5 décembre 2019 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
by Chris Thatcher
As Members of Parliament return to the House of Commons this week, aerospace eyes will be on the cabinet ministers and MPs most likely to support a new vision for the industry.
With the return of Marc Garneau to Transport Canada, Navdeep Bains to Innovation, Science and Industry, Harjit Sajjan to National Defence and Mary Ng to Small Business and Export Promotion, and the introduction of Anita Anand to Public Services and Procurement and Carla Qualtrough to Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, the government's front benches include ministers well acquainted with key issues that need to be addressed if Canada is to retain its position as a leading global aerospace nation.
Last fall, the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada (AIAC) asked Jean Charest, a former premier of Quebec and deputy prime minister of Canada, to lead a cross-country discussion on the sector's future and a possible course forward.
His ensuing report, “Vision 2025,” delivered at the Paris Air Show in June, offered recommendations centred on six core themes: expanding the skilled workforce; growing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); promoting innovation; investing in Transport Canada's aircraft certification and regulation capacity; sustaining Canadian leadership in space; and better leveraging defence procurement to drive industry growth.
The recommendations were drawn from five months of meetings with industry executives, provincial premiers and their economic development ministers, federal ministers, opposition parties, academia and the general public.
“Our goal was to re-start the discussion between the industry and its partners in government, education, research and the business community,” Patrick Mann, president of Patlon Aircraft & Industries and the former chair of AIAC, reminded the sector during the recent Canadian Aerospace Summit in Ottawa. “It has been a truly pan-Canadian event that has reached all through the industry . . . [and] into every level of government.”
If Charest's report provides a guide for how to address some of the challenges generated by a multitude of countries and technology companies now seeking to gain a larger footprint in aerospace, the task of implementing it rests in part with Keith Donaldson.
Donaldson assumed the chair of AIAC during the summit and acknowledged the report will drive much of the association's activities over the next 12 months.
“I'm all in on Vision 2025,” he told Skies. “This is the time to re-engage as an industry, to recognize that [aerospace] is a jewel we have in Canada. It's R-and-D intensive, it's pan-Canadian, it has the highest input for STEM (science, technology, math and engineering)-type jobs, men and women – let's grow this. We need the support and partnership of the federal government. That is how we combat [other entrants].”
A chartered accountant by training who previously worked with KPMG, Donaldson is vice-president of APEX Industries, a machining, components, subassembly and structures manufacturer in Moncton, N.B. Over his 15 years with the company, he served as president of the New Brunswick Aerospace and Defense Association and co-founded the Atlantic Canada Aerospace and Defence Association. He's also been a fixture on AIAC's technical committees, from audit and finance, to small business, defence procurement and supply chain access.
That experience could be crucial, as much of the heavy lifting to make the report's recommendations reality will come from the technical committees. Under Mann's leadership, AIAC spent part of the past year restructuring the committees to align with the direction of Vision 2025.
“We spent a lot of time . . . making sure their mandates were going to match the recommendations,” said Donaldson. “We wanted to make sure the chairs were well aligned. [They] are some of the heavy hitters in the industry, from Bombardier, UTC, Cascade, Collins Aerospace . . . [They have] industry interest, company interest and personal interest for the success of these recommendations.”
Because of ministerial familiarity with the report's recommendations, AIAC will be hoping it can move quickly to implement some of them. The appointment of Qualtrough, who has spoken at previous AIAC conferences, to a portfolio that will focus on the sector's top priority of skills development is seen as “an early win,” Donaldson noted.
“When AIAC did the industry engagement, it was very evident that to maintain and grow, we have to win the skills battle,” he said. “A lot of the other recommendations are going to move forward, but we have to solve the skills one. Failure is not an option here.”
Other sectors are going to be competing for the same STEM talent, but the Vision 2025 blueprint might give aerospace a leg up with government, he suggested. That means offering ideas not only to retain and retrain the current workforce where necessary, but also to recruit and support more women in the sector, attract First Nations, and collaborate with immigration initiatives.
“It is not going to be a one size fits all. We are going to have to work on each one of those areas,” said Donaldson. For APEX, a medium-sized business of about 250 people, 70 of whom work specifically in aerospace, finding and retaining talent is the issue that keeps most senior managers awake at night, he added.
The association will also be looking for quick progress on some of the recommendations aimed at strengthening the capacity of Transport Canada. “They are already a world class organization. We are not starting from zero on that one,” noted Donaldson.
However, much of the early effort will go to growing SMEs, which account for over 95 per cent of the aerospace sector. It's terrain Donaldson knows well and believes can be improved through initiatives to build on government programs that are already in place.
“We are going to be taking what's already working and say, we want to expand some of these programs. That is going to give us some early wins,” he said.
One possible tool could be the expansion of Quebec's MACH program, which has provided mentorship from OEMs and Tier 1s to SMEs to help improve business processes and make the transition to digital systems. “From an SME perspective, that program is one of the ways to go because it involves a larger company, the SME, the province, and support nationally,” observed Donaldson.
Support and mentoring from larger businesses for digitization and best cyber practices are a critical need for smaller companies, he added, noting that many capture “thousands of pieces of data every day” and don't make as much use of the information as they should.
“The new protocol for Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification in the U.S. is going to be applied to every single company in aerospace and defence, no matter where you are,” he said. “[These are areas] where a MACH-type program could hugely benefit SMEs across the country.”
He cautioned, though, that while the emphasis must be on growing SMEs, those small companies often rely on strong OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and Tier 1 suppliers for their export opportunities. In APEX's case, that's about 50 per cent of the business.
“We need to keep the OEMs and large Tier 1s healthy in Canada,” he said. “The MACH [programs] of the world are only going to work well if Pratt & Whitney, Bombardier, Bell, IMP, Magellan, if they grow and invest in Canada. That goes back to a part of the overall Vision 2025.”
During separate addresses to the aerospace summit, both Donaldson and Mann appealed to fellow executives to get involved in the process. Committees are the “place where our company can impact and shape the issues that are important to our business,” observed Mann. “There is a lot to making Vision 2025 a reality . . . and we need everyone's help to do that, to make sure aerospace is a key part of our new government's new strategy.”
AIAC will continue to lobby the federal and provincial governments on the Vision 2025 recommendations, especially the 48 MPs whose ridings including substantial aerospace activity, and will serve as secretariat to a newly re-created all-party aerospace caucus in Ottawa. Speed is of the essence said Donaldson, noting the pace with which other jurisdictions are growing their aerospace capabilities.
“We do not have the luxury [of time],” he said. “It's not like we have Vision 2025 and then there's a whole other plan. Vision 2025 is going to drive the industry. Period.”
https://www.skiesmag.com/news/incoming-aiac-chair-discusses-aerospace-vision
10 juillet 2023 | Local, Autre défense
Canada has quietly pushed to expand the definition of what counts toward NATO's military spending target of two per cent of a nation's gross domestic product (GDP).
9 septembre 2019 | Local, C4ISR
by Murray Brewster The U.S.-led North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad) asked the Canadian military to do an inventory of its bases and the surrounding civilian infrastructure, looking for critical systems vulnerable to a cyberattack. The letter to Canada's chief of the defence staff, written by then-Norad commander U.S. Admiral William Gourtney just over three years ago, was obtained by CBC News under access to information legislation. Despite the passage of time, two leading cyber experts said the request highlights an enduring concern of both defence planners and people in high-tech industries. The notion that a cyberattack could shut down civilian infrastructure — such as power grids, water treatment plants or traffic systems — in the vicinity of a military base is nothing new. What is unusual is that Norad sought reassurance, at the highest levels of the military, that Canada was on top of the evolving threat. The Norad commander asked Gen. Jonathan Vance to "identify and mitigate" Infrastructure Control Systems (ICS) vulnerabilities on Canadian military bases, particularly at "installations that are critical for accomplishing Norad missions." The March 24, 2016 letter also urged Canada's top military commander to "advocate developing capabilities to respond to cyber incidents on CAF [infrastructure control systems] and defend CAF [infrastructure control systems] if required." Gourtney's concern was not limited to defence installations; he asked Vance to "work with Public Safety Canada to identify civilian infrastructure that is critical to CAF and Norad missions. This includes developing processes for reporting cyber incidents on the identified civilian infrastructure." Vance responded to Gourtney (who has since retired and was replaced by U.S. Air Force Gen. Terrence O'Shaughnessy) three months later and directed the military to hunt for vulnerabilities. "I share Norad's concerns for the cybersecurity" of critical defence infrastructure, Vance wrote on June 10, 2016, in a letter obtained by CBC News under access to information legislation. He noted that the Canadian government has identified "adversaries" that pose "a significant threat and efforts have been made to identify and develop protective strategies for Canadian critical infrastructure." The Liberal government — through its defence strategy and overhaul of security legislation — tackled some of the concerns raised by Norad. It gave the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) and the military new powers to conduct offensive cyber operations. Perhaps more importantly, it set up the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security for civilian infrastructure, which — according to CSE — aims to "be a place where private and public sectors work side-by-side to solve Canada's most complex cyber issues." David Masson, a cyber expert, said minimizing the vulnerability of civilian, privately operated infrastructure continues to be an extraordinarily complex task. The major vulnerability is in what's known as operational technology systems, the kind of computer-driven tasks in utilities and other infrastructure that open and close valves or perform remote functions. The task of securing them is made extraordinary difficult in part by the wide variety of operating systems out there. "There's lots of them," said Masson, the director of technology at Darktrace, a leading cybersecurity company. "Look at it as 50, 60, 70 different bespoke communications systems. There's no real standardization because they're so old. Many of them were never expected to be connected to the internet." He pointed to the 2015 and 2016 cyberattacks on Ukraine's power grid, which in one instance cut electricity to 225,000 people, as examples of what's possible when hackers go after operational technology systems. It is also the kind of event that Norad is concerned about. "The kinds of equipment and machinery that supports the transport of natural gas or the provision of air conditioned services, or our water supply — all of those are critical to Canadians and our militaries," Lt.-Gen.Christopher Coates, the Canadian deputy commander, said in a recent interview with CBC News. He said Norad is focused on the capabilities that are essential to doing its job of defending North America against attack, and they try to "minimize those vulnerabilities where we can." There is, Coates said, an interesting discussion taking place at many levels of the military about what constitutes critical infrastructure. "You asked if we're satisfied. I get paid to be concerned about the defences and security of our nations. I don't think I should ever be satisfied," he added. 'Inauthentic activity' in Alberta election a possible preview of tactics in the federal campaign, report warns Privacy commissioner launches investigation into licence plate breach With ransomware on the rise, RCMP urging victims to 'be patient with police' Christian Leuprecht, a defence expert at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., said defining critical infrastructure is a complex and evolving task. He pointed to Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election; prior to that event, he said, the definition of critical infrastructure was limited to power plants, electricity grids and even the financial system. "A lot of things people are wrestling with the question of what institutions — take, for example, democratic institutions — become critical infrastructure," said Leuprecht. The Ukrainian attacks, in the view of many defence experts, are a blueprint of what the opening shots of a future war would look like. "There's a considerable and growing awareness that our defence and critical infrastructure systems are closely tied together because countries, such as China, preserve cyberattack as a first-strike option," Leuprecht said. Masson said there are ways to limit the vulnerability of operational technology systems. Not connecting them to the internet would be a start, but many companies are choosing not to do that for efficiency reasons. He said they also can be protected with "robust" security systems. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/norad-cyber-civilian-1.5273917
10 août 2018 | Local, Aérospatial
CAE a annoncé aujourd'hui qu'elle avait remporté un contrat de la New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) visant à fournir à la Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) un dispositif d'entraînement au vol sur hélicoptère NH90 de Série CAE 700MR. Le contrat inclut également la fourniture de services de maintenance et de soutien à long terme dès la livraison du simulateur à la base Ohakea de la RNZAF en 2020. La valeur du contrat pour le dispositif d'entraînement au vol NH90 de Série CAE 700MR, y compris les services de soutien pendant la durée de vie utile et les options, est évaluée à plus de 50 millions $CA. CAE a récemment lancé le nouveau dispositif d'entraînement au vol de Série CAE 700MR (Mission Reality) au Salon aéronautique de Farnborough. Le CAE 700MR a été spécialement conçu pour l'entraînement au vol et aux missions des hélicoptères militaires. « L'utilisation accrue de simulateurs en Nouvelle-Zélande est la meilleure manière de former et de maintenir le nombre de pilotes dans la flotte », a déclaré Ron Mark, ministre néo-zélandais de la Défense. « L'accès à la formation sur simulateur au pays permettra de réduire le recours aux NH90 pour les vols de formation, en rendant les hélicoptères disponibles pour un plus grand nombre de t'ches opérationnelles ». Le dispositif d'entraînement au vol de Série CAE 700MR offre un environnement d'entraînement immersif et réaliste dans une plateforme à base fixe avec siège dynamique pour les vibrations et le mouvement. Le simulateur d'hélicoptère NH90 de la RNZAF sera équipé du générateur d'images CAE Medallion-6000XR et d'un écran visuel assurant un champ de vision extrême (240 degrés à l'horizontale sur 88 degrés à la verticale), idéal pour pratiquer et répéter les manœuvres à risque élevé, tels que l'appontage et l'atterrissage dans des zones confinées. « Nous sommes heureux que la New Zealand Defence Force ait une fois de plus fait confiance à CAE pour fournir un système d'entraînement haute fidélité et des services complets de soutien à la formation qui contribueront à la préparation aux missions des équipages d'hélicoptères NH90 de la Royal New Zealand Air Force », a déclaré Ian Bell, vice-président et directeur général de CAE, Asie-Pacifique/Moyen-Orient. CAE fournit actuellement à la NZDF des services de soutien à l'entraînement sur diverses plateformes, notamment les systèmes d'entraînement au sol T-6C à la base Ohakea de la RNZAF et les systèmes d'entraînement sur hélicoptère SH-2G(I) à la base Auckland de la RNZAF. https://www.cae.com/fr/nouvelles-et-evenements/communique-de-presse/royal-new-zealand-air-force-rnzaf-signs-contract-for-cae-700mr-series-nh90-ftd/