Lockheed Martin, Canadian UAVs to improve beyond visual line of sight operations

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  17 janvier 2019 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

  Investissements de la Défense dans la communauté de l’innovation du Canada et ses solutions en matière de défense et de sécurité

  Le 16 janvier 2019 – Ottawa (Ontario) – Défense nationale/Forces armées canadiennes Le gouvernement du Canada reconnaît l'importance d'investir dans l'innovation pour la défense et l'avenir de nos Forces armées canadiennes. À l'appui de la politique de défense du Canada, Protection, Sécurité, Engagement, le ministre de la Défense Harjt S. Sajjan a souligné aujourd'hui les contrats octroyés à la suite du premier appel de propositions de projets compétitifs dans le cadre du programme Innovation pour la défense, l'excellence et la sécurité (IDEeS). Le programme IDEeS offre aux innovateurs la chance de soutenir la défense et la sécurité. À peine neuf mois après sa mise en œuvre, IDEeS a illustré un accès amélioré à l'innovation en matière de défense et de sécurité par l'investissement de 26,8 millions de dollars dans 160 contrats qui s'inscrivent dans le premier appel de propositions, lequel a été lancé en avril 2018. Plus de 600 propositions visant à résoudre des défis parmi les plus complexes auxquels le Canada est confronté dans le domaine de la défense et de la sécurité ont été présentées par des innovateurs d'un bout à l'autre du pays, y compris des universitaires, des petites et moyennes entreprises, des grandes industries, des organismes non gouvernementaux et des individus. Parmi les domaines d'intérêt, mentionnons la surveillance, la cybernétique, l'espace, l'intelligence artificielle, les systèmes téléguidés, l'analytique des données et le rendement humain. Gr'ce à ces efforts, nos Forces armées canadiennes auront les outils et les connaissances nécessaires pour contrer les nouvelles menaces, maintenir une avance sur les adversaires possibles et satisfaire aux besoins changeants en matière de défense et de sécurité. Citations « Gr'ce à notre politique de défense Protection, Sécurité, Engagement, nous fournissons aux femmes et aux hommes de nos Forces armées canadiennes les outils et l'équipement dont ils ont besoin pour s'acquitter de leurs fonctions. Le succès du premier appel de propositions dans le cadre du programme IDEeS illustre l'importance d'investir dans l'innovation canadienne afin de façonner l'avenir de nos Forces armées canadiennes. Ces nouvelles collaborations faciliteront l'acheminement d'idées et de concepts novateurs en vue de la fourniture des capacités nécessaires à la constitution de forces militaires fortes et agiles. Félicitations à tous les titulaires de contrats. » – Ministre de la Défense Harjit S. Sajjan « Notre gouvernement est déterminé à fournir aux hommes et aux femmes des Forces armées canadiennes la technologie nécessaire pour effectuer leur travail important au nom de la population canadienne. En plus d'appuyer nos braves militaires, ces contrats mobilisent les esprits les plus brillants et les plus novateurs du pays afin de relever les principaux défis en matière de défense et de sécurité auxquels nous sommes confrontés. » – Ministre des Services publics et de l'Approvisionnement Canada, Carla Qualtrough Faits en bref Le programme IDEeS permet au ministère de la Défense nationale et aux Forces armées canadiennes de tirer parti de l'innovation et de l'ingéniosité des Canadiens et des Canadiennes dans le but d'enrichir les capacités de défense et d'influer sur les décisions futures en matière de défense et de sécurité. L'appel de propositions de projets compétitifs du programme IDEeS a été administré par Services publics et Approvisionnement Canada, au nom du ministère de la Défense nationale. Le premier appel de propositions, qui visait seize défis, a été lancé le 9 avril 2018 et a pris fin le 7 juin 2018. Le ministère de la Défense nationale a annoncé les premiers contrats en août 2018. Le deuxième appel de propositions, qui visait neuf défis, a été lancé le 18 octobre 2018 et a pris fin le 27 novembre 2018. Les premiers contrats issus de cet appel de propositions seront octroyés en février 2019. Gr'ce au programme IDEeS, le ministère de la Défense nationale : crée des réseaux d'innovateurs (universitaires, représentants de l'industrie, individus et autres partenaires) dans le but de réaliser des activités de recherche et développement de pointe dans des domaines essentiels qui lui permettront de satisfaire aux besoins futurs en matière de défense et de sécurité; tient des concours et invite les innovateurs à présenter des solutions viables à des défis précis en matière de défense et de sécurité; adopte de nouveaux mécanismes d'approvisionnement gr'ce auxquels il peut concevoir et mettre à l'essai des concepts, ainsi que donner suite aux idées les plus prometteuses. Liens connexes Communiqué – Premiers contrats d'innovation octroyés dans le cadre du programme Innovation pour la défense, l'excellence et la sécurité (IDEeS) Document d'information –Innovation pour la défense, l'excellence et la sécurité (IDEeS) Document d'information – Le gouvernement du Canada lance un appel aux innovateurs pour résoudre des défis en matière de défense et de sécurité Récipiendaires de contrats – site Web du programme IDEeS Protection, Sécurité, Engagement https://www.canada.ca/fr/ministere-defense-nationale/nouvelles/2019/01/investissements-de-la-defense-dans-la-communaute-de-linnovation-du-canada-et-ses-solutions-en-matiere-de-defense-et-de-securite.html

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  6 mai 2020 | Local, Aérospatial

  Federal government considering delaying acceptance of bids for new fighter jets

  David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen Publishing date: 21 hours ago • 3 minute read The federal government is looking at once again delaying acceptance of bids on new fighter jets. The bids were originally supposed to be submitted in May 2019 but that was pushed back to March 30 this year. That deadline, in turn, was pushed back to June 30 at the request of the aerospace industry, Public Services and Procurement Canada announced in February. But now the department is once again evaluating a request from industry to further extend that deadline for the proposals, Procurement Canada spokesman Marc-André Charbonneau confirmed in an email to this newspaper. “We remain committed to providing members of the Royal Canadian Air Force with the fighter aircraft they need to do their jobs, and ensuring the best possible value for Canadians,” he added. “This procurement is a once in a generation opportunity to support the growth of Canada's aerospace and defence industries for decades to come.” If that happens it is unclear on how the current timetable for buying the fighter jets, to replace the CF-18 aircraft, might be affected. A winning bidder was to have been chosen in 2022. The first aircraft would have been delivered by 2025, according to the government's schedule. Industry representatives say they expect the bid submissions to be pushed back at least until the end of the summer. The federal government is focused on dealing with its response to the novel coronavirus pandemic and Public Services and Procurement Canada is deeply involved in setting up procurements of protective gear and medical supplies. It has also been difficult for companies to collect and provide the necessary classified information to the federal government that is needed for the bids. Much of that has to be delivered directly to government officials and cannot be transmitted over the internet because of the sensitivity of the information. The fighter jet competition was launched on Dec. 12, 2017 and at this point three aircraft are to be considered. Those include the F-35, the Super Hornet, and the Gripen. The program is expected to cost around $19 billion and will see the purchase of 88 new jets. Information about how Canada intends to evaluate the jets is limited. But Public Services and Procurement Canada has noted that technical merit will make up the bulk of the assessment at 60 per cent. Cost and economic benefits companies can provide to Canada will each be worth 20 per cent. But Canada won't conduct a fly-off between fighter jets competing to become the country's new warplane nor conduct testing to see how such aircraft perform under cold weather conditions, Public Services and Procurement Canada confirmed earlier this year. Concerns have been raised by Lockheed Martin's rivals that the competition has been designed to favour the F-35. This newspaper reported last year the requirements for the new jets put emphasis on strategic attack and striking at ground targets during foreign missions. That criteria is seen to benefit the F-35. In addition, the federal government changed criteria on how it would assess industrial benefits after the U.S. government threatened to pull the F-35 from the competition. The Conservative government had previously selected the F-35 as the air force's new jet but backed away from that plan after concerns about the technology and growing cost. During the 2015 election campaign, Justin Trudeau vowed that his government would not purchase the F-35. But at the same time, Trudeau stated his government would hold an open competition for the fighter purchase. The Liberal government backed away from its promise to freeze out the F-35 and the aircraft is now seen as a front-runner in the competition as it has many supporters in the Royal Canadian Air Force. Many of Canada's allies plan to operate the plane. Canada is a partner in the F-35 program and has contributed funding for the aircraft's development over the years. It has already made its latest payment on that program. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/federal-government-considering-delaying-acceptance-of-bids-for-new-fighter-jets/wcm/2c331c83-e437-45d8-8d1c-9be59ccb7dc3/

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  12 mars 2019 | Local, Sécurité

  Port of Montreal busier than ever, creating opportunities for smugglers

  Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press On a crisp day in early March, Tony Boemi looks out on the stacked shipping containers that stretch into the horizon of the 26 kilometre-long Port of Montreal. "We've been going up tremendously," the port authority vice-president says. Traffic at Canada's second-largest port rose nine per cent in 2018 to the equivalent of more than 1.6 million 20-foot containers for the fifth straight year of record volumes, prompting concerns the docks will be overloaded by 2022. Vancouver and Halifax, the largest and third-largest ports, respectively, also saw record container traffic last year. "I'd be lying if I said we weren't struggling with managing the sudden surge," Boemi says. Driving the boom is Canadian demand for clothing, appliances and other consumer products made in Asia, as well as a new free trade agreement with Europe. However, the surge in traffic comes with a downside: The additional containers present an opportunity for criminals to capitalize on limited law enforcement resources and hide more contraband among the legitimate goods. Bud Garrick, an investigator with Presidia Security Consulting and former deputy director-general of the RCMP's criminal intelligence service, said imported drugs and exported stolen cars constitute the biggest smuggling problem, with authorities nabbing only a small fraction of the spoils. "Marine ports are an attractive environment for individuals with ill means and mind to smuggle things into Canada," he said. "The amount of cargo -- shipping containers -- that moves in and out of ports is phenomenal...It's a magnitude problem." The criminal allure of ports is simple. Airports are under too much scrutiny, and air freight is costly. Overland smuggling does occur, but on a smaller scale. "Trying to intercept smuggled cargo at a port is expensive and disruptive, and you'll never have enough resources to catch most things through random screening," Peter Hall, an associate professor of urban studies at Simon Fraser University, said in an email. "Mostly 1/8the CBSA 3/8 focus on screening for terrorist and bio-hazards." A 2015 federal auditor general's report found that the Canada Border Services Agency "did not fully have the necessary authorities, information, practices and controls to implement its enforcement priorities and prevent the export of goods that contravene Canada's export laws." Just like legitimate trade, black market port activity works both ways. Incoming ships bring drugs such as cocaine and heroin, while outbound ships contain a growing number of stolen vehicles. "The most prolific is actually in Alberta," said Henry Tso, vice-president of investigative services at the Insurance Bureau of Canada. "A lot of the cars are being shipped from Alberta to various ports in Canada, mainly Vancouver." More than 25,000 vehicles were stolen in Alberta in 2018, part of a 50 per cent increase over the past five years that stems in part from overseas demand for high-end pickup trucks and SUVs. The thefts, which recent cases have linked to criminal organizations in West Africa, northern Europe, the Middle East and China, rely on human as well as technological flaws. "Certain docks, there are some you know are run by organized crime. Even in Quebec, like the Montreal ports, one terminal is clean, the other one is not clean," said Tso. "The major issue is corruption," said Anthony Nicaso, who has authored more than two-dozen books on organized crime. "There is no political will to fight organized crime," he said, "probably because money does not stink, so who cares -- money is money." Back at the Montreal port, Boemi estimates the CBSA thoroughly inspects about three per cent of containers that roll through the port. The CBSA declined to give statistics, but noted that screening devices such as gamma-ray detectors -- which sense radioactive material -- scan each container. "The CBSA requires marine carriers to electronically transmit marine cargo data to the Agency 24 hours prior to the loading of cargo at a foreign port. This requirement allows the CBSA to effectively identify threats to Canada's health, safety and security and take actions prior to cargo and conveyances leaving foreign ports," the CBSA said in an email. A Canadian Senate report from 2006 found that 15 per cent of stevedores and more than two-thirds of checkers who worked at the Montreal port had criminal records, along with more than half of the workers at an outside company contracted to pick up waste and maintain ships at the docks. In an effort to boost security, the Port of Montreal now requires that truckers with Transport Canada security clearance have their fingerprints scanned upon entry. The port and CBSA have signed on for a trial run of blockchain technology that aims to better secure and streamline freight shipping. Jean-Pierre Fortin, president of the Customs and Immigration Union representing some 10,500 CBSA employees, is not satisfied. "With stolen cars, with drugs, with guns, we need to increase our capacity to monitor this properly," he said. https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/port-of-montreal-busier-than-ever-creating-opportunities-for-smugglers-1.4330014