26 octobre 2018 | Local, Naval
Paul Withers · CBC News
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.
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."
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.
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.
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.
27 mars 2023 | Local, Autre défense
U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday invoked the Defense Production Act to spend $50 million on domestic and Canadian production of printed circuit boards, citing the technology's importance to national defense.
24 juillet 2019 | Local, Aérospatial
Posted on July 24, 2019 by Chris Thatcher A formal request for proposals (RFP) to replace the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) fleet of CF-188 Hornets was released on July 23, launching the final phase of an intense competition for what will be the largest acquisition in recent Air Force history. The much-anticipated RFP had been expected in May, but was pushed back several months to allow procurement officials to asses changes to a draft version requested by several of the likely bidders. Valued at up to $19 billion, the future fighter project is seeking proposals for 88 advanced aircraft to replace an RCAF fleet of 76 Hornets that began entering service in the mid-1980s. Four suppliers have been qualified to submit bids: Sweden's Saab Aeronautics with the Gripen E; Airbus Defense and Space, under the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, with the Eurofighter Typhoon; Boeing with the F/A-18 Super Hornet; and Lockheed Martin with the F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. The latter two both have the support of the United States government. Proposals must be submitted by spring 2020–no date was provided in the government press release–but bidders will have at least two opportunities to confirm critical elements of their submission meet Canada's security and interoperability requirements. During industry engagements over the past two years, senior officers with the Fighter Capability Office have stressed the importance of Two Eyes (Canada-U.S.) and Five Eyes (Canada, U.S., United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand) interoperability. The fighter fleet is integral to both Canadian sovereignty and U.S. defence through the NORAD mission. French manufacturer Dassault Aviation withdrew from the competition in November 2018, citing the Two Eyes requirements as a restricting factor to any proposal. Bidders can provide their security offer for feedback by fall 2019, and then revise. They will also have an opportunity after the full proposals are delivered to address deficiencies “related to mandatory criteria,” Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) said in a statement. “[Bidders] will receive feedback from Canada so that they can address non-compliance. This approach has already been used for other large federal procurements and has proven to be successful in maintaining a high level of competition.” Though technical capability will account for 60 per cent of the evaluation, economic benefit to Canada will be worth 20 per cent, the highest weighting for economic return on any procurement to date. The final 20 per cent will be attributed to overall program cost. One reason for the delayed RFP was concern raised by Lockheed Martin over how the government's Industrial and Technological Benefits (ITB) policy would apply. Though 110 Canadian companies have received around US$1.5 billion in contracts for the F-35 program to date, the company is unable to offer the type of industrial offsets required by the ITB policy and believed it would be at a disadvantage. The government was reminded that, as a signatory of the Joint Strike Fighter Production, Sustainment and Follow-on Development Memorandum of Understanding in 2006, it had agreed not to impose “work sharing or other industrial or commercial compensation ... that is not in accordance with the MOU.” Carla Qualtrough, minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility, told defence executives at a trade show in May that changes had been made to the statement of requirements that would “ensure a level playing field” while “maintaining our government's policy objectives. “Every bid must still include a plan for ITBs equal to 100 per cent or more of the contract value. That doesn't change,” she said. “This procurement is a generational opportunity for the Canadian aerospace industry that will generate good middle-class jobs across the country. What will change is that it will be up to each supplier to decide whether they will also provide a contractual obligation for their ITBs.” Bidders will score higher if their ITB plan is backed with a contractual obligation, added Qualtrough. “This is a complex process. As complex as any the federal government has ever conducted. The field is comprised of very different entities – and dynamics. Conducting a truly open and fair competition among them is indeed a challenge,” she said. Mitch Davies, a senior assistant deputy minister at Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, told CBC on July 23 that the ITB requirement had been structured so that companies could “make a compliant ITB offer that suits their circumstances,” but that Lockheed Martin could still be penalized for failure to meet certain contractual commitments. The competition is being monitored by an independent fairness monitor. In public statements, Lockheed Martin said it looks forward to participating in the competition, while other companies said they will review the RFP documents. The U.S. Air Force has been touring the F-35 in Canada this summer; it performed at the Bagotville Airshow in June and will be at the Ottawa-Gatineau airshow in early September. A spokesperson told Skies the fighter is “the most survivable aircraft and a generational leap ahead of any other fighter in production today. From a cost perspective, we've reduced production cost below $80 million,” which would be on par, if not below, other legacy aircraft. Over 400 aircraft have now been built, accumulating 200,000 flight hours. When the government re-launched the Future Fighter Capability project in late 2017, it also said the eventual evaluation would include an assessment of a bidder's “impact on Canada's economic interests,” a clause directed at Boeing for its then trade complaint against Montreal-based Bombardier. With the trade complaint since dismissed by U.S. International Trade Commission, Jim Barnes, Boeing's team lead for the Canada, told Skies in May the clause would not have “an impact on our competitiveness.” Boeing will likely bid the Block 3 variant of the Super Hornet, “the next evolution” that features advanced networking and data processing capabilities in a distributed targeting processor network with cockpit touch panel displays, and in an airframe that has been enhanced from 6,000 to 10,000 flight hours. “The baseline Super Hornet attributes, with the capability increases of the Block 3, is an ideally suited aircraft for NORAD and NATO operations,” said Barnes. “At this point in time, we think we have a very compelling offer to put on the table.” That offer could be bolstered by the continued interest in the aircraft by the U.S. Navy. Boeing has signed a multi-year contract for 110 Block 3 aircraft out to 2026, and is expected to convert as many as 442 Block 2 variants to the Block 3 configuration by 2033. “It is the perfect time for an international customer to procure the Super Hornet,” he said, noting that the ongoing U.S. Navy program will help maintain acquisition and lifecycle costs. Airbus Defence & Space has said from start of the competition that it would decide whether to submit a proposal once the final statement of requirements in the RFP was released. The Typhoon serves in a similar role to NORAD duty with the Royal Air Force, and has participated in numerous missions with U.S. aircraft. It is unclear how easily it could be incorporated into NORAD mission systems. However, Airbus has continued to strengthen its position in Canada, winning the fixed-wing search and rescue aircraft competition in 2016 and partnering with Bombardier on the C Series, now known as the Airbus A220. It now calls Canada it's fifth home country. “We are proud of our history as a longstanding partner to Canada, serving the country's aerospace priorities for over three decades. We welcome the new opportunities to support the Canadian Armed Forces, to provide skilled aerospace jobs across our country and to help safeguard Canadian sovereignty,” Simon Jacques, president of Airbus Defence and Space Canada, told CBC. While the Gripen E might be the dark horse in the competition, Patrick Palmer, Saab Canada's executive vice-president, told defence reporters in May the aircraft was designed to be easily upgradeable as technology changes–the avionics software is split so that flight-critical and tactical modules can be upgraded separately “without having to have a full aircraft recertified.” The jet has also evolved to ensure NATO interoperability and meet “the threats beyond 2025 – the threats we know today, the threats we don't know today ... in any contested airspace environment,” he said. More important for the NORAD mission, the Gripen was designed from the outset for Arctic operations, requiring minimal ground crew support and featuring the ability to operate from austere airstrips. PSPC expects to award a contract in 2022. The first aircraft will be delivered starting in 2025. https://www.skiesmag.com/news/fighter-jet-rfp-released/
4 octobre 2018 | Local, Naval
Murray Brewster · CBC News Canadian queries about Chinese content could be response to American anxiety, says intelligence expert Canada's international trade minister quietly sounded out officials at the Department of National Defence last spring about how much of the content in the navy's new Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships could be sourced back to China, newly released documents reveal. The unusual April request from the office of François-Philippe Champagne, who was international trade minister at the time, was made as Canadian negotiators were struggling to negotiate a revised North American Free Trade Agreement with the Trump administration — which has become increasingly suspicious of the involvement of Chinese companies in the defence and high-tech sectors. An information note, detailing the answers given to Champagne, was prepared for Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and obtained by CBC News under access to information law. "Equipment has been sourced from a variety of manufacturers, many of whom are offshore, with a very limited amount being procured from the People's Republic of China," said the April 4, 2018 briefing prepared by DND's project management office. Chinese steel The briefing made a point of underlining the Canadian content requirements that are part of every major capital project. It noted that 17 per cent of the steel being used to construct the warship — as well as the lifeboats, mooring and towing system components and various pipes and fittings — came from Chinese companies. Champagne was shuffled last summer to the infrastructure portfolio. Officials who worked for him said Wednesday they were not sure what his request was about. Defence and intelligence experts find the inquiry about the warship components curious — and not only because of Washington's growing trade fight with Beijing. The Pentagon has been quietly sounding out allies about who is building their military equipment, both hardware and software. "There's been some concern about this in ... U.S. military circles, about the degree to which there is Chinese ownership of firms working in sensitive areas," said Dave Perry, a procurement expert at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. "At a fairly high level, the U.S. (Department of Defence) was concerned about Canada having involvement of firms in defence supply chain that has Chinese angles, Chinese partial ownership." The documents demonstrate how hard it can be to trace the provenance of military parts. One of the firms supplying anchors for the Arctic ships was Apache International Ltd., which has listed itself as a Canadian company with an office in China. Following Champagne's questions, it was determined the original manufacturer of the equipment was Chinese. Wesley Wark, a University of Ottawa professor and one of the country's leading experts on cybersecurity and intelligence, said the Americans' concern relates mostly to electronics and other "warfighting equipment" — not necessarily the nuts and bolts. The U.S. Defence Department's acquisition chief said last summer the Pentagon was developing a so-called "Do Not Buy" list of software that does not meet national security standards. 'A certain xenophobia' Canadian concerns about Chinese product in the Arctic ships could be influenced by American concerns, said Wark, who noted that Canada has struck an independent tone when it comes to trade relations with China and has resisted U.S. and Australian pressure to ban Chinese telecom giant Huawei. "Canada has been under intense pressure by the Trump administration to follow the general lead on waging a trade war with China," he said. "There is White House pressure on the Pentagon. The Pentagon has legitimate concerns, like any Western military, about allowing certain elements of Chinese manufactured stuff into its infrastructure." Complicating matters is an almost-forgotten case of alleged espionage that is still grinding its way through the legal system. Chinese-born Qing Quentin Huang, who worked for Lloyd's Register, was charged in 2013 with "attempting to communicate with a foreign entity." He was accused of trying to pass design information about Canada's Arctic ships to the Chinese. Aside from its understandable military and economic policy concerns, Wark said the White House position on China is being driven in part by "a certain xenophobia" that is troubling. "You have to be careful not to find ourselves falling into that American model," he said. "We can make our own distinctions about what might be sensitive or dangerous." https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/chinese-made-equipment-in-canada-s-arctic-ships-under-scrutiny-1.4849562