Retour aux nouvelles

5 février 2019 | Local, Aérospatial

Griffon life extension program to include upgraded sims

The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) will be seeking an upgrade to its CH-146 Griffon maintenance and flight training simulators as part of a life extension project for the multi-role utility helicopters.

The first phase of the project, which is intended to keep the fleet of 85 Griffons flying until at least 2031, took off on Jan. 26 with the award of a $90 million contract to Bell Helicopter Textron Canada to develop and design options for the avionics systems, engines, integrated sensors and cockpit displays.

A follow-on contract to install new systems and upgrade others is expected in 2022.

Around the same time, the federal government will be inviting industry to respond to a request for proposals to modernize the Griffon simulators, according to a Department of National Defence spokesperson.

“The upgrade to the flight simulation devices will be procured under a separate contract,” she said in an emailed response.

The CH-146 simulators were built by CAE and delivered to the RCAF in the mid-1990s, shortly before the helicopters entered service between 1995 and 1997. CAE continues to provide in-service support.

As part of what is being called the Griffon Limited Life Extension (GLLE) project, the RCAF wants to replace a number of the helicopter's avionics systems, including communications radios and cryptographic equipment, cockpit voice and flight recorders, the navigation systems, the automatic flight control systems, and the control display units. Obsolescence of critical components has been a problem for maintenance technicians for several years now.

The design phase will also look at upgrades to the engines and to the sensor suite. The CH-146, which is based on the Bell 412, performs a variety of transport, close fire support and armed escort missions for tactical aviation and special operations forces. However, it has a top speed of around 260 kilometres per hour, well below that of the Boeing CH-147F Chinook that it escorts during missions such as Operation Presence in Mali.

“These helicopters have performed extremely well over the years and with these new upgrades, they will continue to be a valuable asset that will allow our personnel to carry out missions and operations successfully well into the future,” RCAF commander LGen Al Meinzinger said in a statement.

While aircrews would like more speed, more lift and bigger guns as part of any upgrade program, the current platform meets most of their needs, Col Travis Morehen, commanding officer of 1 Wing, the RCAF's tactical aviation headquarters in Kingston, Ont., told Skies in a recent interview.

“I think we have done a really good job of exploiting what we can do with the Griffon,” said Morehen, who is currently serving as commander of the Canadian Armed Forces task force in Mali. “I don't think there are many nations that have been as agile and flexible with that type of platform as we have, whether it is the combat service support role for search and rescue, or precision insertion for special operations . . . or what we are doing in terms of utility lift, or providing, with the GAU-21 (.50 Cal machine gun), stand off fires.”

Whatever the changes that are ultimately accepted as part of the initial design phase now being conducted by Bell, the helicopters will require upgraded flight training and maintenance simulators to match.

The GLLE project, including modernized simulators, is expected to reach initial operational capability by 2024 and be fully operational by 2026.

https://www.skiesmag.com/news/griffon-life-extension-program-to-include-upgraded-sims/

Sur le même sujet

  • Esterline CMC Electronics and NovAtel® partner on new aviation certified GNSS Receiver

    7 novembre 2017 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR

    Esterline CMC Electronics and NovAtel® partner on new aviation certified GNSS Receiver

    (Montreal, QC and Calgary, AB, Canada, November 7, 2017) - Esterline CMC Electronics and NovAtel Inc. (NovAtel) are pleased to announce a new strategic partnership, extending their collaboration in Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) positioning technology that started in the late 1990s. The partnership will see NovAtel's industry-leading GNSS measurement technology integrated into a new Esterline CMC-designed multi-constellation, multi-frequency (MCMF) chipset for certified aviation use. The DO-254 Level A certified chipset will allow both companies to develop new GNSS receiver solutions for use in a variety of safety critical applications, including DO-178C Level A certified products designed for commercial aviation, military and unmanned aerial systems (UAS). Combining the world-class capabilities of NovAtel's GNSS expertise with Esterline CMC's aviation and certification experience will allow the companies to bring innovative solutions to the market, meeting the requirements of new and evolving industry standards as the modern age of MCMF GNSS positioning in aviation is ushered in. As two industry-leading technology companies, NovAtel and Esterline CMC will combine their complementary resources to deliver competitive solutions that will establish a new standard for excellence in this exciting application space. John Studenny, Director Aviation GPS Products at Esterline CMC Electronics, said: Esterline CMC and NovAtel have a highly successful and growing relationship built on the strengths of both companies often described as “1+1 yields 3!”. While Esterline CMC Electronics is an acknowledged industry leader with its reliable, dependable, DAL-A certified CMA-5024 and CMA-6024 landing system receivers, our company will usher in a new generation of high-performance Multi-Constellation-Multi-Frequency (MCMF) GNSS products certified to the highest levels, supporting current and new aircraft GNSS precision approach.” Jonathan Auld, Vice President of Engineering and Safety Critical Systems at NovAtel said “We are proud to extend our long-standing and successful collaboration with Esterline CMC Electronics. We believe that this partnership will strengthen the technology portfolio of both companies. NovAtel is a major supplier of precise GNSS technology to mission-critical military and civilian UAS, for example, and with this new, certified chipset we will extend our solution portfolio with assured positioning solutions to meet the emerging industry standards.” https://www.novatel.com/about-us/news-releases/news-releases-2017/esterline-cmc-electronics-and-novatel-partner-on-new-aviation-certified-gnss-receiver/

  • Norway's Kongsberg wins record $1.5 bln defence order from Poland | Reuters

    5 septembre 2023 | Local, Aérospatial, Sécurité

    Norway's Kongsberg wins record $1.5 bln defence order from Poland | Reuters

    Norwegian defence equipment maker Kongsberg Gruppen said on Tuesday it has won an order worth around 16 billion crowns ($1.5 billion) from Poland for four Naval Strike Missile (NSM) Coastal Defence System (CDS) squadrons.

  • Journée de l'industrie Irving - Faits saillants

    27 avril 2021 | Local, Naval

    Journée de l'industrie Irving - Faits saillants

    'Au cas où vous n'auriez pas pu assister à la journée de l'industrie Irving d'hier sur le projet de la NCC (CSC), voici les faits saillants de l'événement: Un sondage sur les capacités canadiennes a été publié par Irving avec l'aide des consultants de Kearney. Les entreprises intéressées à travailler avec Irving sur le NCC doivent compléter ce sondage avant le 7 mai 2021. Lorsque vous remplissez le questionnaire, assurez-vous d'inclure autant d'informations que possible sur votre produit, service ou projet. Le sondage permettra aux entreprises de soumettre des fichiers, tels que des plans d'affaires, du matériel de marketing, des conceptions techniques, etc. dans le cadre de la soumission. Les entreprises considérées pourraient ensuite recevoir un appel téléphonique de Irving pour une discussion technique plus approfondie en automne 2021. Les premiers appels d'offres seront diffusés au premier trimestre de 2022 aux candidats qualifiés. Irving évaluera les fournisseurs sur les critères de faisabilité suivants: Convenance de la base d'approvisionnement Calendrier de livraison et coûts Risques techniques Risques d'intégrations Exigences de sécurité Les fournisseurs sont aussi appelés à démontrer comment leurs produits, services ou projets pourraient offrir au Canada des avantages économiques. Cela pourrait prendre la forme de: Création d'emploi Potentiel de partenariats avec les écoles locales Programmes coopératifs ou programmes d'apprentissage Propriété intellectuelle Pour être considéré comme candidat qualifié, il est d'abord essentiel que vous compléter le sondage Kearney avant le 7 mai, 2021 et que vous vous inscrivez au portail de fournisseur de Irving : 1. Lien vers le sondage: https://kearney.fra1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9nREbXRw0mx15Qi 2. Lien vers le portail de fournisseur : https://irvingshipbuilding.com/irving-shipbuilding-suppliers-supplier-registry.aspx Ces liens sont également disponibles sur le site web d'Irving, https://shipsforcanada.ca/. Veuillez contacter CAIndustrialBase@Kearney.com vous avez des questions.

Toutes les nouvelles