22 juillet 2019 | Local, Aérospatial
DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN
Airbus and Boeing may pull out of a bidding process to supply Canada with new fighter jets because they say the contest is unfairly tilted toward Lockheed Martin's F-35, Reuters has reported.
Officials with Saab have expressed similar concerns.
The news comes as the request for proposals (bids) is expected to be released soon.
Boeing and Airbus have now formally written to the federal government expressing concerns about the current requirements, according to Reuters. Pat Finn, the Assistant Deputy Minister for Materiel at the Department of National Defence, has confirmed one of the companies sent a formal letter but he didn't provide details.
It's no secret Saab, Airbus and Boeing are upset with the changes made to the competition after the Pentagon threatened to pull the F-35 out of the $19 billion competition. Officials with Lockheed Martin's three competitors say the Canadian government went overboard to please the Pentagon and the bid package is now designed so the F-35 would emerge as the clear winner.
That would make the Royal Canadian Air Force happy since it has always wanted the F-35 stealth fighter.
The Liberal government has committed to purchasing 88 new fighter jets.
The competition was launched on Dec. 12, 2017. Four fighter jets are to be considered. Those include the F-35, the Super Hornet, the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Gripen.
In the fall of 2018 Dassault Aviation pulled out as a potential bidder. The company had planned to offer the Rafale but decided against competing the aircraft because of the extensive requirements for interoperability with the U.S. military.
The first delivery of the jets is expected in the mid-2020s with the full capability available in the early 2030s, according to the DND document.
The requirements for a new Canadian fighter jet 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 has 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, currently in draft form, provides additional weight to those aircraft that can excel at ground attack for overseas operations. That criteria is seen to favour Lockheed Martin's F-35 stealth jet, say those industry representatives allied with Lockheed's rivals.
But Finn, the Department of National Defence's procurement chief, says there is such a wide variety of requirements to meet that while some aircraft might be seen to do well in some areas, they may not excel in others. “Somebody may be better in a high-end scenario but they're worst for cost,” Finn explained in a recent interview. “That's why we say it's the whole piece” that will be considered in the competition.
Some will dismiss the latest news about companies threatening to pullout of the competition as a bluff or a last-ditch effort to force changes on the request for proposal package, which is expected to be released in a week or so.
That is one scenario. The other scenario is this: the effort to prepare a bid is expected to cost each firm about $15 million and involve up to 30 staff members. It is an extensive process. If Canada's request for proposals is so tilted towards the F-35 – or seen to be tilted – then companies will think twice about committing to that process.
(Analysis)
29 octobre 2023 | Local, Naval, Sécurité
A keel-laying is a significant milestone in a ship’s construction, where a newly minted coin is placed near the keel, which traditionally runs along the length of the ship.
8 mai 2023 | Local, Autre défense
Le 8 mai 2023 – Ottawa (Ontario) – Défense nationale/Forces armées canadiennes Aujourd’hui, la ministre de la Défense nationale Anita Anand a accueilli son homologue polonais, le vice‑premier ministre et ministre de la Défense Mariusz Błaszczak, à Ottawa dans le cadre d’une réunion bilatérale. La ministre Anand et le vice-premier ministre Błaszczak ont réaffirmé que les deux pays continueront de soutenir l’Ukraine aussi longtemps qu’il le faudra. Le Canada et la Pologne ont tous les deux joué un rôle de premier plan dans l’aide offerte à l’Ukraine, le Canada s’étant engagé à fournir plus d’un milliard de dollars en aide militaire et à verser plus de huit milliards de dollars pour appuyer l’Ukraine, notamment sous forme d’aide financière, militaire et humanitaire. La ministre Anand a salué le soutien remarquable offert à l’Ukraine par la Pologne, et les deux ministres ont convenu de l’importance du Groupe de contact sur la défense de l’Ukraine, dirigé par les États‑Unis, en tant que forum pour la coordination des dons d’aide militaire à l’Ukraine. La ministre Anand a remercié le vice‑premier ministre Błaszczak de collaborer avec le Canada pour fournir une assistance militaire à l’Ukraine. Dans le cadre de l’opération UNIFIER, le Canada a envoyé environ 80 membres des Forces armées canadiennes en Pologne pour notamment : former les sapeurs des forces armées ukrainiennes (FAU) sur une gamme de compétences de base et avancées en matière de génie, la reconnaissance technique et l’utilisation d’explosifs pour les travaux de démolition et de déminage; donner de la formation aux équipages des opérateurs de chars des FAU sur l’utilisation des chars de combat principaux Leopard 2; former les membres des FAU aux compétences nécessaires pour sauver des vies en situation de combat. Ces efforts continus en matière de formation s’appuient sur le déploiement précédent des FAC en Pologne, d’avril à juillet 2022, au cours duquel jusqu’à 150 membres des FAC ont été déployés pour travailler dans des centres d’accueil qui coordonnaient le mouvement des réfugiés ukrainiens en Pologne et partout en Europe. La ministre Anand a également souligné que l’Aviation royale canadienne a transporté plus de huit millions de livres d’aide militaire destinée à l’Ukraine offerte par le Canada et ses alliés, et elle a remercié la Pologne pour sa collaboration. La ministre Anand a félicité le vice-premier ministre Błaszczak pour le leadership dont a fait preuve son pays en accueillant un centre de maintenance et d’entretien en partenariat avec l’Allemagne et l’Ukraine pour assurer le maintien en puissance des chars de combat principaux Leopard 2 donnés à l’Ukraine. Les deux dirigeants ont également parlé du Protocole d'entente sur la coopération en matière de défense entre le Canada et la Pologne qu’ils ont signé le 11 octobre 2022 lors de la visite de la ministre Anand en Pologne. Ce protocole d’entente crée de nouvelles possibilités pour les membres du personnel militaire et civil canadiens et polonais d’apprendre les uns des autres, de s’entraîner ensemble et de faciliter la collaboration interindustrielle en matière de défense afin de moderniser la technologie militaire. La ministre Anand a réaffirmé l’engagement indéfectible du Canada envers l’Alliance de l'Organisation du Traité de l'Atlantique Nord (OTAN) et a souligné les efforts soutenus déployés par le Canada pour renforcer le flanc oriental de l’OTAN, notamment en dirigeant le groupement tactique multinational de présence avancée renforcée (PAR) en Lettonie. La ministre Anand a salué les importantes capacités de défense que la Pologne apporte au groupement tactique PAR et à la posture de dissuasion et de défense de l’OTAN. Enfin, la ministre Anand a fait état des discussions qu’elle a eues au cours des derniers mois avec les dirigeants de la communauté canado‑polonaise, qui ont fait preuve d’un dévouement et d’une compassion remarquables en consacrant leur temps et leurs ressources au soutien des nouveaux arrivants ukrainiens. La ministre Anand a salué le leadership dont fait preuve la communauté canado‑polonaise et le gouvernement de la Pologne afin de soutenir les Ukrainiens. Liens pertinents Dons et support opérationnels militaires à l'Ukraine La réponse du Canada à l'invasion russe de l'Ukraine Opération UNIFIER Relations Canada‑Pologne https://www.canada.ca/fr/ministere-defense-nationale/nouvelles/2023/05/la-ministre-anand-et-le-vice-premier-ministre-baszczak-reaffirment-la-solidite-des-relations-de-defense-entre-le-canada-et-la-pologne.html
26 décembre 2018 | Local, Terrestre
AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): A consignment of armored vehicles has left Canada for Saudi Arabia despite Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's declaration that Ottawa was ready to halt a $13 billion arms deal with Riyadh. Military manufacturer General Dynamic Land Systems Canada has been contracted to deliver 742 armored vehicles to the kingdom whose war on Yemen has recently come under increased scrutiny. Canada has been exporting arms to Saudi Arabia based on the 2014 contract won by the Canadian unit of US weapons maker General Dynamics Corp. On Sunday, a cargo ship loaded with armored vehicles left the port of Saint John for Saudi Arabia, a day after protesters gathered in the rain and fog to condemn the shipment, Canada's leading daily the Globe and Mail reported. The protesters held signs and passed out pamphlets detailing concerns about the Saudi-led war in Yemen, which the United Nations has called the world's worst humanitarian crisis, the paper said. The cargo was apparently delayed for a day after longshoremen refused to cross the protest line, forfeiting their day's wages, it added. The longshoremen, the paper said, could face repercussions from their employer for their decision not to cross the protest, even though the combat vehicles were eventually transported. The shipment came even though Trudeau said in October that Canada was ready to halt the arms deal with Saudi Arabia if it concluded the weapons had been misused. "We strongly demand and expect that Canadian exports are used in a way that fully respects human rights," Trudeau said in the parliament. "We have frozen export permits before when we had concerns about their potential misuse and we will not hesitate to do so again," he added. His remarks, however, drew a warning from General Dynamics Corp which warned Canada against stopping the sales. "Were Canada to unilaterally terminate the contract, Canada would incur billions of dollars of liability to General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada," it said. David Perry, defense analyst at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, called the warning “unusual” at the time. He said General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada would normally keep a very low profile. "I can't imagine they are anything other than extremely worried," he said. Trudeau, himself, had previously acknowledged that there would be “huge penalties” if Ottawa turned its back on the deal. The Canadian premier, known for trying to portray himself as a human rights advocate, has been under pressure to scrap the deal inked by the previous government. Besides killing tens of thousands of people, the Saudi war has brought the impoverished country close to the edge of a nationwide famine. http://en.abna24.com/news//saudi-arabia-gets-arms-despite-canadas-pledge-to-halt-deal_921936.html