Minister Blair to visit the Northwest Territories to discuss Budget 2024 and Our North, Strong and Free: A Renewed Vision for Canada’s Defence

Sur le même sujet

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  12 octobre 2018 | Local, Aérospatial, C4ISR

  Canada gets green light to buy King Air surveillance aircraft

  by Chris Thatcher The U.S. State Department has approved the possible sale of three King Air 350ER aircraft to meet a Canadian requirement for a manned airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (MAISR) platform. Airborne ISR systems were one of five investments specifically identified in the government's 2017 defence policy for Canadian special operations forces. The foreign military sale would provide a capability that special forces' command (CANSOFCOM) has been seeking for several years, but it could come with a high price tag. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced on Oct. 4 approval for the sale of three extended range King Air 350 twin-turboprops from Wichita, Kansas-based Beechcraft, part of Textron Aviation. With Canadian modifications for some of the ISR systems, the estimated cost was pegged at $300 million, the agency said. A spokesperson for National Defence noted in an email that the cited cost “is not the final price; it is the full and all-inclusive value of every aspect of the aircraft, their supporting systems, and all potentially related costs, including contingency and risk. The final cost is anticipated to be much lower.” Ashley Lemire said the Canadian and U.S. governments would work to more clearly define the requirements in the coming months and “negotiate an acceptable price.” According to DSCA, the proposed sale would include the three aircraft fitted with WESCAM MX-15D electro-optical and infrared imaging sensors, AN/AAR-47B(V)2 missile and laser warning systems, AN/ALE-47 countermeasure dispenser systems, KIV-77 Mode 4/5 crypto applique computers for friend and foe identification, plus various advanced receivers and transponders and network encryptors. It would also include mission equipment, communication and navigation equipment, special tools and test equipment, ground support equipment, airframe and engine spare parts, as well as training. “This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by helping to improve the military capability of Canada,” DSCA said in a statement. “The proposed sale improves Canada's capability to meet current and future threats; strengthen its homeland defence and the combined defence of North America; and supports coalition partners overseas. This proposed sale will improve interoperability with U.S. forces and other regional allies.” Though CANSOFCOM had been looking at options from a number of potential suppliers, including Canadian manufacturers, a DND spokesperson told ***Skies*** in May that the U.S. government was “identified as the only source of supply capable of providing the fully-integrated solution.” “Aircraft such as these will help enhance the ability of our Special Operations Forces to improve their understanding of the operational environment,” said Jessica Lamirande. “MAISR will have the capacity to be deployed on short notice and will provide the [Canadian Armed Forces] with better situational awareness on the ground and thus positively affecting the ability of CAF leaders to make decisions leading to mission success.” Though the aircraft will be a special forces asset, the King Airs will be operated and maintained by the Royal Canadian Air Force. “The RCAF is the lead force generator for the actual capability,” BGen Michel Lalumiere, director general of Air Force Development, told ***Skies***. “This is a sophisticated system, so there's a lot of integration” for near-real data transfer and ensuring interoperability with allies. ‪ “We will be in contested areas with this aircraft and sometimes adversaries have a vote,” he said. “This aircraft needs to bring, definitely, a set of capabilities to be able to operate in those types of environments.” In addition to modifying the aircraft with ISR equipment, the Canadian government will also seek to procure in-service support (ISS) through a competitive process. On Oct. 4, Public Services and Procurement Canada issued a letter of interest inviting industry to attend a presentation from CANSOFCOM and procurement officials on the sustainment requirements, which have national security implications. A letter of interest for feedback on MAISR in-service support was issued in April and over 15 companies registered to attend an ISS industry day in June. Further industry engagement activities are expected to continue until the spring of 2019. Delivery of the first King Air is expected by 2020. https://www.skiesmag.com/news/canada-gets-green-light-to-buy-king-air-surveillance-aircraft

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  13 mars 2024 | Local, Terrestre

  Darren Fisher and Andy Fillmore to hold a media availability on defence innovation in Halifax Regional Municipality

  On Friday, March 15, 2024, Darren Fisher, Member of Parliament for Dartmouth–Cole Harbour, and Andy Fillmore, Member of Parliament for Halifax, will hold a media availability on defence innovation in the Halifax Regional Municipality. They will make an announcement on behalf of the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence.

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  20 décembre 2019 | Local, Aérospatial

  Canada needs updated anti-aircraft systems for the modern battlefield, says army commander

  Murray Brewster The audacious attack on Saudi Arabia's Abqaiq refinery and the Khurais oil field last September sent shivers down the spines of some Canadian military planners. The stunning damage caused by a swarm of drones and cruise missiles — launched either from Iraqi or Iranian territory — proved to be an almost perfect illustration of the kind of vulnerability the Canadian Army faces in the rapidly evolving modern battlefield. It's been seven years since the army retired the last of its ground-based air defence systems. By all indications, it will be another eight years before the Department of National Defence acquires a replacement system. The Liberal government's defence policy talks about buying new anti-aircraft equipment — and perhaps now anti-drone technology — but the project is still only in what defence officials call the "options analysis" phase. The commander of Canada's army said restoring that anti-aircraft defence is one of his top priorities. "Air defence is right at the top of the pile of stuff I want to get in," Lt.-Gen. Wayne Eyre told CBC News earlier this month. "It is a capability shortfall right now. And as you see the emerging threats out there, it is one that concerns me." 'An emerging threat' Eyre, who recently served as deputy commander of the United Nations Command in Korea, described the technology used to attack the Saudi facilities as "an emerging threat" that Canada's soldiers need to be prepared for, especially "the swarming tactics of unmanned aerial vehicles." For more than 15 years, Canadian military planners — hip-deep in fighting a counter-insurgency war in Afghanistan — were unconcerned about updating Cold War-era equipment meant to shoot down low-flying aircraft. The Taliban had no air force. The last of the Canadian army's air defence equipment — the Oerlikon Air Defence Anti-Tank System (ADATS) — was retired in 2012 after an aborted attempt to modernize the vehicles. At the time, the federal government under then-prime minister Stephen Harper was cutting $2.1 billion out of the defence budget. But the threat picture for Canadian soldiers changed dramatically when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. That event launched a new era of state-to-state tensions — one where Canadian troops again face attack from the air. At the moment, the Canadian Forces' solution for deployments — such as the current mission in Latvia — is to pair Canadians with allied forces that have air defence capabilities. "We do it as part of a coalition to make sure somebody has that capability, but [the threat] is constantly evolving and we need to be on top of that," said Eyre. A.I. and the next generation of drones The use of drones in the Saudi attack — and the prospect of artificial intelligence linking unmanned vehicles into a more lethal swarm in the near future — is not something Canadian military planners were looking at until fairly recently. "One of the stressors in the security environment is the acceleration of technological change. How do we stay abreast of that?" said Eyre. "How do we get equipment into the hands of our soldiers that is advanced as some of our potential adversaries might be?" https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/anti-aircraft-canadian-forces-1.5399461