7 mai 2021 | Local, Naval
WILLIAMS: Here's why Canada's shipbuilding debacle matters
Canadians are quite rightly preoccupied with coping with the COVID-19 pandemic. It affects our safety and security. Nevertheless, there is another crisis…
10 mars 2020 | Local, Aérospatial, Sécurité
Military search and rescue missions delayed by aircraft, refuelling problems: report
A new Department of National Defence report says military search-and-rescue personnel were delayed and in some cases unable to provide emergency assistance on about one in 20 of the hundreds of calls they received last year.
While some of the problems related to bad weather, animals on runways and having to wait for provincial medical teams to arrive, more than half were attributed to refuelling issues and breakdowns on the military's ancient search-and-rescue aircraft.
The Canadian Armed Forces says the refuelling problems and breakdowns, which afflicted a total of 20 search-and-rescue missions, did not lead to any deaths.
Yet they do raise questions about the military's ability to respond quickly to potentially life-threatening emergencies given the age of its search-and-rescue aircraft, some of which entered service in 1967.
The Royal Canadian Air Force officially accepted the first of 16 new search-and-rescue planes from European manufacturer Airbus in December, but the aircraft is still in Spain where it was built and has yet to make the trip to Canada.
The government has also said it plans to replace the air force's aging air-to-air refuelling tankers, but the first replacement isn't expected until 2028 at the earliest.
https://globalnews.ca/news/6650860/military-search-rescue-mission-problems/
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31 janvier 2020 | Local, Aérospatial
CC-295 maintenance trainer arrives in Canada
A training variant of the CC-295 that will be used to instruct Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) maintenance technicians is now flying across the country towards CFB Comox, B.C., the home of search and rescue training in Canada. Flown by an Airbus Defence and Space flight crew, the fixed-wing search and rescue (FWSAR) aircraft maintenance trainer (AMT) landed in St. John's, N.L., before arriving at CFB Greenwood, N.S., on Jan. 30. It left Greenwood on Jan. 31 and is making its way across the country, stopping at the RCAF bases where it will eventually be in service (Greenwood, Trenton, Ont., and Winnipeg, Man.) before arriving at its new home at Comox. According to 14 Wing Greenwood public affairs officer Capt. Matt Zalot, the AMT attracted much attention from RCAF members on base, who currently fly the aging CC-130H Hercules in a search and rescue role. The arrival of the AMT represents a key milestone in Canada's FWSAR aircraft replacement program, said the RCAF. “As with any program, the FWSAR project is one of milestones, and the arrival of the AMT is an important one on the overall journey towards operational implementation of the CC-295 fleet,” said Isabelle Latulippe, FWSAR project manager. The AMT is for training purposes only and is not equipped to perform search and rescue missions. It is not part of Canada's order, signed in December 2016, for 16 CC-295 aircraft. Upon arrival in Comox, the RCAF said the aircraft will be disassembled and then reassembled inside the new training centre as a maintenance training aid. On Dec. 20, Airbus announced via Twitter that Canada had accepted the first of its 16 CC-295s at the manufacturer's facility in Seville, Spain, and that it would be ferried to its home base at Comox sometime in mid-2020. Members of RCAF 434 Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron have been at Airbus's International Training Centre since last fall to evaluate and train on the aircraft. In November, Skies reported that complications with the CC-295's technical manuals could delay the first delivery. Airbus unveiled the aircraft in RCAF livery in mid-October. Last July, the RCAF asked the public to help choose the name of the new search and rescue aircraft, offering five choices: Canso II, Guardian, Iris, Kingfisher and Turnstone. About 33,000 people voted for their favourites and RCAF Commander LGen Al Meinzinger was set to make the final decision. However, no announcement has been made to date. The RCAF is reportedly in the midst of legal procedures associated with using its selected name and no further details have been released. Canada is receiving the latest C-295 variant, featuring winglets for fuel savings and increased performance. The aircraft has an advanced avionics suite, fuselage reinforcements and a hatch for rapid evacuation in case of a forced water landing. Airbus tailored the cabin interior to meet RCAF operational requirements, with a new wireless intercom system for crew communications, increased equipment storage space, brighter lighting for medevac treatment, and lighting compatible with the use of night vision systems. The CC-295s will eventually replace the de Havilland Canada DHC-5 Buffalo and Lockheed Martin CC-130H Hercules fleets that currently perform the search and rescue role. https://www.skiesmag.com/news/cc-295-maintenance-trainer-arrives-in-canada
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24 novembre 2021 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
2021 Halifax International Security Forum – Anita Anand Opening Remarks
Defence Minister Anita Anand delivers opening remarks as the 13th annual Halifax International Security Forum gets underway. The three-day conference brings together security and defence experts, political leaders and academics from around the world. Minister Anand begins her remarks by commenting on the flooding that has ravaged the southwestern part of British Columbia. (November 19, 2021)