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

Sur le même sujet

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  20 août 2019 | Local, Aérospatial

  MDA Awarded $7.9 Million for Lunar Gateway Robotics Phase A Contracts

  The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has awarded MDA two contracts related to the NASA led Lunar Gateway project which is part of the greater Artemis moon program. The contrast are a result of the Deep Space Exploration Robotics (DSXR) request for proposals the CSA had posted in April of this year. The DSXR initiative includes two Gateway External Robotic Interfaces. They include an “exploration large arm” (XLA) and an “exploration dexterous arm” (XDA). The first contract is for the development of robotic interfaces for the “exploration large arm” and is valued at $3,292,136.66. The second contract, also for the development of robotic interfaces, is for the “exploration dexterous arm” and is valued at $4,598,971.26. The Phase A work builds on the heritage of robotics MDA developed for the Canadarm on the Space Shuttles, and the Canadarm2 and Dextre on the International Space Station. The new Canadarm3 program will take robotic tools to another level, merging cutting edge robotic hardware with Artificial Intelligence software. http://spaceq.ca/mda-awarded-7-9-million-for-lunar-gateway-robotics-phase-a-contracts/

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  6 février 2020 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

  Canada Unprepared for Military Aggression Via Arctic, Say Defence Experts

  BY RAHUL VAIDYANATH Modernizing outdated North Warning System not funded as part of defence budget No sooner had a gathering to discuss modernizing the defence of North America taken place than two Russian strategic bombers approached Canadian airspace from the Arctic. The menace underscores the message to the Canadian government and public that the country is at greater risk than it has been in decades. North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad) reported the Russian activity on Jan. 31, just two days after the Canadian Global Affairs Institute (CGAI) hosted a major defence conference in Ottawa. “They [the Russians and Chinese] have the weapons systems and we are increasingly seeing the intent, so we haven't caught up to that yet,” University of Calgary political science professor and conference panelist Rob Huebert said in an interview following the incident. The Russian aircraft stayed in international airspace and didn't enter U.S. or Canadian sovereign airspace, but it nevertheless highlighted the threat. Huebert says what's been holding Canada back is a decades-long multi-faceted problem of attitudes. Canada is accustomed to playing the “away game” instead of the “home game,” meaning it prefers to face its threats as far away from its borders as possible. Thus the protection of the North American continent requires a change of mindset given the advanced capabilities of the Russians and Chinese. It's also naive on Canada's part to think it can simply talk to Russia and China and get them to play nice. “We have to be a lot more honest with Canadians,” Huebert said. A government can favour certain initiatives, and the current one has shown it can generate broad public buy-in for its environmental initiatives. But even if the public isn't clamouring for better military capabilities—as seen in the lack of interest the topic garnered during the election run-up—experts say the government can no longer ignore the military threat from Russia and China. “What this government has shown no willingness to deal with is a much more comprehensive understanding of security that encapsulates both environmental security and military security,” Huebert said. For example, the Liberals didn't put forth their Arctic policy until a day before the election was called. ‘People have to recognize there is a real threat' Canadian governments have put a lower priority on defence spending for decades, and that has left a consistent drop in capability compared to potential rivals. A case in point is that Canada opted in 2005 to not be a part of the U.S. ballistic missile defence program. Contrast that attitude with the Russians or the Chinese and their imperialist goals. Russia wants to destroy us and China wants to own us, said John Sanford of the U.S.'s National Maritime Intelligence Integration Office, at the CGAI forum. A power play is shaping up between the United States, China, and Russia, and the Arctic is the epicentre of the military conflict. That makes it Canada's business, according to defence experts. “People have to recognize there is a real threat,” said conference opening speaker Commodore Jamie Clarke, Norad's deputy director of strategy. “We are defending our entire way of life.” At risk is Canada's economy and infrastructure, not to mention that of the United States. At the heart of the matter is an outdated detection and deterrence system with no comprehensive replacement in the works. https://www.theepochtimes.com/canada-unprepared-for-military-aggression-via-arctic-say-defence-experts_3228565.html

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  18 octobre 2019 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

  Conservatives promise to 'protect' defence spending from deficit battle

  Defence takes a fifth of the federal budget and has often been a target for deficit cutters Murray Brewster The Conservatives have pledged to "protect" the budget of the Department of National Defence even as they work to eliminate the federal deficit. In their election platform, the Tories said they would find $5 billion in savings by cutting operational expenses, but were not clear on precisely what that meant, other than to say it would not affect services to Canadians. The Liberals, through their two-year-old defence policy, committed to increase defence spending by 70 per cent to $32 billion annually by 2024-25 — a program that would unfold at precisely the same time a potential Conservative government intends to cut expenditures.​​ The Liberals have also set in motion plans to buy two of the military's biggest-ticket items — new fighter jets and navy frigates. Conservative leader Andrew Scheer said Wednesday his party would stick with those purchases, but would be more efficient. "We are committed to the funding allocated to the Department of National Defence," he said during a campaign stop in in southwestern Ontario. "We will not do what the Liberals did, which is waste hundreds of millions of dollars stopping and starting the procurement process." The Conservatives have pledged to depoliticize the process of buying military equipment and have complained about the Liberal government's delivery timelines and decisions, including the plan to purchase used Australian F-18s to supplement the existing fighter jet force until a decision is made on brand-new warplanes. Says money wasted "They have wasted so much money when it comes to procurement," Scheer said, adding that Conservatives would "protect the budgets of National Defence [and] we're going to ensure that the money that's allocated to National Defence is spent wisely." At least two experts wonder how the Conservatives can live up to that pledge in light of the fact the Defence Department is the single biggest discretionary expense on the federal balance sheet and the last two times Conservatives — or Liberals — tried to balance the budget, military spending took major hits. Under the government of former prime minister Stephen Harper, the defence budget was cut by $2.1 billion annually and the department racked up sizeable chunks of lapsed spending, money that was appropriated by Parliament, but not spent. The reduction took place after the Afghan war and the department faced concurrent spending cuts through the Conservative strategy review and deficit reduction action plan. Both Liberal and Conservative governments in the 1990s cut defence spending and postponed buying new equipment, most notably new maritime helicopters, which only came into service in the last few years Defence spending an obvious target "Balancing a federal budget without looking at defence spending is extraordinarily difficult, to impossible," said Dave Perry, an analyst and expert in defence spending at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. "Defence spending accounts for one-fifth of the federal budget." And even if the Conservatives did look for savings, a change to the accounting structure at Defence leaves little room for them to recoup much money by cancelling or postponing equipment purchases. Reducing the size of the military or the civil service was something previous governments did, but Perry said those kinds of cuts "take two years or more" to make their way through the system. Kevin Page, the former parliamentary budget officer and CEO of the Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy, said much of what all of the parties are proposing — and their ability to deliver — is contingent on the kind of Parliament that is elected on Monday. CANADA VOTES How much will the defence file matter to voters? PBO pushes up cost estimate for Canada's frigate build by $8 billion In a minority government scenario, the Conservatives might find themselves struggling to deliver savings outside of the Defence Department, he suggested. Would need majority "If elected, I would assume the Conservatives would need a majority government to push through the savings on direct program spending – infrastructure, wage bills, other operations, corporate and development assistance," Page said. The Liberal record on defence spending is up for debate. An internal DND slide presentation, obtained by CBC News, lays out projections for the department going to up to the 2036-37 fiscal year. Faced with extraordinary pressure from the Trump administration to meet NATO's goal of earmarking two per cent of gross domestic product for military spending, the Liberal government committed to a 70 per cent increase by 2024-25. The Feb. 25, 2019 slide presentation shows that spending will peak in 2026-27 and begin to fall again in the preceding decade. Used Australian fighter jets could cost $1.1B: Parliamentary budget officer The document also shows that, for two years running, the Liberals have not spent as much as they planned on new equipment. While $12.7 billion was set aside in their plan between 2017-19 for new military gear, the Trudeau government only asked Parliament for permission to spend $8.34 billion — leaving $4.4 billion still in the treasury. The slide presentation said part of the reason is that some existing projects came in under budget, but in one-third of the instances the spending delay was because the Defence Department — or the federal government in general — could not get the projects organized. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/conservatives-defence-spending-1.5323618