etVaritron sont fières d'annoncer officiellement l'ouverture du premier centre de fabrication de pointe au Canada consacré entièrement à l'assemblage de cartes électroniques et à l'électronique imprimée. Établi dans le centre de recherche de C2MI à Bromont, le centre de fabrication de pointe sera doté des équipements à la fine pointe utilisés dans les domaines de l'électronique imprimée, de l'assemblage de circuits, de la nanoprotection et des techniques de refroidissement avancées ainsi que d'une chaîne d'approvisionnement intégrée qui permettra une fabrication à grande échelle. Cette annonce a été faite dans le cadre du CPES2019, le plus important congrès canadien sur l'électronique imprimable, flexible et hybride, organisé par intelliFLEX à Bromont les 16 et 17 mai derniers. Des installations uniques pour accélérer le développement des technologies émergentes L'objectif de ces nouvelles installations est de veiller à ce que des entreprises de tous les segments de marché demeurent des fournisseurs de premier plan par leurs capacités à offrir de nouveaux produits, de nouvelles possibilités et de nouvelles applications, restant ainsi à l'avant-garde du processus de l'offre et de la demande. Des équipes hautement qualifiées composées d'experts et de scientifiques chevronnés provenant de l'industrie et du milieu universitaire aideront les entreprises dans leur développement de produits et leur processus de conception, tout en continuant de se concentrer sur des cibles de production à grande échelle pour les diverses solutions qu'elles proposent. Les entreprises pourront avoir accès à des services à la carte ou proposer des technologies qui n'ont pas encore été testées ou développées en utilisant un éventail de services allant de la conception à la commercialisation. La Politique des retombées industrielles et technologiques (RIT) est un incitatif significatif pour les entreprises étrangères qui choisiront d'utiliser les services du centre de fabrication de pointe puisque cette politique exige que les entreprises à qui l'on octroie des contrats dans le domaine de la défense exercent leurs activités au Canada. Le projet du centre de fabrication de pointe, qui représente un investissement total de 6,5 M$, a pu être réalisé gr'ce à la collaboration scientifique de l'Université de Sherbrooke et de Varitron, ainsi qu'au financement du Ministère de l'Économie et de l'Innovation du Québec de l'ordre de 3 M$, du C2MI pour 2,1 M$ ainsi qu'aux fournisseurs d'équipement qui ont contribué jusqu'à 1,4 M$ en capacités à valeur ajoutée. « Le centre de fabrication de pointe jouera un rôle déterminant pour que les entreprises canadiennes demeurent en tête de peloton de la concurrence en accélérant le développement de solutions et de produits novateurs afin que ces derniers soient commercialisés plus rapidement. En tant que centre de recherche et de développement, l'un de nos objectifs principaux est de veiller à ce que nos installations soient dotées d'équipements qui assureront la compétitivité de nos clients et de nos membres, peu importe le secteur industriel dans lequel ils évoluent », a indiqué Normand Bourbonnais, chef de la direction de C2MI. « Ce centre de fabrication de pointe est une étape importance pour s'assurer que l'écosystème d'innovations a accès à des installations et des équipements de pointe et à la plus récente expertise scientifique pour accélérer son développement technologique », a dit Michel Farley, président et chef de la direction de Varitron. « Après plus de quatre ans de planification et de peaufinage, Varitron est fière de voir ce projet se concrétiser. » http://www.c2mi.ca/communique-de-presse/c2mi-et-varitron-inaugurent-le-premier-centre-de-fabrication-de-pointe-au-canada-consacre-a-lassemblage-de-cartes-electroniques-et-a-lelectronique-imprimee/