31 octobre 2022 | Local, Aérospatial
Fighter Task Force enhanced: Canada's role in NATO’s enhanced air policing mission - Skies Mag
With Russia’s war against Ukraine raging nearby, NATO air policing over Romania requires additional “capabilities.”
31 juillet 2020 | Local, Aérospatial
Companies highlight jobs, economic spinoffs as fighter-jet competition closes
OTTAWA — Fighter-jet makers are leading with promises of jobs and other economic spinoffs as they make their final pitches for why Canada should buy their planes to replace the military's aging CF-18 fleet.
Friday marks the deadline for U.S. aerospace companies Lockheed Martin and Boeing, as well as Swedish firm Saab, to submit their bids in the current fighter-jet competition, which will see Canada spend up to $19 billion on 88 new planes.
The closing of the competition marks a major milestone in Canada's decade-long effort to buy new fighter jets for the Royal Canadian Air Force, which has been plagued by government mismanagement and political controversy.
While the combat capability of each of the three competing planes — Lockheed Martin's F-35, Boeing's Super Hornet and Saab's Gripen — will be the main focus as the government evaluates each bid, there will also be a lot of focus on the economic benefits of buying each plane.
To that end, Lockheed Martin commissioned a report in February that found up to 4,200 jobs will be created or sustained each year if Canada buys its F-35 stealth fighter, which the company equated to more than 150,000 new jobs over the life of the plane.
The analysis provided to The Canadian Press, which was compiled by Toronto-based OMX, also predicted the Canadian economy will see roughly $15 billion in additional activity between now and 2058 if the F-35 is selected to succeed the CF-18 as Canada's primary fighter jet.
That is in addition to the $2 billion in economic benefits that Canada has already received since 2007 as one of nine partner countries in the development of the F-35, which lets Canadian companies compete for work associated with the stealth fighter.
Canada has contributed US$541 million since 1997 to be a partner in the F-35 program.
"Lockheed Martin has prepared a comprehensive proposal," the company said in a statement on Thursday.
"The F-35 is the most capable, best-value fighter to strengthen defence, enhance ally partnerships and contribute to economic growth in Canada with significant, long-term industrial opportunities."
Lockheed Martin isn't the first to toot its own horn on the potential economic benefits of its fighter.
Boeing last month released its own commissioned report showing its existing operations in Canada created $5.3 billion in economic spinoffs last year and supported 20,000 jobs. Boeing says the numbers will go up if the Super Hornet wins, though it has not revealed its exact estimates.
The emphasis on jobs and money — rather than combat capability — comes as Canada's economy has been battered by the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing the federal government to spend tens of billions in financial support for Canadians.
Defence analyst David Perry of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute said it makes sense for companies to highlight the potential economic benefits of their bids. He said it helps to make the cost more palatable to the public and is also important in determining the winner.
"In any competition like this, you're always looking for any potential partial point that you can get," Perry said.
"Companies, if they're going to invest this significant time and significant amount of money preparing a bid like this, then they don't leave anything to chance. You make sure you try to wring every single last partial point you can get out of your proposal."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 30, 2020.
Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press
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21 juin 2019 | Local, Aérospatial
Some changes made to Canadian fighter jet requirements as new document sent to companies
DAVID PUGLIESE Procurement Canada has provided aerospace firms a new draft version of the requirements for Canada's next generation fighter jet fleet. Some changes have been made in the draft request for proposals document to deal with concerns raised by the companies, according to federal government sources. The requirements for the new Canadian fighter jet originally put emphasis on strategic attack and striking at ground targets during foreign missions, according to federal government procurement documents obtained by Postmedia. While the Liberal government had been highlighting the need to buy the jets to protect Canadian airspace and meet the country's commitments to the U.S.-Canadian North American Aerospace Defence Command, the procurement criteria provided additional weight to those aircraft that can excel at ground attack for overseas operations. That criteria was seen to favour Lockheed Martin's F-35 stealth jet, say those industry representatives allied with Lockheed's rivals in the upcoming $19 billion competition. The evaluation criteria also had less emphasis on sustainability, another plus for the F-35 which has been dogged with high maintenance bills, they added. The latest version of the requirements now eases back somewhat on the ground attack role and puts a little more emphasis on air-to-air scenarios, say sources. Some changes have also been made to provide for more points to companies who can provide a better deal on sustainment of the aircraft. Another change affects the length of time a firm has to meet its industrial benefits associated with its proposal. That has increased from 20 years to 25 years. Pat Finn, the Department of National Defence's procurement chief, has said he wants the final request for proposals for the fighter jets out to industry by mid-July. At this point four aircraft are to be considered. Those include two U.S.-built aircraft, the F-35, and the Super Hornet, and two European planes, the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Gripen. The winning bidder will build 88 jets for Canada. The new aircraft will replace the Royal Canadian Air Force's CF-18s. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/some-changes-made-to-canadian-fighter-jet-requirements-as-new-document-sent-to-companies
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19 mai 2020 | Local, Aérospatial
MDA: All-Domain C2 Key To Countering Hypersonic Missiles
"We'll take anybody's sensors," MDA's John Bier said, "as long as it contributes to the missile warning, missile defense and space domain environment." By THERESA HITCHENSon May 14, 2020 at 2:44 PM WASHINGTON: Senior Missile Defense Agency officials say Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) will be fundamental to rapidly and seamlessly integrating future capability to track and intercept hypersonic and cruise missiles into its current architecture focused on ballistic missiles. “We need the ability to globally see, track and engage the threats in a multispectral environment in real time with persistent capabilities, so that we can provide the right data to the right targets,” MDA's chief architect Stan Stafira said. MDA has been able to develop its C2 network to link various layers in the overarching US missile defense architecture, but that integration has been achieved largely through “brute force,” John Bier, MDA program director for C2BMC, told a webinar sponsored by the Missile Defense Advocacy Association (MDAA) yesterday. “Where JADC2 is trying to drive the C2 community is: how do you make that easier?” MDA is working on first assessing how to tie in its current Command and Control, Battle Management and Communications (C2BMC) architecture with JADC2 as it develops, then look at how to integrate its future planned capabilities “when applicable,” a MDA spokesperson clarified in an email. Toward that end, MDA is planning on participating in the Air Force's second “On Ramp” exercise of the Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) family of systems initiative aimed at developing a number of critical technologies to underpin JADC2, Bier said. The exercise, which would have involved a space-oriented scenario, was planned for last month, but has been postponed due to the COVID-19 crisis. After first being slipped to June, it now is slated for Aug. 31-Sept. 4 moved back to A MDA fully expects to be involved in the exercise, although Bier did not elaborate on exactly what role the agency would play or what systems might be involved. He said that MDA is working on spiral development of new technologies on an every two- to three-year cycle, but hopes to move even faster to integrate new capabilities. Part of that effort will involve moving to open standards, just as the ABMS program is doing now. “We'll take anybody's sensors,” Bier said, “as long as it contributes to the missile warning, missile defense, and space domain environment.” The ABMS On Ramp exercises are “great integration environments” to test out the new standards, he added. Bier said that up to now MDA has been successfully able to develop and manage a C2BMC system across the missile defense enterprise — one that links strategic systems such as the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GBMD) interceptors in silos in California and Alaska with regionally deployed, tactical systems such as Patriot batteries — in large part because of its special governance structure and flexible contractual authorities. Although Bier didn't say it, the obvious inference is that DoD and the Joint Chiefs of Staff may want to consider how to centralize authority over various service C2 and battle management programs and projects that will need to connect to make JADC2 a reality. “The JADC2 environment allows us to bring in multiple services along with MDA and the Intelligence Community and discuss these issues,” he said. https://breakingdefense.com/2020/05/mda-all-domain-c2-key-to-countering-hypersonic-missiles