3 mars 2023 | Local, Autre défense
Defence minister to roll out new military equipment purchases in coming weeks
The equipment is being classified as an Urgent Operational Requirement, the same process used during the Afghanistan war.
24 août 2020 | Local, Aérospatial
Maintenance on Snowbirds aircraft will be increased, some flight restrictions put in place after two crashes
David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen
Maintenance on the Canadian military aircraft used by the Snowbirds will be increased and flying operations involving those planes will be restricted, the Canadian Forces announced Monday.
Brig.-Gen. Denis O'Reilly, commander of 2 Canadian Air Division, said that the operational pause on the CT-114 Tutor fleet had been lifted but that new measures were being implemented in the wake of two crashes of Snowbirds aircraft in the last year.
The operational pause was brought in following a Snowbirds CT-114 Tutor accidentin Kamloops, B.C. on May 17, which resulted in the death of Capt. Jennifer Casey, the Snowbirds public affairs officer. Casey was a passenger in the aircraft. The pilot, Capt. Richard MacDougall, survived with serious injuries.
Last year the aerobatic team was temporarily grounded by the Royal Canadian Air Force after a crash of one of its aircraft near Atlanta, Georgia. The crash happened on Oct. 13. Snowbird pilot Capt. Kevin Domon-Grenier was forced to eject from his Tutor aircraft shortly before the team's performance in Atlanta, the team stated at the time. Domon-Grenier suffered minor injuries and was taken to hospital as a precaution following the ejection. The Tutor jet crashed into a farmer's field and there were no injuries on the ground.
The return to flying operations follows a technical and operational risk analysis that has outlined a series of risk mitigation measures, according to the Canadian Forces. Due to the fact that there were two CT-114 Tutor accidents within eight months, the scope of the analysis was designed to be deliberate, detailed and broad to enhance the general safety of the CT-114 Tutor operations, it added. The measures being implemented place some restrictions on flying operations and focus on increased maintenance requirements.
A Directorate of Flight Safety investigation into the accident that killed Casey continues. Once that investigation is complete, the Royal Canadian Air Force will determine if further mitigation measures are required, according to the Canadian Forces.
The investigation into the Kamloops accident is focusing on a bird strike as well as the performance of the aircraft's escape system. The investigation into the Georgia crash determined that the most probable cause of the accident was a fuel delivery system failure within the engine.
The remainder of the Snowbirds 2020 air demonstration season has been cancelled, and the team will now focus on gradually returning to flying operations, according to the Canadian Forces.
The RCAF has a total of 23 CT-114 Tutor aircraft, including 18 at 431 Squadron. There are also five at the Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment at 4 Wing Cold Lake, Alta., which are on the verge of retirement and storage.
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1 juin 2023 | Local, Aérospatial
Bombardier calls for 'fair competition' as Ottawa eyes sole-source contract for surveillance planes | CBC News
The Quebec-based jet manufacturer Bombardier is calling on the federal government to launch a "fair competition" to replace the Royal Canadian Air Force's surveillance planes.
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6 mars 2020 | Local, C4ISR, Sécurité
Pentagon push to boost cybersecurity could affect Canadian suppliers
We're at cyberwar every day' - Ellen Lord, the U.S. undersecretary of defence for acquisition Murray Brewster · The Pentagon has been engaged in a quiet, deliberate effort to plug all of the cyber-holes in its high-tech systems and among its defence contractors — an operation that will soon spill across the border into Canada. Ellen Lord, the U.S. undersecretary of defence for acquisition and sustainment, said today cybersecurity has been one of her biggest concerns since being appointed by the Trump administration two and a half years ago. Increasingly, major defence contractors have found themselves targeted by hackers from China and Russia who have stolen troves of sensitive data on new and existing weapons systems. "Bottom line is, I don't think the average American citizen understands that we're at cyberwar every day," Lord told the Conference of Defence Associations Institute's annual meeting in Ottawa today. The burden of keeping data secure is being placed on the companies themselves, she added. After consulting with the National Security Agency (NSA), the U.S. electronic spy service and the military's Cyber Command, the Pentagon rolled out a new program in January aimed at forcing defence contractors to deal with points of vulnerability. "We have written new cyber security standards that we are putting in all of our new contracts," said Lord. "We are looking at the defence industrial base and how they need to address cyber security and how we as a government can hold them accountable." The initiative includes a cyber security "certification and accreditation" system, similar to the International Organization for Standardization. Lord said it's not a one-size fits all solution and that companies looking to do business with the Pentagon will have to meet one of five levels of certification, depending upon the contract. The defence industrial complexes of Canada, Britain and Australia are tightly stitched into the U.S. system. Lord said allies are looking at a similar measures which she hopes to see coordinated with American efforts. "This is something we're talking with Canada about, with allies and partners, because a lot of us are doing the same thing," she said. The problems with existing systems — software already in the field — is being dealt with aggressively. Contractors who are responsible for maintaining complex systems on warships and aircraft are being told by the Pentagon to close their potential security gaps. "We are going to start shutting equipment down if they are not brought up to standard because every day we see [intelligence], we see how much has been compromised," Lord said. Troy Crosby, head of the Canadian Department of National Defence's materiel branch, said Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada has launched a "cyber secure program" and there's a hope that the two countries can find a way to align their efforts. Some analysts and critics in the U.S. have argued that contractors — even those that make cyber security a priority — will find the cost of meeting uniform standards prohibitive. Beyond that, many major contractors have complex supply chains with many smaller companies that also would be required to spend substantial sums of money to keep up with evolving threats. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/pentagon-contractors-cyber-security-1.5487452