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  14 septembre 2020 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

  Next defence chief will signal Liberals' priorities for the military

  Lee Berthiaume/ The Canadian Press OTTAWA — Time is running out for the federal Liberal government to name a new commander of the Canadian Armed Forces before it faces a confidence vote, with some observers worrying a delay could leave the military in limbo in the event of an election. Yet exactly who will be selected to succeed Gen. Jonathan Vance as chief of the defence staff remains a mystery because while there may be one seemingly obvious choice, there are others who might suit the Liberals better. "There's a generalized understanding that any of the individuals who have made it to three stars have demonstrated a pretty strong portfolio in terms of competencies and strengths," said Canadian Forces College professor Alan Okros. "It then becomes an issue about where does the priority fall?" The Liberal government has quietly indicated it wants to announce the new chief of defence staff before the speech from the throne on Sept. 23. Sources at the Department of National Defence, who are not authorized to discuss the search publicly, said interviews were conducted this past week Retired lieutenant-general Guy Thibault, who previously served as vice-chief of the defence staff, is one of those hoping for an announcement before a possible election. "You just don't want to have a chief in waiting with a chief caretaker in place," said Thibault, who now heads the Conference of Defence Associations Institute. The seemingly obvious choice is Lt.-Gen. Mike Rouleau. The former Ottawa police officer who re-enrolled in the Forces after 9/11 spent years in the field before becoming commander of Canada's special forces in 2014, at a time when the elite soldiers were in Iraq and elsewhere. Rouleau has since been burnishing his credentials in Ottawa, first as commander of the Canadian Joint Operations Command, which oversees all domestic and foreign operations, before recently taking over as Vance's second-in-command. "I think Mike is really the full-meal deal of all the current three-stars," said Thibault, echoing an assessment shared by many defence insiders and observers. Rouleau's appointment would signal a continuation of the current path set by Vance's five-year tenure — the longest in modern Canadian history — and enshrined in the Liberals' defence policy. That policy — known as Strong, Secure, Engaged — released in 2017 promised massive billions of dollars in investments over the next 20 years for more troops, new equipment such as warships and jets, and new capabilities in cyber and space. A similar signal would be sent if the Liberal government tapped Royal Canadian Air Force commander Lt.-Gen. Al Meinzinger, Canadian Army commander Lt.-Gen. Wayne Eyre or Royal Canadian Navy commander Vice-Admiral Art McDonald. They, along with Lt.-Gen. Christopher Coates, who recently moved into Rouleau's old job as head of the Canadian Joint Operations Command, would bring their own skills and styles, but they are also viewed as largely similar in terms of continuity. Some worry the economic damage caused by COVID-19 has made the defence policy unaffordable and that the government might bring out the axe. "If the government writ large turns its mind to budget cutting and deficit reduction, then National Defence is very, very unlikely to survive that for a number of different reasons," said defence analyst David Perry of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. "The biggest one is just the straight arithmetic of it being the largest share of federal budget share." Vice-Admiral Darren Hawco was one of the key architects of the defence policy, with insiders speaking in glowing terms of the way the former frigate commander managed the backroom battles that led to its development. That included managing the priorities of the Air Force, Army and Navy against a set pot of money — an experience that would be especially important if the government wanted to start cutting. Many have wondered whether the Liberals will appoint a woman to become Canada's top military officer for the first time. Such a move would fit with the Liberals' progressive, feminist credentials and signal the government wants to see more action on addressing cultural issues such as racism as well as sexual misconduct and hate in the ranks. "There is still this huge frustration in the Prime Minister's Office (about) the military in not making progress on the sexual harassment side, and particularly the harassment, discrimination and hateful conduct stuff," said Okros. "It then becomes that issue of who is the right person to do that, and at one level, symbolic decisions may be of importance." That is where the first two female lieutenant-generals in Canada's history — Christine Whitecross and Francis Allen — come up. Whitecross in particular has been seen as a potential contender for the chief of the defence staff position for years, and the fact she spearheaded the military's fight against sexual misconduct in the early going could be a feather in her cap. Yet neither Whitecross nor Allen have much experience in the field and Perry said having a chief of the defence staff who didn't command a warship, fly an aircraft or lead soldiers in the field would be almost as groundbreaking as appointing a woman. "That would certainly be almost as notable for an organization that has a lot of cultural orientation around the operational end of things and putting people with those types of backgrounds into the top job," Perry said. Whichever way the government goes, says Thibault, "all of the three-stars currently in the mix wouldn't be where they are if they didn't have very significant experience and credibility and knowledge and skills and the right leadership qualities. "So you can take good confidence that they're all bona fide Canadian Forces leaders. And whoever is picked, I think we would recognize at the very beginning that they will all bring something unique and relevant to the position as chief of defence staff." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2020. https://www.kamloopsthisweek.com/news/next-defence-chief-will-signal-liberals-priorities-for-the-military-1.24202293

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  8 novembre 2018 | Local, Aérospatial

  Maxar's Radiant Solutions Selected by DARPA to Develop Next-Generation Optical System for Agile Earth Observation Satellites

  In partnership with Maxar's SSL, team demonstrates collaborative approach to growing U.S. Government space programs pipeline HERNDON, VA, Nov. 8, 2018 /CNW/ - Radiant Solutions, a Maxar Technologies company (NYSE: MAXR) (TSX: MAXR), has been awarded a $2 million contract by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to lead a team in designing, building, and demonstrating a next-generation optical telescope system for agile small satellite constellations. Radiant Solutions is partnered on this program with SSL, Maxar's spacecraft manufacturing business, demonstrating the power of combining unique capabilities from across Maxar to meet U.S. Defense and Intelligence agency demand for small form-factor satellites and grow Maxar's US Government space program pipeline. Radiant Solutions will provide world-class geospatial mission engineering expertise, augmented by SSL's decades of experience in providing powerful and resilient spacecraft systems. Both Radiant Solutions and SSL are focused on helping national security customers see, understand and anticipate activity across our changing planet in support of global mapping and intelligence missions. The companies' combined advanced capabilities are driving revenue growth for Maxar's Space Systems Segment by contributing to a variety of defense and intelligence missions which aim to accelerate innovation in support of global GEOINT missions, next-generation spacecraft design, missile defense, and end-to-end system engineering and integration support. The satellite telescope system's lightweight design and large field-of-view is expected to enable more capable small satellites that can be manufactured more rapidly and economically. The system can easily scale to many dozens of spacecraft for persistent, resilient coverage. To reduce mass, the system's design incorporates a robust, high-performance silicon carbide material designed for the most demanding applications in space. "Radiant Solutions is proud to play a major role in the development of disruptive, next-generation technologies that will transform satellite imaging missions and enhance global mapping and intelligence at scale," said Tony Frazier, President of Radiant Solutions. "With our team's extensive experience in highly specialized geospatial systems, we're uniquely positioned to accelerate the evolution of the DoD's most critical imaging infrastructure." "SSL brings unmatched integrated spacecraft system capabilities to deliver effective and affordable end-to-end solutions that build a better world and support our nation's leadership in space," said Richard White, president of SSL Government Systems. "We're delighted to be working closely with our colleagues at Maxar Technologies to solve problems from space." https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/maxars-radiant-solutions-selected-by-darpa-to-develop-next-generation-optical-system-for-agile-earth-observation-satellites-700016421.html

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  25 février 2020 | Local, Naval

  $1 billion and counting: Inside Canada's troubled efforts to build new warships

  Federal government tables figures showing what it's spent on the projects to date Murray Brewster The federal government has spent slightly more than $1.01 billion over the last seven years on design and preparatory contracts for the navy's new frigates and supply ships — and the projects still haven't bought anything that floats. The figures, tabled recently in Parliament, represent the first comprehensive snapshot of what has been spent thus far on the frequently-delayed project to build replacement warships. It's an enormous amount of money for two programs that have been operating for more than a decade with little to show for their efforts to date. It will be years before the Canadian Surface Combatant project — which aims to replace the navy's frontline frigates with 15 state-of-the-art vessels — and the Joint Support Ship program for two replenishment vessels actually deliver warships. The numbers and details for each advance contract were produced in the House of Commons in response to written questions from the Conservative opposition. The money was divided almost evenly between the federal government's two go-to shipyards: Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax, the prime contractor for the new frigates, and Seaspan of Vancouver, the builder of the supply ships. The breakdown raises critical questions about at least one of the programs, said a defence analyst, but it also shines a light on promises made by both Liberal and Conservative governments to keep spending under control for both of these projects — which could end up costing more than $64 billion. "I think there should be a level of concern [among the public] about whether or not what's being delivered in practice is what was advertised at the outset," said Dave Perry, a procurement expert and vice president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. A design still in flux Most of his concerns revolve around the new support ships, which the Liberal government says are in the process of being built now. The written responses, tabled in Parliament, note that the projected cost for the two supply ships — $3.4 billion — remains under review "as the design effort finalizes." Perry said he was astonished to learn that, "seven years and half-a-billion dollars into design work on an off-the-shelf design," the navy doesn't have the support ships, even though "the middle third of the ship is built" — and officials now say "the design effort isn't finished." Usually, he said, ships are designed before they're built. The head of the Department of National Defence's materiel branch said most of the preparatory contracts were needed to re-establish a Canadian shipbuilding industry that had been allowed to wither. 'A lot of patience' "I think we have to look at the totality of everything that's being accomplished under" the national shipbuilding strategy, said Troy Crosby, assistant deputy minister of materiel at DND. "Over that period of time, and with these expenditures, we've built a shipbuilding capability on two coasts, not just through National Defence but also through the coast guard, offshore fisheries science vessels. I understand it has taken a lot of patience, I suppose, and probably some uncertainty, but we're really getting to the point now where we can see delivering these capabilities to the navy." The largest cash outlays involve what's known as definition contracts, which went individually to both shipyards and were in excess of $330 million each. They're meant to cover the supervision of the projects and — more importantly — to help convert pre-existing warship designs purchased by the federal government to Canadian standards. The choices on each project were made at different times by different governments, but ministers serving both Liberal and Conservative governments decided that going with proven, off-the-shelf designs would be faster and less expensive than building from scratch. Now, after all the delays, it's still not clear that choosing off-the-shelf designs has saved any money. "I would be completely speculating on what it would cost to invest to develop the kind of expertise and capacity inside the government, inside National Defence and everybody involved, to be able to do something like that in-house," said Crosby. "The approach we've taken at this point, by basing both the Joint Support Ship and the Canadian Surface Combatant on pre-existing designs, allows us to retire a lot of risk in the way forward." When Crosby talks about "retiring risk," he's talking about the potential for further delays and cost overruns. Among the contracts, Irving Shipbuilding was given $136 million to support the drawing up of the design tender for the new frigates and to pay for the shipbuilding advice Irving was giving the federal government throughout the bidding process. Years ago, the federal government had enough in-house expertise to dispense with private sector guidance — but almost all of that expertise was lost over the past two decades as successive federal governments cut the defence and public works branches that would have done that work. The last time Canada built major warships was in the 1990s, when the current fleet of 12 patrol frigates was inaugurated. The federal government has chosen to base its new warships on the BAE Systems Type-26 design, which has been selected by the Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy. The hull and propulsion system on the new frigates will be "largely unchanged" from the British design, but the combat system will be different and uniquely Canadian, said Crosby. The project is still on track to start cutting steel for the new combat ships in 2023. Crosby said he would not speculate on when the navy will take delivery of the first one. Delivery of the joint support ships is expected to be staggered, with the first one due in 2024. There will be a two-year gap between ships, said Crosby, as the navy and the yard work through any technical issues arising with the first ship. If that timeline holds, the first support ship will arrive two decades after it was first proposed and announced by the Liberal government of former prime minister Paul Martin. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/frigates-joint-supply-ships-navy-procurement-canada-1.5474312