Fourth Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessel delivered to The Royal Canadian Navy

Sur le même sujet

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  22 mai 2020 | Local, Aérospatial

  Des experts peu convaincus de la nécessité de remplacer les avions des Snowbirds

  Publié le 20 mai 2020 Deux experts soutiennent que les avions utilisés par les Snowbirds sont des avions fiables, malgré leur 'ge. La question de la vétusté des CT-114 Tutor a resurgi après l'accident en Colombie-Britannique qui a coûté la vie à la capitaine Jenn Casey. Conçu par le fabricant aéronautique Canadair dans les années 1960, le CT-114 Tutor fait partie intégrante des Forces armées canadiennes (FAC) depuis 1964. Utilisé comme avion d'entraînement, jusque dans les années 2000, le modèle est toujours utilisé par les Snowbirds, le 431e escadron de démonstration aérienne des FAC. La base d'attache des Snowbirds est à Moose Jaw, en Saskatchewan. Aux yeux du président honoraire de l'Association de l'Aviation royale canadienne, André Deschamps, le CT-114 Tutor est un avion très robuste, bien b'ti, solide et très simple. Il est parfait pour les pilotes, car il n'y a pas trop de matériel excessif à s'occuper. Ancien chef d'état-major de l'Aviation royale canadienne, André Deschamps pense que l'écrasement du CT-114 des capitaines Kasey et MacDougall est dû à une perte de puissance soudaine du moteur de l'appareil. clairement pas assez pour continuer de voler, explique le lieutenant-général Deschamps. Selon lui, ce défaut de propulsion de l'aéronef peut être dû à une multitude de raisons. Outre une cause naturelle, comme un oiseau happé par la turbine de l'avion, ce type d'accident peut aussi être causé par un contaminant dans l'essence [...] Ça peut être atmosphérique, ou ça peut être un bris mécanique à l'intérieur du moteur, note André Deschamps. Un remplacement complexe En attendant les résultats d'une enquête sur les causes exactes de l'accident tragique de Kamloops, et malgré l''ge de ce modèle d'aéronef, André Deschamps affirme qu'il est vraiment dur de remplacer cet avion, à cause de ces qualités d'opération. Un point de vue partagé par Mehran Ebrahimi, directeur de l'Observatoire de l'aéronautique et de l'aviation civile de l'UQAM. Même si ces avions ne sont pas éternels (...) il ne faut pas considérer que, parce que ces avions-là sont vieux, ils sont automatiquement dangereux, précise-t-il. Le premier ministre Justin Trudeau s'est d'ailleurs entretenu à plusieurs reprises, en fin de semaine, avec le ministre de la Défense au sujet de la sécurité et de l''ge des avions des Snowbirds, selon les informations de La Presse canadienne. Une question aussi d'ordre financier De plus, la question financière entre rapidement dans les considérations gouvernementales à ce sujet. Dans un document datant de 2015, la Défense nationale du Canada estimait le coût de remplacement des Tutor entre 500 millions et 1,5 milliard de dollars. C'est beaucoup d'argent. Dans le contexte actuel, avec la trésorerie des gouvernements, ajoutez à cela la COVID-19, comment ça va se passer, questionne M. Ebrahimi. Selon André Deschamps, le remplacement des CT-114 entre dans une politique plus large de changement des avions d'entraînement pour les pilotes de chasse canadiens. Le programme de remplacement existe. (...) Il faut allier ça avec d'autres ressources. On ne veut pas acheter une flotte unique, qui existe seulement pour les Snowbirds, précise M. Deschamps. Différentes options sont là, prêtes à être évaluées, selon l'ancien chef d'état-major. Il va y avoir des décisions éventuellement, dans les années prochaines. Mais pour le moment, les Tutor sont encore sains. Une réflexion qui fait écho à un autre document de la Défense nationale du Canada, qui fait partie du Plan national de défense 2018, qui annonce la prolongation de service des CT-114 Tutor : la fin de vie des aéronefs, initialement prévue pour 2020, y est repoussée à 2030. Le CT-114 Tutor s'est révélé une plateforme très résistante, facile à entretenir et à mettre à niveau, et dont la fonctionnalité peut être maintenue à long terme, reconnaît la Défense nationale questionnée au sujet de ce plan de remplacement des CT-1. Dans son courriel transmis à Radio-Canada, le gouvernement fédéral conclut : Les Forces armées canadiennes prévoient conserver les Snowbirds comme marque distinctive de l'Aviation royale canadienne https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1704413/snowbirds-ecrasement-kamloops-casey-tutor-defense

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  2 mars 2020 | Local, Aérospatial

  Pushing fighter jet deadline raises questions on which jets can do the work: experts

  Amanda Connolly GlobalNews.ca WATCH: Canadian fighter jets intercepted two Russian bombers travelling near the North American coastline. While they were in international airspace they entered an area patrolled by the Canadians. The two American aerospace firms that want the Canadian government to buy their fighter jets say they did not request an extension on the deadline for bids. At the same time, defence experts say the decision to grant the extension reflects the bigger challenge facing a government that has repeatedly insisted a competition is the only way to move forward with the $19-billion procurement, despite there being a limited pool of options. “The government believes it needs to run a competition, but there're many situations where, in reality, there's only one or two competitors that can actually meet the needs of the Canadian Forces,” said Richard Shimooka, a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and an expert on defence. “So the government's put in a bit of a pickle by its rhetoric where it wants to portray that ‘yeah, we're having a competition or we're providing value for money and all these kind of important things for Canada', but in fact knows there's really only one competitor.” On Tuesday, the government announcement that the March 30 deadline will be pushed back three months, to June 30 instead. READ MORE: Canadian fighter jet replacement project hit with another delay In a press release on the decision earlier in the week, the government had said this extension was being granted “at the request of industry.” “Procurements of this magnitude are complex, and submission of a good proposal is important for suppliers and for Canada,” the government said in the press release. “This extension allows eligible suppliers to address recent feedback on their security offers, ensuring that Canada receives competitive proposals that meet its technical, cost and economic benefits requirements.” Global News has since been told that feedback included specific assessments about whether a firm would be able to meet the Canadian government's requirements for inter-operability with key allies, including the U.S. and the Five Eyes, and whether allies would be comfortable with them. Because the government is using a process known as phased bids for the fighter jet procurement, bidders get the chance to address any findings of non-compliance with those requirements before submitting their final proposals. And because of how closely Canada and the U.S. work together on issues ranging from intelligence sharing, continental defence and others, inter-operability – or the ability for jets to work seamlessly across various areas where Canadian and American systems overlap – is considered key to this contest. “We've got to buy aircraft that can be completely and seamlessly inter-operable with the U.S.,” said Dave Perry, vice president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute and an expert on defence procurement. “They've asked the bidders to put forward a proposal on how they're going to make that work.” Perry noted that in the past, questions around how aircraft will operate between Canadian and American systems hasn't been relevant because Canadian fighter jets have always been American. Now, with foreign bidders like Sweden's Saab, the onus is on them to demonstrate their jets can actually do the work. “Saab is the only competitor that is not part of either Five Eyes or Two Eyes and as a result, it would have the greatest amount of work in order to meet the requirements of the Royal Canadian Airforce,” said Shimooka. “Right off the bat, it requires the greatest amount of work for this.” While the government wouldn't say which firm asked for the deadline extension, both Lockheed Martin and Boeing offered statements saying it wasn't them. “We did not request the extension,” said Boeing spokesperson Stephanie Townend. A spokesperson for Lockheed Martin offered a similar response. “We have not requested an extension of delivery for the FFCP preliminary proposal,” said Amanda Hauck, strategic communications lead for the firm. A spokesperson for Saab was less clear. “While Canada's FFCP competition prohibits bidders from commenting publicly on confidential elements of the RFP process, Saab was prepared, and remains prepared, to submit a bid based on the Government of Canada's schedule,” said Patrick Palmer, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Saab Canada. “Saab will continue to finalize its response to all stated requirements of the RFP and can confirm that we will submit a fully compliant response to the Future Fighter Capability Program RFP. We are confident that our offer will provide the best value and best solution for Canada, industry and Canadians for generations to come.” Global News followed up with a request for Palmer to clarify whether the bid Saab said it was prepared to submit by the March 30 deadline would have been a fully compliant one. The company has not yet clarified its response. Saab is offering its Gripen fighter jet in the contest while Lockheed Martin is offering its controversial F-35 and Boeing is offering its Super Hornet. Two other European firms – Airbus and Dassault – dropped out of the contest over the past year-and-a-half, citing security requirements and associated extra costs for the suppliers if chosen. The competition is complicated though by questions and past concerns about both of the American offerings. Boeing brought a trade tribunal complaint against the Canadian aerospace firm Bombardier in 2018 which resulted in Bombardier being forced to pay steep duties on imports of its C-Series plane to the United States. Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains said shortly afterward that the government would weigh a company's “economic behaviour” and that those who had caused economic harm to Canada would be at a disadvantage in the fighter jet competition. That clause still exists in the criteria being used to assess the projects. But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also promised during the 2015 election campaign not to buy the F-35, the planned procurement of which under the previous Conservative government had been dogged with accusations of hidden costs and sole-sourcing. Since the launch of the competition, the F-35 has become widely-viewed by military experts as a frontrunner in the contest. A government source speaking on background insisted the extension will not impact the expected decision date. The result of the contest are due in 2022 with expected delivery of whichever jet is chosen beginning in 2025. https://q107.com/news/6600416/canada-fighter-jet-competition/

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  18 juin 2020 | Local, Aérospatial

  Canada to buy more than $1 billion of missiles, related equipment from U.S. for CF-18 fighters

  David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen The U.S. government has cleared the way for Canada to buy more than $1 billion worth of new missiles and related equipment for the Royal Canadian Air Force's CF-18 fighter jet fleet. The U.S. State Department approved the proposed sale to Canada for the 50 Sidewinder AIM-9X Block II Tactical missiles, radars and other various equipment for an estimated cost of $862.3 million U.S. ($1.1 billion Canadian). U.S. Congress was informed of the deal on Monday. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency in the U.S. announced the news on Tuesday. The companies involved in the sale are U.S. firms, Raytheon, General Dynamics, Boeing and Collins Aerospace. “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, a NATO ally that is an important force for ensuring political stability and economic progress and a contributor to military, peacekeeping and humanitarian operations around the world,” the Defense Security Cooperation Agency stated in its announcement. ”This sale will provide Canada a 2-squadron bridge of enhanced F/A-18A aircraft to continue meeting NORAD and NATO commitments while it gradually introduces new advanced aircraft via the Future Fighter Capability Program between 2025 and 2035.” Besides the 50 Sidewinder missiles, the deal will include training missiles, guidance systems, 38 specialized radar units, 20 Joint Standoff Weapons as well as support equipment. In an email the Department of National Defence stated that the U.S. approval for the missiles and related equipment is part of the “Hornet Extension Project” or HEP. That is part of the overall $1.3 billion project cost and fleet maintenance costs, it added. “HEP will also provide upgrades to sensors, weapons, and survivability, as well as security enhancements,” the DND noted. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/canada-to-buy-more-than-1-billion-of-missiles-related-equipment-from-u-s-for-cf-18-fighters