16 octobre 2018 | Local, Naval
DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN
Efforts are underway by Irving Shipbuilding to convince the federal government to build two more Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships at its Halifax yard. Irving also wants all Halifax-class frigate maintenance work to remain with the yard in Nova Scotia.
The federal government is looking at splitting up maintenance work on the Canadian navy's frigates between Irving and Davie in Quebec. It is facing objections from Irving and its workers. The Irving employees warn the change will mean lost jobs in Nova Scotia.
There are seven frigates that will need maintenance on the east coast over a five-year period. But military and Department of National Defence officials are concerned the Irving yard in Halifax won't be able to handle all the work as it will also be in the midst of building the new fleet of Canadian Surface Combatant warships. There are concerns that the navy's capabilities could suffer if the work isn't split up between Davie and Irving yards.
Each of the aging Halifax-class frigates will require about a year of maintenance work, and in 2020 the navy expects maintenance will be needed on two frigates at the same time.
Irving argues it needs all the Halifax-class work and the construction of two more AOPS so it doesn't face any downturn in activity at the yard. “ We are hopeful that the Government of Canada will continue the work at Halifax Shipyard,” Irving spokesman Sean Lewis said of the frigate maintenance.
Asked about the need for two more AOPS, Lewis stated the following: “We continue to work closely with the Government of Canada to explore the overall transition between the Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship (AOPS) and Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) programs. The construction of additional AOPS for Canada or international export opportunities is being considered and various options pursued. At this time it is premature to comment further.”
In response to Irving's push, Davie official Frédérik Boisvert has noted that while Irving has $ 65 billion in contracts from the federal government and 1900 workers, Davie has received less than $ 1billion in contracts and has less than 200 people working and 1400 laid off workers, waiting to be recalled. “If they (Irving) are concerned about Nova Scotian jobs, they should explain to their union workers why they are building their own tugs in Eastern Europe,” Boisvert added.
30 mars 2022 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
An injection of billions of dollars more for the military doesn’t mean the country will be more secure.
30 décembre 2019 | Local, Aérospatial
DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN Canada's RADARSAT Constellation Mission is now operational and federal government departments will start receiving data from the surveillance and earth observation satellites. The RADARSAT Constellation Mission, or RCM, was launched June 12 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The constellation of three satellites will provide daily images of Canada's territory and maritime approaches, as well as images of the Arctic, up to four times a day, according to the Canadian Space Agency. It will have daily access to 90 per cent of the world's surface. The RCM is also equipped with an Automatic Identification System (AIS), allowing improved detection and tracking of ships, including those conducting illegal fishing, the CSA noted. The constellation is orbiting Earth at an altitude of 600 km. Each of the satellites has a life expectancy of seven years. The Canadian government owns the satellites. The three spacecraft were assembled in the Montreal area by the prime contractor MDA. Over a dozen federal government departments and agencies will use RCM images. It is estimated that the Canadian government will use approximately 250,000 images from the satellite constellation every year. That represents a fiftyfold increase from the days of the first RADARSAT-1 system, according to the Canadian government. The majority of the data transmitted from RCM is expected to be used by the Canadian Forces and the Department of National Defence. RCM follows the highly successful RADARSAT-1, launched by NASA in 1995, and RADARSAT-2, put into orbit by the Russians in 2007. Initial work on RCM began in 2005. The project cost an estimated $975 million. The RCM project was led by the Canadian Space Agency and supported by its principal users: the Department of National Defence, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Environment Canada, Natural Resources Canada and Public Safety Canada. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/canadian-surveillance-satellite-system-now-operational
30 septembre 2019 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre
By Paul Lungen, Staff Reporter Col. Amos Nachmani has been in Canada for a couple of years now and, along with his family, he's embraced the cold. It's not something he's used to, coming as he does from warm weather Israel. Winter snow and skiing are something they've learned to enjoy, so while they're here, they'll take full advantage of it. As Israel's defence attaché in Ottawa, his sojourn in Canada is slated to last three years. But it's a busy three years, during which he represents the Israeli military and serves as a liaison to the Canadian Armed Forces. It turns out that there is a great deal of co-operation between the two militaries – everything from the exchange of ideas, to trade in hardware. Nachmani, a former tank combatant, infantry battalion officer and intelligence officer, is one of only 22 international military attachés stationed in Canada. The Canadian Armed Forces liaises with other militaries from around the world, but most of them are based in Washington, D.C. Yet ever since then-prime minister Stephen Harper and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to a greater level of military co-operation in 2011, Israel has stationed a military attaché to Canada. At the same time, Canada has its own attaché in Tel Aviv. Military co-operation between the two countries has continued under both Conservative and Liberal governments. “Our relationship is robust and totally agnostic to the notion of who is in power,” Nachmani said. Nachmani said he engages “regularly with the different services in the Canadian Armed Forces, to understand your capabilities, your needs, your plans, in order to see where we can help each other out.” During his time in Canada, he has been invited to military briefings, witnessed exercises and visited bases. In 2017, Nachmani joined former Canadian chief of the defence staff, Gen. Thomas J. Lawson, to discuss “The Future of the Israel-NATO Strategic Partnership.” On Nov. 11 for the past two years, Nachmani laid a wreath during the Remembrance Day ceremony at the National War Memorial in Ottawa. He's discussed with his Canadian colleagues “force buildup,” in which they share tactical methodologies, best practices and partake in military diplomacy. The idea, he said, is to find areas of common interest, “bridge gaps and find common solutions,” and make sure his Canadian counterparts understand “our side of the picture.” How does that translate in a practical sense? Nachmani points to Canadian involvement in Afghanistan, where our military was part of an international effort to fight al-Qaida. Canadian forces had unfortunate experiences with improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which caused casualties. “This is a serious problem. We also encountered this in the past in southern Lebanon and Gaza,” Nachmani said. The two militaries addressed the problem jointly by engaging in research and development of a system that would warn of concealed IEDs. “That brought a good, robust solution and both militaries have implemented it,” Nachmani said. Trade is also part of the military relationship between the two countries. Altogether, Israel defence industries sell to Canada an annual average of a little under US$100 million ($133 million) in military hardware, mostly radar and electronic warfare equipment, he said. Prior to moving to Ottawa, Nachmani commanded the IDF's International Cooperation Unit, where he met Canadian officers. For other militaries, the IDF “is a very valuable partner and ally for a country like Canada, due to our deep understanding of the situation in the Middle East, our intelligence capabilities and assessment, and our operational experience,” he said. Canada has sent troops to Afghanistan, on peacekeeping missions and to Iraq to fight ISIS. Canada turns to Israel, and others, for added value in learning ways to understand the Middle East, he said. From his experience interacting with Canadian soldiers, Nachmani believes the IDF and the Canadian Forces share many values: “These are two Western allies that value the Western way of living, liberal values, law-abiding militaries and countries.” Both have a respect for human life and always try to minimize collateral damage in their operations, he added. While Canada is much larger in size than Israel, its Armed Forces are much smaller. They include only 65,000 career soldiers and another 35,000 reservists. Israel has about 40,000 career soldiers, along with 100,000 conscripts serving at any one time. In times of emergency, it can call up as many as 650,000 soldiers, he said. As for the differences between Israeli and Canadian soldiers, Nachmani pointed out that when Canadians are deployed, they're often sent to the other side of the world. “They don't think how this will affect the people at home,” he said, whereas the average Israeli soldier is usually deployed an hour drive from home, so the attacks on Israel feel personal. https://www.cjnews.com/news/canada/israeli-defence-attache-cultivates-ties-with-canadian-military