Defence spending likely to face post-COVID cuts, military experts say

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  13 décembre 2017 | Local, Aérospatial

  Government launches CF-188 replacement program with interim Hornet buy

  Canada will acquire 18 F/A-18 Hornets and associated spare parts from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) to augment its fleet of CF-188 fighter jets until a replacement is selected and brought into service in 2025. Government ministers and senior officials confirmed the widely anticipated plan to buy 30-year-old F/A-18A/B legacy Hornets at a press conference on Dec. 12, putting to rest a previous proposal to acquire 18 F/A-18E/F Super Hornets. The Liberal government had announced in November 2016 a plan to buy the Boeing-built Super Hornets as an interim measure to address an urgent capability gap in the fighter fleet. Although the possible sale was approved by the U.S. State Department in September, the government ceased all discussions with Boeing after the company issued a trade complaint against Montreal-based Bombardier over the sale of the C Series jetliner to Delta Air Lines. “We have received a formal offer for sale of F-18 aircraft from the government of Australia, which we intend to pursue. And we have received an offer of Super Hornets from the U.S. government, which we intend to let expire,” said Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Public Services and Procurement. At the same time, the government officially launched a $15 to $19 billion competition to procure 88 aircraft to replace the entire fleet of Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) legacy Hornets by inviting interested governments and manufacturers to join a suppliers list. Qualtrough said the list would allow the government to identify and “share sensitive information” with eligible governments, manufacturers and suppliers able to meet Canada's needs. “All suppliers are welcome to participate in the process. No firm is excluded,” she said. Engagement with industry, which has been ongoing since 2012, is expected to lead to a request for proposals by the spring of 2019, followed by a contract award in 2022. Delivery of the first aircraft would begin in 2025. While ministers and senior officials stressed an “open and transparent” competition, the government also introduced a new criterion in the evaluation of company's bid: Its impact on Canadian economic interests, a measure journalists quickly dubbed the “Boeing clause.” “This new assessment is an incentive for all bidders to contribute positively to Canada's economy,” said Qualtrough. “When bids are assessed this will mean that bidders responsible for harming Canada's economic interests will be at a distinct disadvantage compared to bidders who aren't engaged in detrimental behaviour.” A government official, speaking on background, acknowledged that “many of the suppliers we deal with on defence procurements have several business lines and global reach. We are seeking to leverage (these) procurements to incentivize favourable economic conduct towards Canada and discourage detrimental actions by commercial suppliers.” Qualtrough said the assessment, which will be used in future procurements, would be developed through consultations with industry. “All proposals will be subject to the same evaluation criteria. “The assessment of economic impact will be done at the time of the assessment of the bids,” she added, an indication that much could change between the government and Boeing by 2019. The eventual CF-188 replacement program will include aircraft, sustainment, infrastructure, and aircrew and maintenance training, and will generate billions for Canadian industry in industrial and technological benefits, said Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, noting that the industrial and technological benefits (ITB) policy has already generated over $40 billion in economic investment. “If you think that sounds impressive, the economic benefits of these new fighter jets will add significantly to those ITB numbers. This is an enormous investment in a very important sector for us. That's why our government feels it's important to do business with trusted partners.” MINDING THE GAP The Liberal government has faced pointed criticism on a number of fronts for claiming a capability gap. During Question Period on Tuesday, Conservative Member of Parliament Tony Clement suggested the capability gap does not exist. “It's a fairy tale created by Liberals to justify their political decisions,” he said. Gen Jonathan Vance, Chief of the Defence Staff, countered that criticism during the press conference, claiming the RCAF cannot generate enough mission-ready aircraft to meet North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) commitments simultaneously. “The RCAF cannot concurrently meet those obligations now without some form of supplemental capability until a future fighter fleet is in place,” he said. “The acquisition of Australian F-18s is a logical choice.” Senior officials with the RCAF and Department of National Defence (DND) said the Australian Hornets would “integrate seamlessly” with the CF-188s. Both fleets have similar operating requirements and share comparable training systems, all of which can be supported by existing supply chains and frontline maintainers. Both countries have cooperated on fleet management and system upgrades, and shared test data, “so we know the jets well,” said the DND official. “We know the state of their aircraft and what modifications may be needed to operate them until the [new] fleet is in place.” Montreal-based L3 MAS, responsible for maintaining Canada's CF-188s since they first entered service in the 1980s, has also performed centre barrel replacements on a number of Australian jets as part of a fuselage life extension program. However, Canada recently began additional structural modifications to ensure the Hornets can operate through 2025, and the Australian F-18s will need to be modified to a similar standard. The government must still negotiate the final price tag for the 18 jets, modifications and spare parts, but a senior official estimated it would be about one-tenth the cost of 18 Super Hornets and associated mission and weapon systems and support, which the U.S. State Department estimated at US$5.23 billion. “Specific dollar amounts will be available once we have finalized an agreement with Australia,” he said. If an agreement is reached, the first Australian Hornets would begin arriving in 2019 and the capability gap would be closed by the end of 2021, two years faster than the planned delivery of the Super Hornets, officials said. The RCAF had planned to deploy the Super Hornets as a standalone squadron at 4 Wing Cold Lake, Alta. The senior Air Force official said the force structure had not yet been finalized, but would likely involve aircraft being placed across the operational and training squadrons at 4 Wing and 3 Wing Bagotville, Que. He also acknowledged that more aircraft would mean a need for more pilots and technicians, and that “retention and recruitment efforts were underway to meet this requirement.” https://www.skiesmag.com/news/government-launches-cf-188-replacement-program-interim-hornet-buy/

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  4 janvier 2019 | Local, Aérospatial

  AETE must move to make room for new fighters says commanding officer

  Kelly-Anne Riess ADJUSTCOMMENTPRINT Moving the Canadian military's Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment out of Cold Lake to Ottawa is the only way 4 Wing can grow to accommodate new fighters, says AETE commanding officer Col. Eric Grandmont, referring to feasibility studies conducted by the Air Force. He said the loss of AETE will be offset by a gain for 4 Wing. “We are planning ahead for the long-term future of Canada's fighters,” he said. “The RCAF is committed to Cold Lake and Bagotville as our fighter bases, and there will be significant investment in these areas to prepare for the arrival of the future fighters.” The new aircraft will require an expansion of 4 Wing. Facilities will need to be updated and the current AETE building, which is the newest and second largest hanger on the base, will need to be repurposed. Canada is currently in the process of purchasing 25 used fighter aircraft from Australia and buying another 88 new jets to replace the existing fleet of CF-18s. The costs for relocating AETE are included in the $470 million the Liberal government has set aside for buying the used Australian F-18 fighter jets. Grandmont said he is hoping the transition plan for AETE will be approved by this spring. The move, which would not take place before the summer of 2021, could affect one-third of AETE, which employs 166 military personnel and 22 public servants. The remainder would be reassigned elsewhere in the air force, either in Cold Lake or other military bases. “We are trying to minimize the impact on the city,” said Grandmont, adding the current plan is to stagger his staff's moves to Ottawa. He said some of the positions in question are currently vacant and, if filled, those employees would start their jobs immediately in the nation's capital instead of coming to Cold Lake in the interim. Also, some public servants currently working for AETE in Cold Lake are close to retirement and would likely choose to end their careers and stay in Alberta's north instead of moving to Ottawa. Grandmont says once the unit relocates it will augment its staff with civilian test pilots. “We are hoping to recruit retired members back to the unit once it's in Ottawa,” said Grandmont, adding that moving AETE would put the unit in a central position to service all Canadian Forces aircraft, many of which are in Eastern Canada. “Our people spend a lot of time on the road. They can be away for five or six months a year,” said Grandmont. Recently, some AETE personnel spent seven months in Petawawa, Ont. doing the work necessary to have two Chinooks available to send to Mali, where Canada has been providing emergency medical evacuation for the United Nations peacekeeping mission going on in that country. There are 19 fleets in the Canadian Air Force and only two of them are in Cold Lake—the CF-18 and the Griffon helicopters, said Grandmont. Other aircraft, like the CC-130J Hercules, CC-17 Globemaster and CC-150 Polaris are all based in Trenton, Ont. The CC-144 Challengers are in Ottawa. The CP-140 Aurora and the CH-149 Cormorants are in Greenwood, NS. The CH-148 Cyclones are in Shearwater, NS, The CH-147F Chinooks are in Petawawa, Ont. There are CC-138 Twin Otters are in Yellowknife. AETE, like all units in the Air Force, is facing a shortage of pilots. Recruiting multiengine pilots from Eastern Canada is a challenge for AETE, and a CC-130H Hercules pilot based in Winnipeg does not necessarily want to uproot his or her family to Cold Lake where his or her spouse would have limited options for employment, as well as restricted access to health care. “Although once people get to Cold Lake, they usually enjoy their time here,” said Grandmont. “It is a beautiful area.” AETE has also been losing personnel to private industry, which can offer better working conditions for experienced testers. Postmedia first revealed the proposal to move AETE in 2016. The plan first started under the Conservative government, but the Liberals continued with the relocation initiative. -With files from David Pugliese (Disclosure: The editor of the Cold Lake Sun is married to a member of AETE.) https://www.pinchercreekecho.com/news/local-news/aete-must-move-to-make-room-for-new-fighters-says-commanding-officer

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  25 septembre 2020 | Local, Aérospatial, Sécurité

  Operation recovery: Airlifting a CC-138 off the Arctic ice

  Chris Thatcher In early June, the RCAF regained possession of a CC-138 Twin Otter that, 15 months earlier, had suffered severe damage to its nose and tail during a difficult landing on the ice of the Beaufort Sea A workhorse of the north, the Viking Air DHC-6 was built to withstand much that the harsh Arctic could throw at it. But this aircraft's return to service is a tale of ingenuity and a testament to the recovery and salvage capability of the Air Force and its partnership with Canadian industry. The aircraft, 803, was one of two Twin Otters from 440 Transport Squadron in Yellowknife participating in Operation Nanook 2019, an annual Canadian Armed Forces interoperability exercise with allies and civilian agencies held across the Arctic. The crew was on a scouting mission near Pelly Island on that afternoon of March 10, 2019, carrying three defence scientists looking for landing spots on the unprepared sea ice to conduct research later in the exercise. They had landed without incident near Tuktoyaktuk earlier in the day and were attempting to set down on a smooth area of ice when the aircraft “bounced into the air after contacting a drift perpendicular to the aircraft's heading ... [and] impacted the base of a larger drift,” according to the flight safety investigation report, collapsing the nose landing gear. One hundred and sixty kilometres away in Inuvik, Maj Andrew Oakes, commander of the second Twin Otter, had just settled into his hotel room when the phone rang. “I thought to myself, this is not good. There is only one person I know with a sat phone at the moment who could be calling my cell phone.” The news was mixed: There were no injuries but there was no way the crew was flying the aircraft off the ice. Armed with their location, Oakes and a crew immediately took off in the second CC-138 “to see if we could land and pick them up.” When he arrived overhead an hour and a half later, the damaged Twin Otter was sitting low in the ice and the nose, buried in the snow, appeared to be sheered off. With the low angle of the sun, the undulations of snowdrifts were now visible across the ice. He quickly reconsidered attempting a landing. Landing on ice requires a deft touch. Because of its varied operations, the CC-138 has a landing assembly that includes both tires and skis, a heavier and less flexible construction than just the skis. The aircraft must set down at the exact spot “you want to land” and then slow as rapidly as possible, using reverse thrust and some elevator control. “It is tricky. It is easily the most challenging thing that is done in a Twin Otter,” said Oakes. While the stranded crew had prepared a snow camp for the night, a civilian search and rescue helicopter, dispatched from Inuvik shortly after the accident, soon arrived on scene and transported them back to the town. An instructor on the Twin Otter, Oakes had been seconded to the exercise as an aircraft commander from his job as a staff officer for air mobility readiness at 1 Canadian Air Division (1 CAD) in Winnipeg, Man. He soon found himself tasked with commanding Operation Recovery, an air task force quickly assembled to salvage the aircraft. The RCAF has over many years developed considerable specialized recovery and salvage capability. And in 2012, a CC-138 with a sheared nose landing gear strut was lifted from dry tundra southwest of Inuvik in much warmer conditions. More recently, in -20 C temperatures of January 2019, the RCAF employed a CH-147F Chinook to lift and sling a CH-146 Griffon belonging to 417 Combat Support Squadron some 50 miles from the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range after the helicopter's main rotor blade struck a communication tower. MGen Christian Drouin, commander of 1 CAD at the time, observed: “We now have this recovery capability because of the professionalism and ingenuity of the personnel involved.” The preferred and most cost-effective option would have been to fly in technicians from 440 Squadron and the salvage and recovery team based at 8 Wing Trenton, Ont., to repair the aircraft on the ice and fly out. “It would have been very good exposure for the technicians, because it is not something they would do normally. They have equipment and some training on how to extract an aircraft from [unusual] sites,” said Oakes. However, daytime temperatures were already reaching -5 C and forecasted to rise to zero, so conditions to land and take off from ice on skis were no longer ideal. “When you are warmer than minus 10, landing and takeoff distances will start increasing exponentially.” He also weighed a second option of calling in a Chinook from 450 Tactical Helicopter Squadron in Petawawa, Ont., to lift and transport the Twin Otter back to Inuvik. But nighttime temperatures were “still going down quite a bit and there was a chance the aircraft would freeze in .... That would be a worst-case scenario where no one is getting the aircraft off the ice, period.” In the end, the discussion among the crews and with 1 CAD was “pretty short,” Oakes recalled. In coordination with the Combined Aerospace Operations Centre in Winnipeg, a plan was soon in place to lift and sling the aircraft with contracted support from Momentum Decisive Solutions. By March 16, a CC-177 Globemaster III carrying two Griffon helicopters and various technicians from 440 Squadron and the salvage team arrived in Inuvik. Under the watchful eye of a Canadian Ranger patrol from Tuktoyaktuk that arrived by snowmobile and set up predator defence from polar bears that had been spotted in the area, the technicians began to lighten the CC-138 for airlift. They removed the nose gear, fuel and non-essential parts, and then strapped wooden blocks to the top of the wings to sling the load. They also attached a drogue parachute to help stabilize the flight. On March 24, Oakes watched from one of the Griffons as a Sikorsky S-61R, a derivative of the S-61/SH Sea King, operated by VIH Aviation Group of British Columbia, lifted the 7,800-pound CC-138 and, steadied by the chute, began the 160-kilometre flight to the Inuvik airport. To manage the distance, VIH had prepositioned a fuel cache on the ice about midway from Inuvik. Even without its own power, the Twin Otter still wanted to “fly,” Oakes observed. “It was pretty spectacular to watch.” A brand-new aircraft Bringing the Twin Otter back to life was no small task. KF Aerospace, formerly Kelowna Flightcraft, is the prime contractor for a CC-138 life extension project as well as regular in-service support. Within days of the incident, the company was contacted and dispatched aircraft maintenance engineers to Inuvik to guide the removal of the wings. Back in Kelowna, they then built special fittings to anchor the aircraft in the cargo hold of a CC-177. When the damaged Twin Otter arrived at their facility on June 14, special jigs and a donor nose were already in place. “This isn't the first time we've had to fix the nose section of a Twin Otter, so we had some good jig structures ... and we were able to reuse them,” explained Gregg Evjen, vice-president of maintenance and engineering. KF Aerospace frequently performs heavy structural modifications, including freighter and tanker conversions, so the tricky modifications to the CC-138 were well “within our wheel house,” said Evjen. Still, the company had to fabricate some parts to connect the new nose and repair the landing gear and tail section. With the aircraft already stripped bare, the company took advantage of the situation to conduct a full periodic inspection and maintenance program and complete the life-extension package, including re-winging the airframe. “It looks like a brand-new airplane,” he said. KF Aerospace has taken on some challenging jobs in the past, including an upgrade program for the Bolivian Air Force T-33 jet that involved taking apart and crating aircraft, flying them to Canada for the modifications, test flying them, and then re-crating and returning them to Bolivia to be assembled. Resuscitating a Twin Otter was hardly new. “But the fact that it was up North and had to be brought off the ice pack, and we had to mount it in a C-17 and manufacture special fittings so we could strap it down properly – that was unique,” said Evjen. Though the military strives to be self-sufficient and will build capacity to overcome most obstacles, Operation Recovery was a textbook example of the collaborative role civilian partners can play. To Oakes' surprise, it was also a remarkable instance of how quickly the chain of command can make decisions when time is of the essence. “I was really impressed with the speed that this came together, and with the level of co-ordination and teamwork,” he said. “It was a great example of how we can get things done. It did help working with the civilian contractor. They were experts. They knew exactly what to do and they had the equipment.” https://www.skiesmag.com/features/operation-recovery-airlifting-cc-138-off-arctic-ice/ .