Les militaires du monde s’intéressent aux recherches sur le givre de l’UQAC

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  17 août 2020 | Local, Naval

  Davie Shipyard Begins Halifax-Class Frigate Mid-Life Refit Program

  Quebec-based shipbuilder Davie Shipyard welcomed on 11 August the Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate HMCS St. John for major refit and upgrade. The event marks the start of a long-term naval maintenance and upgrade program that will keep the Halifax-class frigates operational until the arrival of the Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) in the 2040s. According to the shipyard, the event was a key milestone in Davie's near 200-year history marking the return of Canada's primary surface combat ships to Québec. Three of the 12 frigate fleet were built at Davie in the 1990s (HMCS Ville de Quebec, HMCS Regina and HMCS Calgary). The $500 million performance-based contract to carry out an extensive mid-life refit on the Royal Canadian Navy's patrol frigates is for an initial five-year period. It is expected to increase in duration and value as new work packages are added. Davie Shipyard, alongside Seaspan Victoria Shipyards in British Columbia and Irving Shipyards in Nova Scotia are all participating in the $1.5-billion maintenance and upgrade program. Over the past 12 months a major facility upgrade program was completed at the West end of Davie shipyard and in the historic Lorne drydock to provide a long-term maintenance home for Canada's surface combat fleet and its supporting naval staff. Davie Shipyard added in a statement that docking maintenance work periods are critical to ensure the RCN has at least 8 of its 12 patrol frigates ready for deployment at all times until the class is replaced by the Canadian Surface Combatants (CSC) in the early 2040s. According to Timothy Choi, naval analyst at the University of Calgary in Canada, the mid-life refit work will focus on the hull, mechanical, and electrical works that were not included as part of the FELEX upgrades. “The only substantial new component that I'm aware of are the four .50cal remote weapons system” Choi added. Raytheon Canada Limited was awarded in March 2016 a contract to install up to 58 Naval Remote Weapon Stations (NRWS) on Royal Canadian Navy surface vessels. The NRWS are .50 cal Mini typhoon RWS by Israeli company Rafael, modified and adapted by Raytheon. About Halifax-class Frigates HMCS Regina sailing past the Greater Victoria Shoreline en route to Hawaii. Photo credit: MS Dan Bard The 12 Canadian-built Halifax-class multi-role patrol frigates are considered the backbone of the Royal Canadian Navy. They can deploy anywhere in the world in support of the Government of Canada. Under the Halifax-class Modernization / Frigate Life Extension project, the frigates received a number of upgrades to ensure they have the capabilities to meet the new threats and changing operating environments of today. Enhanced capabilities include: new Combat Management System (CMS 330) 57mm Mk3 naval gun system MASS decoy launchers new Integrated Platform Management System CH-148 Cyclone helicopter capability Advanced Harpoon Weapon Control System new ESM Smart-S Mk2 radar CEROS 200 fire control radar The first modernized Halifax-class frigates were delivered in late 2014, and the last ship in 2018. Halifax-class specifications Length: 134 metres Beam: 16 metres Complement: 225 personnel https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2020/08/davie-shipyard-begins-halifax-class-frigate-mid-life-refit-program/

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  10 mai 2019 | Local, Aérospatial

  ASSESSING THE DAMAGE FROM CANADA’S FIGHTER REPLACEMENT FIASCO: NEW MLI REPORT

  OTTAWA, ON (May 6, 2019): In a hard-hitting new Macdonald-Laurier Institute report, MLI Senior Fellow Richard Shimooka takes a critical look at the government's approach to replacing Canada's aging fleet of CF-18 fighters. In the report, titled The Catastrophe: Assessing the Damage from Canada's Fighter Replacement Fiasco, he argues that Ottawa's performance on this file mirrors the SNC-Lavalin Scandal and the Mark Norman Affair. “At their heart, these two incidents represent attempts by the Liberal government to circumvent established processes to meet their partisan interests,” Shimooka explains. “This description is just as apt for the fighter program.” Canada is a participant in the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program that has been developing the F-35s. These fighter jets were slotted to replace the RCAF's aging CF-18s, but after the program was mired in political scandal under the previous government, the Liberal government changed plans. “During the 2015 election campaign, the Liberal Party promised not to buy the F-35 jets, but instead to use a competition to identify and subsequently purchase a lower-cost competitor... this decision proved to be impossible, unethical, and potentially illegal,” writes Shimooka. From billions of dollars being wasted on a procurement process to fix a contrived capability gap to potentially threatening Canada's defence relationship with the US, the report finds that political interests have consistently been put above Canada's defence needs. Shimooka argues that “the decisions made [regarding fighter jet replacement] were purely for reasons of political interest: not a single one could be claimed as being in the country's national interest.” The “fiasco,” as Shimooka describes it, has caught the attention of both Canada's Office of the Auditor General (OAG) and senior US officials. According to documents never before seen by the public, the OAG had specifically cautioned the government against its chosen course of purchasing Australian Hornets as an interim measure in a draft report – and the final OAG report was heavily revised to obscure that recommendation. Worse still, letters from US officials reveal that “resentment and distrust towards the government of Canada had grown, particularly within the US Air Force.” These letters, which again have not been made public until now, outline the significant strategic and economic benefits that have already been accrued from being part of the JSF Program. Yet they also contain an implicit (but clear) threat that Canada could be kicked out of the Program – if Ottawa continues with its current policy of trying to obtain guaranteed industrial benefits that, by their very nature, are not allowed under the JSF Program. “There was a complete lack of logic of Canada's policy, which seemed to ignore basic facts about membership in the JSF program, including clear advantages in cost and capability that the F-35 provided.” Despite these persistent, high-level issues with the government's chosen approach on the fighter jet replacement, the file has avoided serious public scrutiny. Shimooka finds that this happened in large part due to the successful gag orders levelled by the government. “The government has also suppressed negative viewpoints within and outside the Department of National Defence, allegedly up to and including the deletion of portions of Memos to Cabinet that highlighted why certain decisions should not be taken.” Moving forward on the file may prove to be difficult; defence procurement woes have plagued Canada since Confederation, and the issues with the fighter jet replacement are deeper than just purchasing the right aircraft. Worse still, Shimooka says that the brunt of the burden of consistently poor decision-making in Ottawa will be borne by the RCAF itself. “While the negative consequences are clear for Canada as a whole," Shimooka explains, "no community has felt the impact more than the RCAF. As a result of this government's policies, its ability to conduct its most basic function, the defence of Canadian sovereignty and that of our allies, is diminishing rapidly.” “It is a sad state of affairs.” To read the commentary in full, click here. https://www.macdonaldlaurier.ca/assessing-damage-canadas-fighter-replacement-fiasco-new-mli-report/

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  7 avril 2022 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

  Supporting defence innovation – Innovative Solutions Canada launches new defence challenges | Soutenir l'innovation en matière de défense – Solutions innovatrices Canada lance de nouveaux défis en matière de défense

  Supporting defence innovation – Innovative Solutions Canada launches new defence challenges Innovative Solutions Canada (ISC) recently launched six new Calls for Proposals in its defence testing stream. ISC is seeking pre-commercial innovative prototypes that can be tested in real life settings and address a variety of defence priorities within the Government of Canada. The Testing Stream aims to procure, test and evaluate innovative late stage pre-commercial prototypes in the following areas: • Digital Enablers and Cybersecurity • UAS and Drone-related infrastructure • Enhanced Warfighting • Training and in-Service support • Enhanced Soldier systems • Smart Sustain and Fleet Optimization The purpose of this call for proposals is to create pools of pre-qualified innovations that Canada may select from to address a broad range of the Government of Canada organizations' requirements. Check the Innovative Solutions Canada web site for eligibility requirements and apply by 14:00 April 22, 2022. Soutenir l'innovation en matière de défense – Solutions innovatrices Canada lance de nouveaux défis en matière de défense Solutions innovatrices Canada (SIC) a récemment lancé six nouveaux appels à propositions dans le cadre de son volet mises à l'essai en défense. SIC est à la recherche de prototypes novateurs pré-commerciaux qui peuvent être testés en situation réelle et qui répondent à diverses priorités de défense du gouvernement du Canada. Le volet mise à l'essais vise à acquérir, à tester et à évaluer des prototypes novateurs pré-commerciaux de stade avancé dans les domaines suivants : • Outils numériques habitants et cybersécurité • Infrastructure liée aux systèmes de surveillance aérienne sans pilote et aux drones • Amélioration de la conduite de la guerre • Formation et soutien en service • Systèmes du soldat améliorés • Soutien intelligent et optimisation de la flotte Le but de cet appel à propositions est de créer des bassins d'innovations préqualifiées parmi lesquelles le Canada pourra choisir afin de répondre à un large éventail de besoins des organisations du gouvernement du Canada. Consultez le site Web de Solutions innovatrices Canada pour connaître les conditions d'admissibilité et présentez votre application d'ici 14h00 le 22 avril 2022.