7 mai 2020 | Local, Aérospatial

Federal government issues another extension for fighter replacement proposals

Federal government issues another extension for fighter replacement proposals

Posted on May 7, 2020 by Chris Thatcher

Public Services and Procurement Canada has extended the deadline for proposals to replace the CF-188 Hornets until July 31, 2020.

The 30-day extension is a response to the coronavirus pandemic that has disrupted business operations globally, especially in the aerospace sector.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is presenting numerous challenges for businesses and their workforce, including the eligible suppliers for the Future Fighter Capability Project,” said a spokesperson for the department

in a statement on May 6.

“The unprecedented situation has impacted proposal finalization. To support our commitment to conducting an open, fair, and transparent competition, the extension will ensure all suppliers are able to submit their most competitive offer to Canada.”

Three qualified contenders remain in the competition to replace the Royal Canadian Air Force fighter jet fleet: Sweden's Saab Aeronautics with the Gripen E and the United States-backed Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet and Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II. Dassualt Aviation and Airbus Defense and Space withdrew their entrants, the Rafale and Eurofighter Typhoon, in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

The project, valued at up to $19 billion, is seeking proposals for 88 advanced aircraft to replace an aging fleet of 76 A and B model Hornets that began entering service in the mid-1980s. The bids will be evaluated on technical capability, worth 60 per cent of the evaluation; acquisition and operating costs (20 per cent); and economic benefit to Canadian industry, also 20 per cent and the highest weighting for economic return on any defence procurement to date.

It's the second time this year the federal government has prolonged the deadline for the request for proposals (RFP). In February, at the request of one of the suppliers, it granted a three-month extension from March 30 to June 30.

Release of the formal RFP was also pushed back several times before being issued in July 2019, to accommodate changes during the draft RFP process. The project is the largest acquisition in recent Air Force history and has faced numerous schedule changes over the past decade.

This latest change comes a week after Canada submitted an annual payment of US$70.1 million to remain in the F-35 development program, which is being supported by nine partner countries.

To date, the government has invested US$541.3 million since 1997 into the multi-variant, next-generation fighter program. However, Canadian companies have captured US$1.8 billion in work on the fighter.

“This participation provides Canadian industry with contract opportunities that are only available to program participants,” a spokesperson for National Defence told Canadian Press. “Our membership will also allow us preferential pricing and sequencing in the build schedule should the F-35 aircraft be successful in the current future fighter capability program.”

Despite the recent delay because of COVID-19, PSPC still anticipates to award a contract in 2022. The first new aircraft would be delivered in early 2025.

In the interim, the government is acquiring and upgrading 18 operational Australian F/A-18A Hornets to augment the current fleet of 76 Hornets. The RCAF is also finalizing an upgrade package for the 76 fighters that will likely include enhancements to their combat capability.

https://www.skiesmag.com/news/government-extends-fighter-proposal-deadline/

Sur le même sujet

  • Canada cancels permits for high-tech arms exports to Turkey | CBC News

    13 avril 2021 | Local, C4ISR

    Canada cancels permits for high-tech arms exports to Turkey | CBC News

    The federal government has cancelled arms export licences for Turkey's high-tech drone systems after a review found “credible evidence” that Canadian technology was diverted to Azerbaijan without Ottawa's consent and was used in fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh last fall, Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau said today.

  • RCAF seeks proposals on air weapons range upgrades

    11 juillet 2019 | Local, Aérospatial

    RCAF seeks proposals on air weapons range upgrades

    by Chris Thatcher The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) is asking for industry help to develop a road map for the modernization of its fighter aircraft training ranges. Public Services and Procurement Canada on July 8 issued a request for proposals (RFP) for a plan that would capitalize on Live-Virtual-Constructive (LVC) training and experimental environments at the two primary air weapons ranges in Cold Lake, Alta., and Bagotville, Que., as well as other ranges in Gagetown, N.B., Wainwright and Suffield, Alta, and Valcartier, Que., and at the Canadian Forces Maritime Experimental and Test Range in Nanoose Bay, B.C. The Cold Lake Air Weapons Range (CLAWR), in particular, is considered a strategic asset that is vital to RCAF individual and collective training, as well as integrated training with the Canadian Army, Canadian Special Operations Forces Command, and allies. It regularly hosts the multinational Maple Flag exercises. But the ranges were last upgraded almost 20 years ago and no longer provide sufficient representation of current threats or the connectivity to work with advanced next-generation fighter jets. They have also become expensive to maintain. “Obsolescence, threat replication, and other land use stakeholders challenge the CLAWR's current utility to training fighter forces, while its future training environment must enable rehearsing the integration of future capabilities against emerging peer adversaries,” explained Stephan Kummel, director general of Fighter Capability, told Skies in a statement. “The RCAF requires airspace designed for advanced air platforms, target arrays suitable for modern weapons, modern training instrumentation, and low-level communications to monitor and control training, and a selective security classification system to permit challenging simultaneous training at different classification levels so participants can share data within their approved national caveats.” The RFP noted that RCAF investments in various virtual constructive capabilities over the past decades “were delivered through discrete projects where interconnectivity with the spectrum of RCAF LVC capabilities was not a requirement.” As part of the road map, the Air Force is asking industry to “consider” the current modelling and simulation environment, virtual proving grounds, and all current RCAF platform simulators — including an eventual remotely piloted air system — as well as air traffic control, air weapons, and air and space control simulators. The aim is a report that “recommended way forward to modernize the ranges and integrate all RCAF LVC capabilities ... Ranges, simulators and virtual environments need to be developed in a manner that supports collective training, but solutions must also support collective and distributed research and experimentation. The proposed investment strategy for the LVC modernization program must enable a seamless transition of equipment and environments between training and force development activities,” according to the RFP. The 12-month contract, which includes a one-year optional extension, is divided into three phases: initial scoping, design and lifecycle support. The initial scoping report is expected to identify shortfalls in “critical range infrastructure such as: threat replication, briefing and de-briefing capability and facilities, communication, Air Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation (ACMI), EM spectrum management, A/G target design, specialist support personnel and security.” “This roadmap is the first step in a multi-stage process that will ensure the long-term viability of force generation efforts, training, testing and evaluation, and the execution of large-scale multinational exercises such as Maple Flag,” said Kummel. https://www.skiesmag.com/news/rcaf-seeks-proposals-on-air-weapons-range-upgrades/

  • CAE upgrades trainers at 15 Wing Moose Jaw

    25 novembre 2019 | Local, Aérospatial

    CAE upgrades trainers at 15 Wing Moose Jaw

    Ahead of the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation, and Education Conference (I/ITSEC), the world's largest military training and simulation event to be held next week in Orlando, Fla., CAE announced it has completed major upgrades to the CT-156 Harvard (T-6) and CT-155 Hawk flight training devices (FTDs) used as part of the NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC) program at 15 Wing Moose Jaw, Sask. The upgrades were done on three CT-156 Harvard FTDs and one CT-155 Hawk FTD that are used extensively for ground-based training elements of the NFTC pilot training syllabus. CAE replaced computing hardware on the simulators, added new visual display systems, updated the instructor operator stations, and upgraded the image generators to the latest CAE Medallion series. CAE will now begin upgrading the CT-155 Hawk FTD located at 4 Wing Cold Lake, Alta., which is used as part of phase IV fighter lead-in training under the NFTC program. “The ground-based training system and use of simulators has become increasingly important for military pilot training,” said France Hébert, vice-president and general manager, CAE Canada. “With the upgraded flight training devices used for NATO Flying Training in Canada, we will now be able to deliver ground-based training that is more immersive and realistic, which in turn contributes to the more effective and efficient delivery of live flying training.” The effectiveness of the upgraded CT-156 Harvard and CT-155 Hawk FTDs is already benefiting student pilots. The new visual systems provide more realism in the synthetic environment and have enabled training tasks such as formation flying and tactical scenarios to be rehearsed in the simulators, thus enhancing the efficiency of performing these tasks during live flying training. As the prime contractor for the NFTC program, CAE operates the NFTC base facilities, delivers the ground-school classroom and simulator training, and supports the live flying training on a fleet of Beechcraft T-6 (CT-156 Harvard) and BAE Systems Hawk (CT-155 Hawk) aircraft. CAE operates the NFTC program out of 15 Wing Moose Jaw and 4 Wing Cold Lake, and the program is designed and delivered in cooperation with the Government of Canada to support pilot training for the Royal Canadian Air Force and allied militaries. The NFTC program combines basic, advanced, and lead-in fighter training as part of the comprehensive military pilot training program. https://www.skiesmag.com/press-releases/cae-upgrades-trainers-at-15-wing-moose-jaw

Toutes les nouvelles