Minister Blair announces deployment of Royal Canadian Navy ships to the Indo-Pacific Region

Sur le même sujet

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  8 mai 2019 | Local, Aérospatial

  QinetiQ Wins C$51m Contract with the Canadian Armed Forces’ Unmanned Aircraft System Service program

  QinetiQ has been awarded a C$51m (c£30m) contract to deliver unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) that will drive enhanced situational awareness for the Canadian Armed Forces. The contract will be delivered from QinetiQ's state-of-the-art unmanned vehicle manufacturing and operational facilities in Medicine Hat, Alberta. The vertical take-off UAS will provide Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) services to the Royal Canadian Navy and Special Operations Forces Command, for both domestic and international operations. The system, based on the UMS SKELDAR V-200 UAS, will be equipped with a number of sensors including an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar and Electro-optic infrared (EO/IR) camera. Robert Aube, Managing Director of QinetiQ in Canada says, “We are delighted with this contract win to deliver critical over-the-horizon situation awareness to the Royal Canadian Navy and Special Operations Forces Command. This generates tactical advantages for commanders while minimising the risk to manned helicopters and personnel. As a result of the contract, we will be pleased to see a large number of jobs created in the Southern Alberta region where UAS repair and overhaul services will be carried out.” Aube continues, “We are dedicated to providing a world-class service for the Canadian Armed Forces and the information collected and used by a UAS system of this calibre will be critical for the men and women serving Canada, both domestically and abroad.” Iain Farley, Managing Director International Business at QinetiQ says, “International growth is a core part of QinetiQ's strategy and to facilitate this, we continue to make significant investments in our subsidiary businesses and complementary acquisitions. This contract provides an important proof point that this strategy is delivering. The investment we have made in Canada has helped secure our largest Canadian contract to date and provides us with a solid foundation for delivering further QinetiQ products and services into the Canadian market and beyond.” QinetiQ will work with four principal partners to deliver the ISTAR services: Canadian-UAV, Leonardo, UMS SKELDAR and Wescam: “This is an important contract win for us alongside our partners including QinetiQ and confirms our stated strategic commitment to working with global navies following our announcement last year with the German Navy,” explains Axel Cavalli-Björkman, CEO of UMS SKELDAR, the UAV joint venture between Sweden's Saab and UMS AERO GROUP of Switzerland. “With multiple systems to be delivered in Q3 this year, the Royal Canadian Navy have secured a maritime UAV platform that not only includes our heavy fuel engine manufactured by German-based Hirth Engines, but also has an ability to carry multiple payloads.” “L3 WESCAM is proud to have been chosen by QinetiQ, as it confirms our role as a trusted global supplier of advanced imaging technologies to the UAS market,” said Cameron McKenzie, Vice President, Global Sales & Business Development of L3 WESCAM. “In fact, this order marks many strategic firsts for WESCAM in the Canadian marketplace, including a first for our MX™ Series turrets to be used by the Royal Canadian Navy, a first order for our MX-8 and MX-10D in Canada and our first contract with QinetiQ in Canada.” Sean Greenwood, President, and CEO of Canadian UAVs says, “It's a privilege and an honor to be able to work with the Canadian Armed Forces and QinetiQ, especially on such a novel project. This is the foundational contract the Canadian UAV industry has been waiting for to become world-class in autonomous vehicle service delivery and technology development. QinetiQ's recognition of CUAVS' work to date with Transport Canada in developing advanced UAV operations and their commitment to supporting local SMEs has been fundamental to our growth and cannot be understated.” Wayne Smith, Head of Radar Campaigns from Leonardo says, “We are pleased to be a part of this project with QinetiQ. Our PicoSAR Active Electronically Scanned Array radar provides an unrivalled all-weather capability for Unmanned Aerial Systems. It delivers a high resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar imaging and Ground Moving Target Indication capability that will allow the SKELDAR V-200 to easily acquire a true, all-weather ground mapping and surveillance capability.” https://www.suasnews.com/2019/05/qinetiq-wins-c51m-contract-with-the-canadian-armed-forces-unmanned-aircraft-system-service-program

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  6 février 2019 | Local, Naval

  Ottawa pushes navy's planned supply ships to the front of the construction queue

  Murray Brewster · CBC News The Liberal government has decided to pull out all the stops on the construction of the navy's planned permanent supply ships — a move that's raised questions about how quickly the Canadian Coast Guard will get a critical oceanographic science vessel. Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) issued a statement Tuesday that announced the re-sequencing of the construction schedules for vessels being built at the Vancouver Shipyard, which is owned by Seaspan. The company has already started preliminary construction work on the first of the navy's long-awaited Joint Support Ships and the federal government says the work will continue until the vessel is completed. Under the National Shipbuilding Strategy, Seaspan was suppose to first construct three small fisheries research ships and a larger oceanographic vessel before working on the navy's long-awaited supply ships. Adhering to that plan in the face of repeated organizational delays meant delivery of those supply ships — which are considered critical to allowing the navy to operate beyond Canadian shores — would not happen until 2023 at the earliest. The PSPC statement said that once the first supply ship is finished, Seaspan will turn its attention to the coast guard oceanographic ship and then build the last planned naval supply ship. "Given the complexity of this build, this change in sequencing will ensure focused engineering resources on each of the projects, while allowing for time between construction of the first and second [Joint Support Ship] to incorporate lessons learned," said PSPC spokesman Pierre-Alain Bujold in a statement. "Moreover, this allows for uninterrupted work at the shipyard, mitigating the risk of potential layoffs and production gaps between builds." Bujold said additional details on the construction schedule will be released at a later date. The change to the schedule was, according to sources in the defence industry, agreed upon at the recent Trudeau government cabinet retreat in Sherbrooke, Que. Rob Huebert, a defence expert at the University of Calgary, said the decision "leaves most people scratching their heads" because of the difficulty involved in getting a shipyard to switch up construction between different types of vessels. "Why you would interrupt the building of ships by putting another style and class of vessel in the middle completely boggles my mind," said Huebert, a noted expert on the Arctic. "I don't know why you would do it." If anything, he said, the federal government should simply build both naval ships and then move on the coast guard ship. The re-sequencing means the navy could be waiting until the late 2020s for its second supply vessel, which would make the program a multi-decade odyssey. The Liberal government of former prime minister Paul Martin originally ordered the replacement of the auxiliary ships in 2004, but the program was cancelled in 2008 by the Conservatives when cost estimates exceeded the budget envelope. Huebert said Tuesday's announcement also raises questions about when Canadians will see the heavy icebreaker that Seaspan is also slated to build. The PSPC website says the program is under review and "no activities are planned until work on other projects has advanced." The federal government apparently has not yet formally notified Seaspan of the schedule change, although the shipyard has awarded a series of sub-contracts to companies such as INDAL in Mississauga, Ont., and L3 MAPPS in Montreal, for supply ship components. Seaspan is expected to announce another contract on Wednesday with Lockheed Martin Canada related to the supply ships. Ever since the Conservatives cancelled the first iteration of the supply ship project, the federal government has struggled to get it back on track, setting and missing several deadlines. The supply ships were supposed to arrive in 2017. The date was pushed back to 2019, and then to 2022. The absence of a supply ship prompted the Davie shipyard, in Levis, Que., to pitch a converted civilian cargo ship for navy use. That $668 million lease deal is at the centre of the breach-of-trust case against Vice-Admiral Mark Norman. Davie is pitching the federal government on leasing another cargo ship. A spokesman for Davie, Frederik Boisvert, called Tuesday's decision "an insult to taxpayers" and claimed that Seaspan has failed to deliver on the supply ship project and "should be blacklisted by the government and not rewarded for failure." The effect of switching up the schedule means the navy might not need a second supply ship leasing deal. Sources within the coast guard and the defence industry have said that the design and project coordination for the fisheries science vessel is not as far advanced as the navy supply ship program and that is an important factor in the federal government's timing decision. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ottawa-pushes-navy-s-planned-supply-ships-to-the-front-of-the-construction-queue-1.5006785

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  8 décembre 2017 | Local, Aérospatial, Sécurité

  RCMP issue warning after green laser pointed at plane northwest of Edmonton

  'The laser can temporarily blind the pilot ... putting all people aboard the aircraft at serious risk' CBC News Posted: Dec 07, 2017 7:15 AM MT Last Updated: Dec 07, 2017 7:15 AM MT A pilot bound for the Villeneuve Airport northwest of Edmonton was able to navigate a safe landing after a green laser was pointed at the plane Wednesday night. The aircraft was flying somewhere over Sturgeon County when the pilot realized someone was pointing a green laser at the plane, Morinville RCMP said in a statement. RCMP said it's extremely fortunate that no one was hurt. Laser strikes on an aircraft are extremely dangerous, police said. "The laser can temporarily blind the pilot, create intense glare that affects the pilot's vision and distract the pilot, putting all people aboard the aircraft at serious risk." RCMP were notified of the incident by Nav Canada, the private operator of Canada's civil air navigation service. Police did not provide any details on the plane, how many passengers were on board, or if the pilot required medical attention. 'It's a disturbing statistic' Last year, the federal government launched a social media campaign focused on the issue of people pointing lasers at planes. The number of laser incidents reported to Transport Canada has increased in the last few years: In 2014, there were 502 so-called laser strike incidents on planes, a 43-per-cent increase since 2012. According to Transport Canada, there were more than 500 reported laser strikes in 2016. "It's a disturbing statistic," RCMP said. "It means the safety of pilots, crew and passengers were put at risk 500 times that year. Pointing a laser at an aircraft is illegal and a criminal offence." The punishment for anyone caught shining a laser at an aircraft is a fine of up to $100,000, five years in prison, or both. RCMP are asking anyone with information on the incident to contact the Morinville detachment or Crime Stoppers. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/villeneuve-airport-edmonton-laser-plane-investigation-1.4437107