26 avril 2019 | Local, Aérospatial
DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN
Though the federal government expects to award a contract for a new fleet of fighter jets in 2022, it admits that schedule is aggressive and could yet face further delays.
A request for bids to provide 88 new jets to the Royal Canadian Air Force will be released next month, according to a new update on major Department of National Defence projects released Wednesday, with the proposals to be evaluated by 2021 and a contract to be awarded a year later.
But in the update DND also admits that timeline is tenuous. “The approved schedule is considered very aggressive,” it said. “The project team is managing a number of risks which have the potential to impact schedule.”
The document doesn't outline the specific risks but DND officials have acknowledged that government negotiations with private contractors on the industrial benefits that are to be linked to the project could cause delays.
The Liberals have committed to purchasing the new jets in a program expected to cost up to $19 billion. The competition was launched on Dec. 12, 2017, and Canada expects to examine four different fighter jets as candidates for the RCAF's new fleet.
The project team is managing a number of risks which have the potential to impact schedule
The first of the jets is expected to be delivered in the mid-2020s, with the full capability available in the early 2030s, according to the DND document.
The document also outlines the plan to purchase used Australian F-18s in the interim, which the RACF will use to boost the capability of its current fleet of CF-18s until the new generation aircraft are in service. The first of the Australian jets has already been delivered, with final delivery set for the end of 2021, according to the update. However, the parliamentary budget officer has found this interim solution could cost more than $1 billion, and the auditor general's office has pointed out that the air force is lacking pilots and maintenance crews for the planes it already operates.
Wednesday's DND update points out success stories as well as challenges with some of DND's multi-billion dollar projects.
Some programs, such as the purchase of Chinook helicopters and tactical armoured patrol vehicles, are completed or are nearing completion with few problems.
A new $2-billion program to buy heavy trucks is among those expected to be proceed without issues.
Canada also expects to award a contact next year for a mid-life upgrade of the fleet of Cormorant search-and-rescue helicopters, and the conversion of former U.S. presidential helicopters so they can join the flight line for rescue operations.
But the report warns there could be problems with other upcoming projects such as the purchase of a fleet of drones.
It noted that there might not be enough procurement staff with the required expertise to move that program forward on schedule. The department hopes to deal with the problem by hiring contractors. A draft invitation to qualify for that project was released April 5 and a contact is expected to be awarded in 2022, the document said.
The first of a fleet of new fixed-wing search-and-rescue aircraft, meanwhile, are to be delivered in December. The first plane will be sent to 19 Wing Comox, B.C. in the spring of 2020. The 16 new planes will be phased in between 2020 and 2022.
But DND acknowledged it is keeping an eye on the potential that schedule could be affected because of the “complexities associated with transitioning to the new fleet while maintaining the current search and rescue posture.”
In addition, DND is keeping watch on problems with its new upgraded light armoured vehicles. Though the vehicles have been delivered on time, some technical issues will be fixed through a retrofit program. There have also been problems with software design and qualification of components in another new fleet of armoured vehicles that will be used for battlefield surveillance, the first of which is to be delivered next year.
The first new supply ship for the Royal Canadian Navy, being built in Vancouver, is expected in 2023 but won't be ready for operations until a year later. The delivery of the second supply ship “is currently under review,” the update added.
In the meantime, the navy has access to MV Asterix, the supply ship at the heart of the court case involving Vice-Admiral Mark Norman.
That ship, currently being leased to the navy by Quebec firm Davie Shipbuilding, was delivered on time and on budget and is considered a procurement success story.
23 février 2021 | Local, Aérospatial
Montreal, Quebec-based Icarus Aerospace opens up about its Tactical Air Vehicle platform as it seeks government funding and market traction.
6 août 2019 | Local, Aérospatial
CSA FAST Program. Credit: Canadian Space Agency. Facebook Twitter Stumbleupon LinkedIn Today the Canadian Space Agency announced the Flights and Fieldwork for the Advancement of Science and Technology (FAST) 2019 opportunity. According to the Canadian Space Agency the FAST program supports “research projects of Canadian universities and post-secondary institutions that will contribute to the development of new scientific knowledge and space technologies, while making it possible for students to acquire hands-on experience in space-like missions.” The last FAST program awards were in 2017 where $6.2 million was awarded for 31 projects. In this FAST program announcement the expected budget is $3.5 million going to approximately 19 awards. The maximum duration for the grants is three years. For FAST 2019 the grants will be awarded in two categories; Category A: Maximum grant of $300,000 for a maximum duration of three years for an end-to-end space-like mission project that includes the development or improvement of a technology, use of the technology during a flight or field or research site deployment, and data collection and analysis; the maximum amount available per year is $150,000. Those familiar with the program and interested in applying for Category A should be aware that FAST 2019 appears to be a merging of FAST 2017 Category A and B with the resulting median award of $300,000 being the new ceiling for grants. Category B: Maximum grant of $100,000 for two or three years, for a small space-related research project; the maximum amount available per year is $50,000. Category B is what Category C was in FAST 2017. The application deadline is October 18, 2019, 1:00 pm ET. http://spaceq.ca/the-canadian-space-agency-announces-the-fast-2019-opportunity/
21 août 2018 | Local, Aérospatial
Chris Thatcher PAL Aerospace is on the hunt for maintenance, materiel, information technology and other support talent to staff the Royal Canadian Air Force's (RCAF's) four search and rescue main operating bases. Twenty months after the federal government selected 16 Airbus CC-295W fixed-wing search and rescue aircraft to replace six CC-115 Buffalos and 12 CC-130 H-model Hercules, St. John's, N.L.-based PAL is ready to hire the team that will deliver in-service support (ISS) for the new fleet. “PAL Aerospace will be providing a wide assortment of program management services as we prepare to undertake the maintenance and logistics support, heavy maintenance, including a mobile repair team, and centralize supply chain management activities for this aircraft,” Eva Martinez, vice-president of ISS, told the Abbotsford Aerospace, Defence and Security Expo (ADSE) in August. As a supplier to Airbus, PAL is responsible for maintenance and material support of the new fleet, providing an integrated team of aircraft maintenance engineers (AMEs), warehouse and tool crib personnel, a technical library and a contractor field office at four main operating bases in Comox, B.C., Winnipeg, Man., Trenton, Ont., and Greenwood, N.S. Each base will require around 11 people. PAL will also establish and maintain a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in Winnipeg for heavy maintenance work. The shop will be co-located with its central warehouse, and will be home base for the mobile repair team. In total, PAL expects to hire around 28 people to staff the facility. As for material, PAL will provide ground support equipment, a 30-day supply of aircraft consumables at each base, personal protective equipment, and shipping and handling of all aircraft spare parts, said Martinez, an aerospace engineer who served 13 years in the Air Force. Through a joint venture with Airbus called AirPro, PAL will collaborate on the integration of all ISS services. “Our hiring target as it stands right now is 73,” she said. “As we work with Canada and Airbus to fully define the maintenance tasks, we could see an increase in the level of effort required...for AMEs.” That workload is based in part on RCAF plans to locate three CC-295W at each base. Two more will reside with the operational training unit in Comox while a final two will serve as floaters. “They will be moved around depending on the induction into heavy maintenance as well as the operational tempo,” said Martinez. Comox, which will include the RCAF's new search and rescue training centre, will stand up in 2019 to coincide with the arrival of the first aircraft, expected by the end of next year. The front, mid and rear fuselage sections have been delivered to Airbus's pre-final assembly line in Tablada, Spain, and the final aircraft is expected to roll out in the first quarter of 2019. Full article: https://www.skiesmag.com/news/pal-aerospace-seeks-iss-talent-for-rcaf-sar-operating-bases/