6 février 2020 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
The delivery dates for new or upgraded equipment, some of which is needed urgently, have been pushed several years into the future
by Lee Berthiaume
OTTAWA — The Department of National Defence has identified delays in more than 100 planned military purchases and facility upgrades, most of which have flown under the radar as attention has focused on the government's problems buying new fighter jets and warships.
While some of the schedule setbacks revealed by the Defence Department are relatively minor, others are significant, with the delivery dates for new or upgraded equipment — some of which is needed urgently — pushed several years into the future.
Those include new engineering vehicles and machine-guns for the army, new drones for the navy to hunt mines and satellite hookups for its submarines, and upgrades to the air force's aging fighter-jet and surveillance aircraft fleets.
More than half the list of 117 delayed projects is infrastructure projects on military bases, including health facilities, maintenance and storage hangars, armouries and ammunition depots.
The list was produced by the Defence Department and recently tabled in the House of Commons in response to a request from the official Opposition Conservatives.
Federal officials have to get better at setting “predictable” schedules when it comes to purchasing new equipment, Troy Crosby, whose job as assistant deputy minister of materiel is to oversee procurement at the Defence Department, acknowledged in an interview.
Yet Crosby believes much of the frustration around military procurement is the result of unrealistic expectations born of a lack of understanding and appreciation for how the system, which is dealing with more projects than at any time in recent history, actually works.
“The complexity of what it takes to bring a new piece of equipment into service is extraordinary, and early, early, early in a process, when we don't even know what it is we're going to buy or from where, there's a lot of uncertainty around those schedules,” he told The Canadian Press.
“I think people will understand ... you can't nail a date down to a month in a year specifically. And then if you're two days late or two months late or what have you, are you really late or was there just an amount of uncertainty around those schedules to begin with?”
As an example, Crosby pointed to the delayed delivery of new search-and-rescue airplanes, where the air force has been wrangling with the manufacturer Airbus over the level of detail that must be in the aircraft's technical manuals before the military will accept the planes.
“Three years into the contract, we're behind 18 days,” he said. “That's not a failure. If the standard is perfection, will defence procurement ever be not broken? I'm not sure. I think you're holding us to a pretty amazing standard.”
At the same time, Crosby noted that the air force's Buffalo and Hercules airplanes, which have been performing search-and-rescue missions in Canada for decades, continue to operate despite being long past their replacement dates.
“Do we want to get (the Forces) even better equipment so they can be even more effective at the job using modern technology? Yes,” said Crosby.
“But the Buffalo and those (search-and-rescue) crews are delivering for Canadians now. So I wouldn't want to leave the impression there that suddenly these capabilities don't work.”
Yet there have been several examples in recent years of the military either doing without because equipment got too old to use or the government investing taxpayer dollars to keep old gear going longer than anticipated.
Those include the navy having been without destroyers for the past few years, the government spending nearly $700 million to lease a temporary supply ship and plans to spend more than $1 billion to keep CF-18 fighters from the 1980s flying to 2032.
While some of those problems were caused by political dithering or mismanagement, they nonetheless underscore the real cost of delays.
The list of delayed projects produced by the Defence Department included brief explanations for why each procurement has been delayed. Some, such as the purchase of new machine-guns, related to problems with industry and fell outside government's control.
Others were afflicted with unforeseen technical issues and many of the delays were the result of “detailed schedule analysis” by government officials, suggesting the original timeframes were unrealistic or otherwise inaccurate.
There were also several delays, such as a plan to upgrade the sensors and weapons on the air force's Griffon helicopters, attributed to a shortage of procurement staff and other internal government resources.
Despite the delays, Crosby said he felt military procurement is “in a good place,” listing the recent delivery of new armoured vehicles and trucks for the army and the pending arrival of new Arctic patrol ships for the navy and the search-and-rescue planes for the air force.
“A lot is moving out,” he said. “There's a lot of movement.”
Conservative defence critic James Bezan, however, suggested the delays were the result of Liberal government mismanagement.
“The Trudeau Liberals continue to dither and delay when it comes to procuring new equipment for the Canadian Armed Forces,” he said in an email. “It is clear that the Trudeau Liberals repeatedly fail when it comes to procuring and upgrading equipment for our military heroes.”
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan's press secretary Floriane Bonneville defended the Liberals' record on procurement.
“Overall, 90% of procurements are delivered within their planned scope and budget,” she said in a statement. “Our defence plan, Strong, Secure, Engaged, helps build strong, healthy communities and secures well-paying middle class jobs for Canadians. From boots to ships, we will continue to ensure Canada's military is well-equipped for the task at hand.”
1 juin 2023 | Local, Aérospatial, C4ISR
An umbrella group for high-tech firms and research groups also calls for a National Space Council, chaired by the prime minister.
7 janvier 2019 | Local, Naval, Sécurité
THERESA McGUIRE, © 2018 FrontLine (Vol 15, No 6) The Arctic Ocean is so beautiful in the late summer and early fall, but can be deathly cold & unpredictable. Having a well-prepared, self-sufficient team is critical when it comes to marine safety and emergency response. We had sailed from the port of St John's, Newfoundland on August 21st, and were heading toward Resolute, Nunavut, on the six-deck, Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS) Henry Larsen, high-endurance, multi-tasked icebreaker. Onboard as the Health Officer, I was looking forward to another safe Arctic mission on the 100-metre-long ship. Henry Larsen is well equipped with additional transportation equipment and emergency vessels that included a Bell 429 helicopter, two new lifeboats, two hydrographic survey boats, a Zodiac Fast Rescue Craft, a metal barge for scientific technical work, and a variety of inflatable rafts. In addition to assisting in scientific research, the Canadian Coast Guard's expanded mandate includes marine SAR (search and rescue), icebreaking, supporting and maintaining marine communications and navigation, and even responding to environmental pollution. We are always ready for the wide range of search and rescue calls, which can come from vessels in distress or downed aircraft. If you're working on a Coast Guard vessel, you'd better be comfortable working in unusual environments and working independently – and that's also true for any health professionals on board. As a former army nurse and now occupational health nurse specializing in workplace health and safety, I enjoy these missions immensely with a full scope of nursing practice and a supportive crew to assist if needed. Sick bay on the Larsen is also well equipped, with oxygen, emergency airways and medications, sutures, defibrillator and ECG, and trauma and mass casualty kits all at the ready. Full article: https://defence.frontline.online/article/2018/6/10844-Sailing-into-the-Ice
4 novembre 2019 | Local, Aérospatial
OTTAWA -- The federal government could be forced to buy new executive jets to transport the prime minister and other VIPs because of changes to air-traffic control rules in the U.S. and Europe. Two of the four Challenger jets currently used by the Canadian Forces for executive transport lack the equipment needed to comply with the new ADS-B system, which replaces radar-based air-traffic control with the transmission of GPS-based data. That will curtail the aircraft's ability to fly in the U.S. and Europe beginning next year. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has set Jan. 1, 2020, as the date aircraft will require ADS-B transmitters to operate legally in most airspace. Europe is implementing the system in June 2020. It doesn't make sense to install the equipment on two of older 1980s-era Challenger 601 jets flown by 412 Squadron, the defence department says. "Given the age of the fleet, investing in an ADS-B modification/upgrade would not be cost effective," the department said in an email. "We are therefore looking at other mitigation options. Timelines and costs will be determined once options have been selected." Buying new executive jets to replace the aging Challengers could be politically risky for the Trudeau government when it still hasn't acquired fighter jets to replace the aging fleet of CF-18s. Opposition parties of all stripes have assailed governments for what they considered profligate use of government aircraft in the past. "The executive fleet has been perennial issue where the country is penny-wise and pound-foolish," said David Perry, a defence procurement expert with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. "We don't want to spend the money to buy aircraft and we have this bizarre expectation where you're taking the people in government whose time is most valuable and making them fly economy, basically, around the world." The continued use of older aircraft makes Candians look like "cheapskates," he said, comparing political opposition to the planes with the government's refusal to renovate 24 Sussex, the prime minister's official residence. The defence department projects spending between and $20 million and $49 million to "consolidate" the Challenger fleet, a figure likely based on acquiring used aircraft. Sources familiar with the operation of 412 Squadron say it would be difficult to meet its mandate with only two aircraft available to travel outside the country. The jets are used to transport the prime minister and Governor General and cabinet ministers, as well as the chief of defence staff, and visiting members of the Royal Family. But the jets are also on-call for medical evacuations, deploying advance teams with the Disaster Assistance Relief Team (DART) and, on occasion, covertly transporting Canadian special forces personnel. With only four Challengers, the squadron is operating close to capacity and losing two aircraft could threaten its ability to perform these missions, the sources said. If the government chose to acquire brand-new aircraft, it might be tempted to consider the Bombardier Global Express, which is faster and has a longer range than the smaller Challenger, making travel to Europe and Asia easier. Most of the aircraft is assembled in Canada. The German government currently uses four of Bombardier's Global 5000 jets for executive transport. Other documents show DND is projecting spending up to $249 million to extend the lifespan of the five larger Airbus 300-series jets beyond 2026, including one that prime minister and his staff fly on occasion. Once dubbed "the flying Taj Mahal" by then-opposition leader Jean Chretien, the Airbus is antiquated compared to most modern commercial aircraft, though it does have a private room for the prime minister to sleep in. Flight crews on the Airbus run extension cords and power bars down the aisles to allow passengers to run their laptop computers. https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/air-traffic-control-changes-in-u-s-europe-may-force-ottawa-to-buy-new-executive-jets-1.4668608