Sur le même sujet

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  14 décembre 2018 | Local, Aérospatial

  Sentient Vision aims to expand Cormorant search radar

  by Chris Thatcher When the Department of National Defence (DND) finalizes the statement of work for the CH-149 Cormorant Mid-Life Upgrade (CMLU), Sentient Vision is hoping a visual detection and ranging (ViDAR) optical radar will be among the requirements. The Australian company has partnered with Heli-One, a Vancouver-based subsidiary of CHC Helicopter, to offer a Canadian manufactured version of what it says is a transformational search and rescue technology. “We've coined a phrase: lost at sea, found in seconds. The system we have developed is able to autonomously find people lost at sea in seconds,” Simon Olsen, director of business development, strategy and partnerships, told Skies. “It is truly transformational. It has the unique ability to detect very small things that virtually no other system in the world has.” Where traditional radar struggles to differentiate small objects such as a person or a rubber raft from the waves in most sea states, ViDAR has successfully demonstrated the ability to find almost all objects or persons. “A radar works on being able to have a response back from the object, so the object needs to stand out from the ocean environment,” explained Olsen. “If the object is very small, and especially if it doesn't have a radar cross-section, it can't get a response back. Hence, in most search and rescue environments, when you are looking for people at sea, a rubber raft or even a small canoe . . . we currently use beacons or transponders to get a rough location, and then rely on the Mark 1 eyeball.” That often involves a spotter in an aircraft monitoring about 0.1 nautical miles at a time. “With ViDAR, we can look out two to 2.5 nautical miles from that aircraft and have an almost 100 per cent certainty of finding every person lost at sea immediately,” he said. The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) has been analyzing options for a life-extension program that would see the CH-149 fleet of 14 search and rescue helicopters remain in service until around 2040. The project secured long-term funding with the release of the Liberal government defence policy in June 2017. And a year later, in April 2018, Public Services and Procurement Canada posted a letter of notification (LoN) outlining its intent to conduct a sole-source negotiation with Leonardo, formerly AgustaWestland, to replace, modify or upgrade current and projected obsolete systems based on the Norwegian AW101-612 All-Weather Search and Rescue Helicopter (NAWSARH) model, which began entering service in December 2017. The LoN also indicated that the government would proceed with a plan to “augment” the current fleet by upgrading as many as seven of nine VH-71 aircraft, variants of the AW101, acquired from the U.S. government in 2011 ostensibly for spare parts. Olsen said the Canadian program presents an opportunity to not only work with a highly regarded Canadian partner, but also to develop and prove a solution that could then be exported to other military and civilian search and rescue programs. “If we have the opportunity to partner with [Team Cormorant] to supply this technology to the Canadian government, we see tremendous export appeal to other markets in which these helicopters operate,” he said of the team led by manufacturer Leonardo Helicopters and in-service support provider, IMP Aerospace & Defence. “We are configuring this to be able to retrofit it to existing aircraft of a similar kind.” The ViDAR hardware consists of a small, lightweight pod that can be mounted to multiple points on an aircraft and is then integrated with the onboard mission system. “We don't want to add any risk or complex technical integration, so we've focused on making it easy to integrate and use,” said Olsen. “Operationally, there is no new mission system, there's no new mapping system. All we do is send a location on a map and a thumbnail image of the object we find in the water. The operator can click that image and it slews the existing sensors they have on the aircraft to investigate that object.” It was still being developed when the Canadian government released the statement of requirements for the fixed-wing search and rescue project, but Olsen said ViDAR could be readily added to the Airbus CC295 when it enters service with the RCAF. Air Force members have seen the system in action and are well aware of the capability, he added. The U.S. Coast Guard conducted a “fairly exhaustive” trial in 2016 at which, of the various radars evaluated, “we were the only one that found 100 per cent search and rescue targets in a range of sea states,” he said. The Coast Guard subsequently incorporated it into its Insitu ScanEagle unmanned aerial platforms for counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean and off the southern coast. ViDAR is also being employed by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority's Bombardier Challenger 604 jets in a search and rescue capacity. By partnering with Heli-One and CHC Helicopter, which operates an extensive global search and rescue network, Olsen said there is an opportunity to develop a solution with a Canadian stamp on it that the government can take ownership of and help to export. “With the unique relationship between Heli-One and CHC, we clearly see an opportunity to extend this, not just along the path of where the Cormorant goes with Leonardo, but to work with CHC on a range of search and rescue operations they have all around the world.” https://www.skiesmag.com/news/sentient-vision-aims-to-expand-cormorant-search-radar

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  23 mai 2019 | Local, Naval

  Renouveler la flotte de la Garde côtière canadienne et offrir d'importants services à la population canadienne

  QUÉBEC, le 22 mai 2019 /CNW/ - Toute la population du pays compte sur la Garde côtière canadienne pour protéger les équipages et notre environnement, et pour assurer le mouvement sécuritaire et efficace des navires qui contribuent grandement à la prospérité de notre économie. Après l'annonce faite par le premier ministre Justin Trudeau plus tôt aujourd'hui, l'honorable Jean-Yves Duclos, ministre de la Famille, des Enfants et du Développement social et député de la circonscription de Québec, s'est rendu sur le quai de la Reine, à Québec, pour parler des futurs investissements du gouvernement du Canada en vue de renouveler la flotte de la Garde côtière canadienne, et de faire construire jusqu'à 18 nouveaux grands navires dans des chantiers navals canadiens. Gr'ce à ces nouveaux b'timents, la Garde côtière pourra continuer d'offrir aux Canadiens et aux Canadiennes des services de première importance. Les partenaires du Canada retenus dans le cadre de la Stratégie nationale de construction navale (SNCN), Irving Shipbuilding d'Halifax (Nouvelle-Écosse) et Vancouver Shipyards de Seaspan (Colombie-Britannique), construiront les nouveaux navires. Irving Shipbuilding d'Halifax construira deux nouveaux navires de patrouille extracôtiers et de l'Arctique, qui seront adaptés aux besoins de la Garde côtière pour accomplir une panoplie de missions essentielles, y compris les patrouilles de l'Organisation des pêches de l'Atlantique Nord-Ouest. Vancouver Shipyards de Seaspan construira jusqu'à concurrence de 16 navires polyvalents devant servir à diverses missions, dont les services de brise-glace léger, d'intervention environnementale et de recherche et sauvetage en haute mer. De plus, le gouvernement du Canada investira dans la prolongation de vie, le radoub et l'entretien de navires, des travaux qui seront confiés à des chantiers navals partout au Canada, y compris au Québec. Ainsi, la flotte de la Garde côtière actuelle pourra continuer d'assurer les services essentiels de recherche et sauvetage et d'intervention environnementale pendant que les nouveaux navires seront en construction. Malgré les sommes investies pour entretenir les navires de la Garde côtière, ceux-ci en arriveront néanmoins à la fin de leur vie utile, et il faudra d'autres navires pour renouveler comme il se doit la flotte de la Garde côtière. Afin de répondre aux futurs besoins en construction navale, d'attirer des personnes talentueuses et d'offrir de bons emplois dans diverses collectivités, le gouvernement du Canada ajoutera un troisième chantier naval canadien, à titre de partenaire dans le cadre de la SNCN. Le gouvernement du Canada mettra en œuvre un processus concurrentiel pour sélectionner ce troisième chantier dans les prochains mois. Citations « La Garde côtière canadienne sauve des vies en mer, assure la sécurité du transport maritime, soutient une économie autrement paralysée par les emb'cles, protège l'environnement marin et appuie la souveraineté et la sécurité du Canada. Étant donné la croissance du commerce maritime et les changements climatiques dont nous ressentons déjà les effets, la demande pour les services de la Garde côtière canadienne continuera de croître. Le renouvellement de la flotte de la Garde côtière garantit la confiance des Canadiens et des secteurs qui comptent sur les services de la Garde côtière pour demeurer concurrentiels. » L'honorable Jonathan Wilkinson Ministre des Pêches, des Océans et de la Garde côtière canadienne « La Stratégie nationale de construction navale est la bonne approche à adopter pour garantir le soutien de la Garde côtière, de la Marine et des activités maritimes au moyen de navires modernes. En plus d'assurer une adaptation pour répondre aux besoins changeants du gouvernement fédéral en matière de construction navale, la Stratégie permet de créer des emplois, de générer des avantages et de la prospérité pour les collectivités de tout le Canada, ainsi que d'appuyer un secteur maritime durable. Nous demeurons fermement résolus à suivre la Stratégie et, pour en assurer le succès à l'avenir, nous poursuivrons notre étroite collaboration avec nos partenaires de construction navale. » L'honorable Carla Qualtrough Ministre des Services publics et de l'Approvisionnement et de l'Accessibilité « La Garde côtière canadienne offre des services essentiels en assurant la sécurité de la navigation dans nos cours d'eau, notamment le fleuve Saint-Laurent et le fjord du Saguenay. L'annonce d'aujourd'hui est particulièrement importante, car le gouvernement reconnait que nous devons ajouter un troisième chantier à la Stratégie nationale de construction navale. Il s'agit d'un changement majeur qui permettra au Chantier Davie de participer au processus pour sélectionner ce troisième chantier dans les prochains mois. De plus, l'annonce de 2 milliards de dollars pour la prolongation de vie, le radoub et l'entretien de navires est une excellente nouvelle pour les chantiers navals du Québec, qui pourront obtenir de nombreux contrats. » L'honorable Jean-Yves Duclos Ministre de la Famille, des Enfants et du Développement social Les faits en bref La Garde côtière canadienne fournit des services essentiels de recherche et sauvetage, d'intervention environnementale et de déglaçage dans la région du Centre et de l'Arctique, avec plus de 1 400 employés et une flotte de 18 navires et 6 hélicoptères. Les centres de commandement en recherche et sauvetage dans la région du Centre et de l'Arctique (secteurs du Saint‑Laurent et des Grands Lacs) reçoivent plus de 5 600 appels par année. En 2018, le Programme d'intervention environnementale du Centre et de l'Arctique de la Garde côtière a reçu 1 370 rapports de pollution, principalement des cas de pollution par un navire. La Garde côtière canadienne supervise également les opérations de déglaçage en hiver le long du fleuve Saint‑Laurent et dans le golfe du Saint-Laurent. Au printemps, la Garde côtière aide à dégager les glaces sur la voie maritime entre Montréal et les Grands Lacs, une opération qui permet aux navires commerciaux d'entrer et de sortir des ports de façon sécuritaire et efficace. Son aéroglisseur aide au déglaçage printanier d'une quinzaine de rivières, principalement au Québec. Le coût total des 18 nouveaux grands navires est de 15,7 milliards de dollars, ce qui correspond à l'estimation préliminaire des budgets de projets, y compris les coûts de construction, de logistique et de soutien, des éventualités, de gestion de projet et d'infrastructure. Le coût de chacun des navires sera annoncé une fois que les contrats auront été négociés. De surcroît, le gouvernement procédera, par l'entremise d'un processus concurrentiel, à la conception d'une nouvelle classe de navires plus petits, le navire semi-hauturier polyvalent, qui sera un complément à la flotte de grands navires, car il servirait à des missions en eau peu profonde et à des activités scientifiques semi-hauturières. Des travaux de réparation, de radoub et de prolongation de la durée de vie des navires seront effectués sur la flotte existante jusqu'à ce que les nouveaux navires soient livrés, et plus de 2 milliards de dollars seront investis sur une base concurrentielle à cette fin. Outre le financement destiné à la construction de navires, le gouvernement du Canada consacre 351,3 millions de dollars pour renforcer, sur une base permanente, les capacités de la Garde côtière canadienne, notamment en améliorant la supervision de la gestion et en faisant la promotion de l'innovation écologique. À ce jour, le gouvernement du Canada a conclu des contrats de plus de 11 milliards de dollars dans le cadre de la SNCN dans l'ensemble du pays. De cette somme, environ 1,6 milliard de dollars, ou 16 %, ont été versés à des entreprises au Québec. https://www.newswire.ca/fr/news-releases/renouveler-la-flotte-de-la-garde-cotiere-canadienne-et-offrir-d-importants-services-a-la-population-canadienne-870410190.html

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  8 janvier 2019 | Local, Aérospatial

  Canada can afford new fighters or new frigates — but not both at once: report

  Murray Brewster · CBC News U of Calgary paper says Ottawa may have to abandon the idea of a multi-purpose military The Trudeau government can't afford to buy ultra-modern warships and advanced warplanes at the same time, given the limits of federal finances, a new research paper argues. The study, written for the University of Calgary's School of Public Policy, says that — contrary to the assurances offered in the government's defence policy — Ottawa will soon be forced into a series of tough, far-reaching choices about the structure and capabilities of the Canadian military. Using the government's own figures, researcher Alex McColl concluded that the Liberals either will have to pour more money into their defence budget in the mid-2020s or scale back their ambitions by buying a less expensive fighter jet. The reason, according to McColl, is that the bills for both new frigates and new fighters will come due at the same time. Absent the political will (to spend more), the Canadian Forces can no longer afford to be a modern, multipurpose force ...- University of Calgary researcher Alex McColl "Not only will the CF-18 replacement program have to fight for funding against the general austerity and easy riding nature of Canadians, but it will also be running concurrently with the largest military procurement in Canadian history: the National Shipbuilding Strategy," he wrote. During the 2015 election campaign, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged Canada would not buy the F-35 stealth jet — that it would go with something cheaper and pour the savings into rebuilding the navy. The way the defence policy figures roll out, McColl wrote, suggests the government is on track to do just that. "Absent the political will to provide considerably more than 1.15 per cent of GDP in defence spending," he wrote, "the Canadian Forces can no longer afford to be a modern multipurpose force and should instead move to a Navy centric force structure." The Liberal defence policy, released just over 18 months ago, forecasts that by 2025, annual defence spending will rise to $32.7 billion, or about 1.4 per cent of GDP. However, the projections in the defence policy do not go past the fiscal year 2024-25 — something the Parliamentary Budget Office flagged in a report in November 2017. That PBO report also raised concerns about whether the Liberals would even meet their procurement targets and predicted the numbers would fall off a cliff before the 20-year defence spending policy reaches its halfway mark. "Measured as a share of the economy, the new spending plan will raise the defence budget by over 17 per cent to about 1.1 percentage points of GDP by 2024," the PBO analysis said. "Following this, spending will decline by 38 per cent to 0.69 percentage points of GDP by 2035." McColl said Canada may be left with no choice but to buy a cheaper fighter. "The best value solution to the CF-18 replacement is the least expensive jet in the competition: the Saab Gripen," he wrote in his report. In an interview CBC News, McColl said he chose the Gripen because it is "the dramatically least expensive option," although the Super Hornet is also a cheaper alternative. "I wouldn't say we would be forced (to buy them)," he said. "What I would say is that buying an inexpensive fighter that meets the minimum requirements of what we use the CF-18 for today would be the optimal policy." National Defence announced last week it had concluded a deal with Australia to buy 18 used F-18 fighters to bolster the current CF-18 fleet until a brand-new replacement is selected. That competition to replace the CF-18s with new aircraft is slated to kick off this spring, when the federal government puts a tender on the street. A contract award is not expected until 2022. The first new fighters won't arrive until 2025 — and it will be another year after that before they are operational. Dave Perry, a procurement expert at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, said that new accounting rules — which allow National Defence to spread the cost of weapons system over their lifetime, instead of accounting for them all at once — give the Liberal government a bit of flexibility. But he also pointed out that, by trying to rebuild the navy and the air force at the same time, the Liberals are trying to do something rarely accomplished outside of a wartime setting. "Between new fighters and surface combatants [frigates], those are by far the two biggest projects that have gotten underway in this country in a long time, and doing them at the same time is not something we've done in peacetime before," said Perry. "Previously, we've done these things in sequential order." The question of whether the federal government is organizationally and fiscally prepared to start paying big defence bills is open to debate, he added. Almost four years ago, Perry co-wrote a seminal report that noted the number of staff dedicated to defence procurement at National Defence had never recovered from the budget cuts of the mid-1990s — dropping to 4,300 positions from 9,000. In the time since his report was released, Perry said, there's been progress at the Department of National Defence in hiring procurement specialists and getting systems in place, but he's not certain the rest of the federal government is prepared. "I think the biggest shortcoming is whether the Government of Canada writ large has the capacity, across government, not just in defence, to manage files this size with that level of complexity," he said. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-can-afford-new-fighters-or-new-frigates-but-not-both-at-once-report-1.4969031