Création de la 3e Division spatiale du Canada

Sur le même sujet

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  1 avril 2020 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

  HOW COVID-19 IS AFFECTING CANADA'S DEFENCE AND AEROSPACE INDUSTRY

  COVID-19 is the most disruptive event to hit the world's economy and nations since World War II, and the end is nowhere in sight. So how will the mix of business shutdowns, self-isolation, and plummeting government tax revenues (further depleted by COVID-19 relief spending) affect the Canadian defence industry? At this early stage, it is impossible to provide a definitive answer. That said, the companies and experts contacted by CDR provided some insights into the problem; based on their best assessments of what is going on. EXPECT DELAYS IN PROCUREMENT DECISIONS COVID-19 is bad news for Canada's defence procurement process. It has already resulted in delays to current projects, such as Irving Shipyards closing down work on the Canadian Surface Combatant in mid-March. It could also delay ongoing procurements such as the Future Fighter Capability Project, which is due to receive proposals from Boeing, Lockheed-Martin, and Saab by June 30, 2020. “In a situation like this, the key decisions are put off in government,” said Alan Williams, (During his 33 years in the federal civil service, Williams was Assistant Deputy Minister, Supply Operations Service in Public Works and Government Services Canada for five years; followed by fives years as DND's Assistant Deputy Minister of Materiel.) “Now you can do a lot of the paperwork associated with the procurement; including reviews and evaluations. But until things get back to normal, the key decisions will be put off.” AIRBUS HELICOPTERS REMAINS OPEN Canadian Airbus Helicopter operators can count on getting service during the COVID-19 shutdown. The reason: “Airbus Helicopters Canada qualifies as an essential workplace in the Province of Ontario,” said Dwayne Charette, the company's President/COO. “This allows us to continue to support our customers operating their helicopters to save lives, protect people and maintain critical infrastructure both in Canada and around the world. Our customers, including law enforcement agencies, militaries, emergency air medical service operators, and utility companies, are all relying on us to ensure they can continue to perform their critical missions and we have a responsibility to support them.” (In maintaining operations, Airbus is following approved COVID-19 infection-prevention procedures.) When it comes to Airbus Defence and Space Canada's contracts with the Canadian Armed Forces for CC-295 fixed-wing search and rescue (FWSAR) aircraft, “We are closely monitoring the situation and are in close contact with our customers,” said company President Simon Jacques. “We will review the situation once operations resume.” (Airbus delivered the first of 16 CC-295s to the RCAF in January 2020.) Airbus is also looking into producing critical medical equipment, in line with the federal government's plea to industry. MV ASTERIX READY TO HELP, DAVIE STILL RUNNING The Canadian Armed Forces are primed and ready to help with COVID-19 relief across Canada. So is Federal Fleet Services, which owns and operates the MV Asterix supply ship on behalf of the Royal Canadian Navy. At the moment, it is sitting crewed and ready for action in Halifax. “When we first designed the MV Asterix, we did a lot to ensure that it was ready for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief,” said Alex Vicefield, chairman and CEO of Inocea Group; the parent company for Federal Fleet Services and Davie Shipbuilding. This is why the MV Asterix has an operating theatre, Intensive Care Unit, and other medical facilities onboard; ready to sail to whatever accessible port the federal government sends it to. “The Asterix is ready to serve as a scaled-down hospital ship; if it were needed for that,” said Vicefield. The ship's hospital even has its own separate HVAC system that would keep the air breathed by COVID-19 patients separate from the rest of the air circulating throughout the ship. Meanwhile, Davie Shipbuilding is continuing to convert three Swedish oil and gas icebreakers to serve with the Canadian Coast Guard. “We're not going to stop this project, obviously, because those are important national security assets for Canada,” said Vicefield. He explained the need to boost Canada's icebreaking capacity without delay in terms COVID-19's possible impact on US food exports to Canada. If this year's US crop yields are slashed due to pandemic deaths and social isolation, “the potential for that food supply to stop coming over the border would make Canada more reliant on foreign ships coming from Europe and so on,” Vicefield told CDR. “So the need for icebreakers is even more pressing.” TERRANOVA PITCHES IN Before COVID-19 hit, Terranova Defense Solutions was focussed on providing drones for air, land, and water applications; including its remotely-controlled Dolphin One water rescue drone. Now that COVID-19 is here, the company intends to answer Ottawa's call for help by adding much-needed medical supplies to its product roster. “Terranova Defense Solutions has already engaged with other companies to global source medical supplies for Canada,” said company President/Founder James Castle. “We are currently waiting for a response from the Canadian government to the next steps and we are prepared to help Canada in whatever way we can for no profit to best serve our Canadian family.” Thanks to its mainstream drone business, Terranova Defense Solutions already has procurement relationships with international partners. “These groups have been working with us as one united front -- helping Canadians through our Call to Arms against COVID-19 – to help us in sourcing new Europe CE and US FDA Certified medical supplies and ventilators for those in need,” said Castle. This said, “Finding transportation and funding to purchase and ship these items has been a challenge.” Looking ahead, “The main challenge facing us at this time is the uncertainty of what the landscape will look like following the pandemic,” Castle told CDR. “We believe that, while there will be negative impacts to the industry, there are and will be opportunities for companies that provide fresh and innovative solutions to the country going forward.” CAE TAKES TOUGH STEPS As detailed in a March 23, 2020 webcast to investors, CAE sees COVID-19 as “a crisis of unprecedented speed and magnitude,” said Marc Parent, CAE's President and Chief Executive Officer. To manage its way through the pandemic's economic impact, CAE farsightedly formed a crisis committee in January 2020. As of March 23rd, “we're taking immediate steps to preserve cash by cutting capital expenditures and reducing operating expenses, including temporary layoffs and salary cuts across the board,” Parent said. In response to a CDR question about the impact of COVID-19 on CAE's defence projects, Parent noted that the company's defence training programs are service level agreements with government clients. This means that payments associated with these defence agreements are not reliant upon actual usage by clients, which is the case with CAE's civil aviation training programs. “We're providing critical services here too, and the US government has recently articulated the absolute necessity of this activity,” said Parent. This said, some US bases have restricted access to their facilities; specifically by imposing 14-day quarantine pre-entry requirements on people from 100 miles outside of these installations. “Anything and everything that has to do with the movement and cooperation of people is more challenging in this environment,” Parent said. “So we've been impacted in terms of getting orders fulfilled, just because of that; getting access to the people, meeting face-to-face ... As well, the general preoccupation with the crisis clearly has an impact on the speed of the procurement processes.” The only good news for CAE in the COVID-19 crisis is that “we have approximately a $4 billion backlog in defence, which provides us with a good source of diversification and visibility,” said Parent. “Longer term, we don't see an obvious structural impact on defence. But I think we can anticipate some short-term friction as we move through this period.” AFTER CANCELLING CANSEC, CADSI TAKES UPBEAT APPROACH COVID-19 is proving to be difficult for the Canadian Association for Defence and Security Industries (CADSI); most notably because it has cancelled plans to stage the CANSEC 2020 global defence and security trade show in Ottawa May 27-28, 2020. The bad news was announced on March 31, 2020, during CADSI's Annual General Meeting (which, due to COVID-19, was held as a teleconference.) “As you can imagine, the decision was not made lightly,” said CADSI President and CEO Christyn Cianafarani. The reason CADSI took so long to cancel this year's CANSEC – compared to other COVID-19 related event cancellations – is because “it has a $10 million impact on the local Ottawa economy,” she explained. “We took the time necessary to explore every possible option with the City of Ottawa, our partners, contractors and suppliers to mitigate the losses to our community, in order to secure the long-term viability of CANSEC.” Despite the loss of CANSEC 2020, Cianafarani is taking an upbeat approach to the pandemic, by focussing on the good things her members are doing for Canada. “Throughout this crisis, the Canadian defence and security sectors have stepped up to support where help is most needed,” Cianafarani told CDR. “Companies from coast-to-coast have refocused their attention to produce in-demand equipment like N95 masks, gloves, testing kits, shelters and ventilators needed to protect health care workers, patients, and the public. With the rise in online activity, cyber defence and security companies have offered free cyber protection services to hospitals, medical supply chains and other essential service providers.” “These are just some examples,” she continued. “At the Association level, we are working hard to ensure companies facing hardships and challenges are connected to the government programs best placed to help them get through these exceptional economic times.” AIAC SEEKS ‘ESSENTIAL SERVICE' STATUS In an emergency like the COVID-19 pandemic, access to aviation is vital. This is why the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada (AIAC) – in association with AIAC member companies and regional aerospace industry associations – “has been calling for action from the Prime Minister and Premiers to designate the aerospace, defence and space sectors an essential service in all of Canada's provinces and territories,” said AIAC President and CEO Jim Quick. “Canada's aerospace industry is doing vital work -- providing products, services and solutions for a variety of purposes including emergency medical services and the transportation of vital medical equipment, domestic and international transportation, firefighting, search and rescue, telecommunications, border and maritime patrol and security, law enforcement, and military operations and support -- and it needs a consistent approach across the country. Not surprisingly, the global shutdown is seriously affecting AIAC member companies. To help them weather the storm, “we've been actively reaching out to our members, letting them know we are here to assist in any way we can during this crisis,” said Quick. To achieve this the AIAC is sending out a daily ‘News You Can Use' COVID-19 update that outlines the latest aerospace industry related news and announcements. The association has also launched a specialized 'COVID-19 Updates and Resources' website page for the latest on government resources on stimulus, subsidies, webinars and more; plus holding briefings with federal cabinet members. As well, “Aerospace is responding to the government's call for retooling to convert operations to deliver on needed supplies such as ventilators, masks and other essential supplies and equipment,” Quick told CDR. CDAI POLLS SHOWS SOLID SUPPORT FOR CAF INTERVENTION 88% of Canadians believe that the Canadian Armed Forces have a role to play in supporting civilian authorities manage and mitigate the COVID-19 outbreak, according to a survey conducted by the Conference of Defence Associations Institute (CDAI) and Ipsos Canada. Based on a March 20-23, 2020 online survey of 2,000 Canadians aged 18+, the poll foreshadowed Ottawa's decision to publicly commit the CAF to COVID-19 relief on March 30, 2020. Among the CDAI/Ipsos Canada poll findings: 65% supported the CAF helping to deliver medical and other supplies to service providers and the Canadian public; 64% were okay with the CAF supporting Canadian law enforcement agencies; 58% supported the continued use of CFB Trenton to quarantine at-risk or infected travellers/evacuees; 54% wants the CAF to help with evacuating and medical transporting infected Canadians. "I am not surprised by these survey results,” said LGen (Ret'd) Guy Thibault, CDAI Chair and former Vice-Chief of Defence Staff. “Time and again Canadians have seen the outstanding professionalism and critical contributions of the men and women of the Canadian Forces in humanitarian missions and natural disaster relief operations abroad and at home. There is no more important mission for the Forces than protecting Canadians in times of great need, and they are a highly respected and trusted national institution.” http://www.canadiandefencereview.com/Featured_content?blog/168

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  24 octobre 2018 | Local, Terrestre

  Une innovation québécoise à l'assaut de l'armée américaine

  JEAN-FRANÇOIS CODÈRE Le rêve d'un exosquelette qui aidera les soldats à transporter leurs lourdes charges sans se blesser approche et c'est une firme de Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu Mawashi, qui est en pôle position d'un marché évalué à «des milliards et des milliards de dollars». Le tiers des soldats évacués en Afghanistan ou en Irak n'avaient pas subi de «blessures de guerre», avance Alain Bujold, chef de la direction et chef de la direction technologique de Mawashi. Ils avaient plutôt subi les dommages, notamment au dos, du trop grand poids placé sur leurs épaules. «Ça coûte 500 millions de dollars par année à l'armée américaine pour s'occuper des soldats blessés parce qu'ils transportaient trop de poids», ajoute-t-il. Spécialiste de la recherche et de l'ingénierie pour «tout ce qui se met sur le corps humain» depuis des années, Mawashi s'est intéressée de plus près aux exosquelettes en 2013. Elle avait alors été invitée à participer à un projet de l'armée américaine, le projet Talos, qui consistait à créer une sorte d'armure à la Iron Man. «Ils ont donné de l'argent à un paquet de compagnies, et on les a toutes clenchées», raconte fière M. Bujold. Alléger la charge L'exosquelette Uprise mis au point par Mawashi peut retirer jusqu'à 70% du poids transporté par un soldat de sa propre ossature. La structure épouse les formes du corps, mais n'est pas motorisée, ce qui est un avantage important selon M. Bujold, puisque les soldats peuvent ainsi être affectés à de très longues missions sans crainte d'épuiser leurs piles. Et sans avoir à transporter lesdites piles. Une plaque posée sous le pied du soldat, dans sa chaussure, sert de fondation à l'ensemble. Cette plaque s'arrête avant les orteils, de façon à permettre au soldat de bien ressentir le sol sous ses pieds. Des tiges métalliques articulées longent ensuite les jambes du soldat pour rejoindre une ceinture rigide. De là s'élève une «colonne vertébrale», de laquelle émergent des appendices qui permettent notamment de suspendre un sac à dos ou un plastron sans que le poids ne se dépose sur le squelette du soldat. En situation de combat, un soldat est chargé d'en moyenne une centaine de livres d'équipement protecteur, de munitions, d'armes et d'équipements de communication, entre autres, estime M. Bujold. «De plus en plus, les combats se déroulent dans des zones urbaines, ce qui fait qu'on ne peut utiliser de véhicules pour transporter l'équipement, ajoute-t-il. Et il y a de plus en plus de matériel pour les communications.» «Le but n'est pas de permettre de transporter plus de poids, prévient-il toutefois. C'est de réduire les blessures et d'aider à porter ce poids.» En avance En mars dernier, Mawashi a été invitée par l'OTAN à venir démontrer les bénéfices que pouvait procurer Uprise à des spécialistes du déminage, qui doivent revêtir une combinaison protectrice pesant à elle seule une centaine de livres. L'entreprise se concentre présentement à démontrer de façon claire les avantages de son produit. Elle a reçu un financement de trois ans de l'armée canadienne pour parvenir à cette fin. «Le dernier obstacle est de prouver qu'il y a vraiment un bénéfice, indique M. Bujold. Les tests préliminaires le démontrent.» Sur l'échelle de maturité technologique (Technology Readiness Level), qui va de 1 à 9, l'Uprise est au niveau 7. Aucune solution comparable ne le devance, selon M. Bujold, et l'Uprise est en position pour être le premier exosquelette déployé sur le terrain. «Le premier qui va arriver avec une technologie qui fonctionne, c'est le prochain Apple, croit l'entrepreneur. On ne parle pas de millions, mais de milliards.» C'est qu'au-delà des militaires, il y a une panoplie d'autres secteurs qui pourraient être intéressés à un exosquelette de ce genre, envisage-t-il, à commencer par l'important marché du plein air. Les pompiers, les travailleurs de la construction et les employés de chaînes d'assemblage pourraient eux aussi en bénéficier. L'Uprise pourrait coûter de 3000$ à 20 000$, estime-t-il, selon la configuration choisie. Jusqu'à présent, ce sont surtout des contrats de l'armée américaine qui ont permis à Mawashi d'avancer. «C'est tout récent que de recevoir du financement canadien», dit M. Bujold, qui est actionnaire à 50% de l'entreprise. L'autre moitié est détenue par Louis Bibeau, président de Logistik Unicorp, dans l'édifice de laquelle sont installés les bureaux de Mawashi. «Il y a 99% des chances qu'on finisse par être achetés par une compagnie américaine, estime M. Bujold. C'est triste.» «Il y a ici une mentalité de lenteur, de bureaucratie, alors qu'aux États-Unis, c'est pif, paf, maintenant.» Le volet militaire de son entreprise n'aide pas à approcher des investisseurs québécois ou canadiens, ajoute-t-il, même si son produit « sauve des vies ». Cette tiédeur n'existe pas aux États-Unis. https://www.lapresse.ca/affaires/economie/quebec/201810/18/01-5200809-une-innovation-quebecoise-a-lassaut-de-larmee-americaine.php

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  12 octobre 2018 | Local, Aérospatial, C4ISR

  Canada gets green light to buy King Air surveillance aircraft

  by Chris Thatcher The U.S. State Department has approved the possible sale of three King Air 350ER aircraft to meet a Canadian requirement for a manned airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (MAISR) platform. Airborne ISR systems were one of five investments specifically identified in the government's 2017 defence policy for Canadian special operations forces. The foreign military sale would provide a capability that special forces' command (CANSOFCOM) has been seeking for several years, but it could come with a high price tag. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced on Oct. 4 approval for the sale of three extended range King Air 350 twin-turboprops from Wichita, Kansas-based Beechcraft, part of Textron Aviation. With Canadian modifications for some of the ISR systems, the estimated cost was pegged at $300 million, the agency said. A spokesperson for National Defence noted in an email that the cited cost “is not the final price; it is the full and all-inclusive value of every aspect of the aircraft, their supporting systems, and all potentially related costs, including contingency and risk. The final cost is anticipated to be much lower.” Ashley Lemire said the Canadian and U.S. governments would work to more clearly define the requirements in the coming months and “negotiate an acceptable price.” According to DSCA, the proposed sale would include the three aircraft fitted with WESCAM MX-15D electro-optical and infrared imaging sensors, AN/AAR-47B(V)2 missile and laser warning systems, AN/ALE-47 countermeasure dispenser systems, KIV-77 Mode 4/5 crypto applique computers for friend and foe identification, plus various advanced receivers and transponders and network encryptors. It would also include mission equipment, communication and navigation equipment, special tools and test equipment, ground support equipment, airframe and engine spare parts, as well as training. “This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by helping to improve the military capability of Canada,” DSCA said in a statement. “The proposed sale improves Canada's capability to meet current and future threats; strengthen its homeland defence and the combined defence of North America; and supports coalition partners overseas. This proposed sale will improve interoperability with U.S. forces and other regional allies.” Though CANSOFCOM had been looking at options from a number of potential suppliers, including Canadian manufacturers, a DND spokesperson told ***Skies*** in May that the U.S. government was “identified as the only source of supply capable of providing the fully-integrated solution.” “Aircraft such as these will help enhance the ability of our Special Operations Forces to improve their understanding of the operational environment,” said Jessica Lamirande. “MAISR will have the capacity to be deployed on short notice and will provide the [Canadian Armed Forces] with better situational awareness on the ground and thus positively affecting the ability of CAF leaders to make decisions leading to mission success.” Though the aircraft will be a special forces asset, the King Airs will be operated and maintained by the Royal Canadian Air Force. “The RCAF is the lead force generator for the actual capability,” BGen Michel Lalumiere, director general of Air Force Development, told ***Skies***. “This is a sophisticated system, so there's a lot of integration” for near-real data transfer and ensuring interoperability with allies. ‪ “We will be in contested areas with this aircraft and sometimes adversaries have a vote,” he said. “This aircraft needs to bring, definitely, a set of capabilities to be able to operate in those types of environments.” In addition to modifying the aircraft with ISR equipment, the Canadian government will also seek to procure in-service support (ISS) through a competitive process. On Oct. 4, Public Services and Procurement Canada issued a letter of interest inviting industry to attend a presentation from CANSOFCOM and procurement officials on the sustainment requirements, which have national security implications. A letter of interest for feedback on MAISR in-service support was issued in April and over 15 companies registered to attend an ISS industry day in June. Further industry engagement activities are expected to continue until the spring of 2019. Delivery of the first King Air is expected by 2020. https://www.skiesmag.com/news/canada-gets-green-light-to-buy-king-air-surveillance-aircraft