16 août 2021 | Local, Aérospatial
Modernization of military surveillance aircraft fleet delayed as $52 million more needed for project
DND spokesman Dan Le Bouthillier said $52 million will be provided to companies so the project can be completed.
23 novembre 2018 | Local, Naval
Frigate design decision challenged in Federal Court, putting $60B program in limbo
Murray Brewster · CBC News
Winning bid 'incapable of meeting three critical mandatory requirements,' says Alion Canada
One of the losing bidders in the competition to design the navy's next generation of warships has asked the Federal Court to overturn the recent decision to award the contract to a group of companies led by Lockheed Martin Canada.
Alion Science and Technology Corp. and its subsidiary, Alion Canada, asked for a judicial review on Friday — a challenge that could mean more delays to the $60 billion program.
The company had pitched the Dutch-designed De Zeven Provinciën Air Defence and Command (LCF) frigate as their solution for the Canadian navy.
It's asking the court to set aside an Oct. 19 decision to select Lockheed Martin Canada the preferred bidder and to prevent the federal government from entering into negotiations with the company, which has offered up the BAE Systems-designed Type 26 frigate.
In their court filing, Alion officials argue that the winning bid was "incapable of meeting three critical mandatory requirements" of the design tender.
Notably, they say the Type 26 cannot meet the mandatory speed requirements set out by the navy and that both Public Services and Procurement Canada and Irving Shipbuilding, the yard overseeing the construction, should have rejected the bid outright.
Alion said it "submitted a fully-compliant and conforming bid at enormous expense" and argued it "has been denied the fair treatment (it was) owed."
The court application also points out that the design tender was amended 88 times during the 22 months it was under consideration and that the changes "effectively diluted the [warship] requirements" and allowed the government and Irving to select "an unproven design platform."
Rising cost estimates
Over two years ago, the Liberal government said it wanted to select a "mature design" for the new frigates, rather than designing a warship from scratch. Former public works minister Judy Foote said it would be a faster, cheaper solution.
Unlike its two competitors, the Type 26 has yet to enter service with the Royal Navy and competitors have privately knocked it as "paper ship."
Navantia, a Spanish-based company, was the other failed bidder. It headed a team that included Saab and CEA Technologies and proposed the F-105 frigate design, a ship in service with the Spanish navy.
The Liberal government plans to build 15 new warships and hoped to get construction underway in the early 2020s. The program, which has been beset with delays and rising cost estimates, is intended to replace the navy's aging Halifax-class frigates, the backbone of the nation's maritime fighting force.
Federal procurement officials had hoped to nail down a complete design contract with Lockheed Martin by the winter. The court challenge now puts that timeline in doubt.
It also has enormous implications for Irving, which has been concerned about a slowdown in warship production between the current Arctic Offshore Patrol Ship program and the frigate replacements, which are formally titled 'Canadian Surface Combatants'.
No one at Public Works or Lockheed Martin was immediately available for comment on Wednesday.
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12 septembre 2019 | Local, Terrestre
A $2 billion dollar contract for new armoured vehicles was quietly signed with General Dynamics Land Systems earlier this month.
By DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN A $2 billion dollar contract for new armoured vehicles was quietly signed with General Dynamics Land Systems earlier this month. The Liberal government originally announced Aug. 18 that negotiations were underway for the sole source deal to purchase 360 combat support Light Armoured Vehicles from General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada in London, ON. A notice on the federal government's procurement website noted that Public Services and Procurement Canada, on behalf of National Defence, awarded the contract to General Dynamics valued at $2 billion on Sept. 5. That cost includes initial spare parts, technical manuals and training. Public Services and Procurement Canada did not issue a news release about the major award. The department did not respond to a request for comment. The overall project is estimated to cost $3 billion but that includes in-service support, construction of new facilities and other support to the program. The combat support Light Armoured Vehicles was originally announced by the Liberal government with an estimated cost between $500 million and $1.5 billion. The plan was to award the contract in 2023 after a competition between defence firms. But with the federal election looming the deal was fast-tracked by the Liberals, joining a series of recent defence-related funding announcements. A competition was jettisoned, replaced with a sole-source deal with General Dynamics. The deal includes a $650 million repayable loan to General Dynamics. Details have not been released. General Dynamics will provide the new vehicles in eight variants. They will be used as ambulances and in other roles such as vehicle recovery, engineering, mobile repair, electronic warfare and as command posts. The current fleet of armoured support vehicles is comprised of the LAV II Bison and the M113 tracked vehicle. The DND stated the contract was sole-sourced to General Dynamics as the firm builds most other armoured vehicles for the Canadian Forces and having a vehicle based on the same chassis allows for savings in maintenance and training. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/canadian-government-quietly-signs-2-billion-defence-contract-with-general-dynamics
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19 février 2020 | Local, Naval
ROLLS-ROYCE BREAKS GROUND ON CANADA EXPANSION
Rolls-Royce has broken ground on a new expansion to its Centre of Excellence for Naval Handling equipment in Canada. Design and manufacture of the Rolls-Royce Mission Bay Handling System (MBHS) will take place inside the new facility in Peterborough, Ontario. The MBHS is a feature of the Global Combat Ship design, selected for the Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC), Australian Hunter Class and UK Type 26 programs. The Canadian Federal Government has already selected the Global Combat Ship design for the Royal Canadian Navy's 15 new CSC ships. Bruce Lennie, Rolls-Royce, vice president, business development and government affairs said: "We are pleased to welcome Minister Monsef, MPP Smith and Mayor Therrien to mark this significant milestone in developing our infrastructure which will support the Canadian Surface Combatant program. "This centre will harness and build upon the wealth of Canadian engineering and technological expertise we have at Rolls-Royce. "We look forward to growing our business in country, further developing our supply chain and enhancing our contributions to the Canadian economy." Rolls-Royce employs more than 1,000 people across five facilities in cities including Montreal, Ottawa and Peterborough. https://www.insidermedia.com/news/midlands/rolls-royce-breaks-ground-on-canada-expansion