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  22 juillet 2019 | Local, Aérospatial

  PAL Aerospace Awarded Heavy Maintenance Contract for Royal Canadian Air Force CT-142 Fleet

  ST. JOHN'S, July 17, 2019 /CNW/ - PAL Aerospace is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a contract to provide heavy maintenance services for the Royal Canadian Air Force's CT-142 Dash-8 Fleet. The contract covers an initial four-year period and includes opportunities for PAL Aerospace to earn contract extensions that increase the life of the agreement to seven years. "PAL Aerospace appreciates this new opportunity to continue building our relationship as a trusted partner of the Royal Canadian Air Force," said PAL Aerospace Senior Vice-President of Business Development John Turner. "We understand the important role these aircraft play in training Canada'snext generation of aviation professionals, and we look forward to working closely with the RCAF in ensuring the successful delivery of this contract." Flown by the 402 Squadron, the CT-142 is used to train Air Combat Systems Operators and Airborne Electronic Sensor Operators from the Royal Canadian Air Force and other Air Forces from around the world. Designed and produced in Canada, the CT-142 is a conversion of the twin turboprop Dash-8 airliner modified to include a suite of on-board training computers and a large radar system. PAL Aerospace will perform the maintenance services associated with this contract at our facilities in St. John's, Newfoundland; and Winnipeg, Manitoba. The awarding of this contract furthers PAL Aerospace's goal of expanding and developing our ISS capabilities across Canada. About PAL Aerospace: A member of the Exchange Income Corporation family of companies, PAL Aerospace is a Canadian-owned and operated international aerospace and defence company. With a focus on intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; and in-service support solutions, PAL Aerospace is recognized by governments and militaries for on time/on budget delivery and high reliability rates. PAL's record of accomplishment now extends to operations in Canada, the Americas, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. PAL Aerospace offers a single point of accountability for its programs and takes pride in being the trusted choice for clients worldwide. For more information, please visit www.palaerospace.com SOURCE PAL Aerospace https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/pal-aerospace-awarded-heavy-maintenance-contract-for-royal-canadian-air-force-ct-142-fleet-800969168.html

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  14 avril 2023 | Local, Terrestre

  Canada expects to have 21,000 assault rifles delivered to Ukraine within months

  National Defence says Ukraine should receive by the end of the summer the 21,000 assault rifles being donated by Canada.

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  14 juillet 2020 | Local, Aérospatial

  Canada’s Secret Cold War Submarine Drone Is Still Relevant Today

  Extra-large autonomous submarines may revolutionize intelligence gathering and espionage under the sea. One of these ground breaking projects is the U.S. Navy's Boeing Orca extra-large uncrewed underwater vehicle (XLUUV). It is much larger than any other underwater drone currently in the water. But there is a historical precursor that, despite its epic Cold War story, is not widely known. And its mission, to lay covert sensor networks in the arctic, may be as relevant today as it was then. During the Cold War, NATO believed that Russian submarines were using the ice cap in the Canadian Arctic as cover to covertly move between the Atlantic and Pacific. So the U.S. and Canada placed a special sonar network there, deep under the ice. Canadian engineers had to build the world's largest autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), Theseus, to lay a cable where ships could not reach. The project started in the 1980s, at a time when Russian submarines were getting much quieter. To listen for them, a joint U.S. and Canadian sonar array was to be placed several hundred miles north of the remote Canadian base at CFS Alert. The array was codenamed Spinnaker, in honor of the bar where scientists made many of the unclassified decisions in the project. This was similar to the now-famous SOSUS (Sound Surveillance System), but used classified technology to match its operational circumstances. In fact it must have been much more advanced than the original SOSUS. Connecting the sonar array to the base would require laying a fiber-optic cable for hundreds of miles under permanent ice cap. The solution was to build the world's largest autonomous underwater vehicle. The uncrewed submarine would swim from an ice hole nearer to the base all the way to the Spinnaker array. As it went the cable would unreel out of the back. Thus ‘Theseus' got its name from the mythical hero of Ancient Greece who trailed thread behind him when he ventured into the labyrinth to fight the Minotaur. When we think of advanced Canadian military projects which were ahead of their time, the Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow springs to mind. That delta-winged Mach-2 fighter flew in the 1950s and was cutting edge technology at the time, one of the all-time great aircraft. But it was cancelled abruptly in 1959 before it could enter service. The Theseus AUV is up there with the Avro Arrow, but less well recognized. And unlike the Arrow, it was used operationally, in one of the boldest projects started during the Cold War. The project had many secret aspects. Years later much of what we know about the project comes from Bruce Butler, one of the core team involved. Bulter has written a book, Into the Labyrinth (on Amazon), and recently talked to the Underwater Technology Podcast about the project. Theseus was 35 feet long and about 4 feet across. In AUV terms this is large, even today. In modern naval terminology it would be categorized as a large-displacement uncrewed underwater vehicle (LDUUV). The Spinnaker sonar system was placed on the sea floor right on the edge of the arctic shelf. It was about 84 degrees north, up in the top right-hand corner of Canada, near to Greenland. Such an advanced project took years to realize, so it was not until spring 1996 when Theseus could go to work laying the cable. The whole operation was pushing the boundaries of uncrewed underwater vehicles at the time. Despite some close calls along the way, Theseus was able to navigate to the Spinnaker, letting out the vital thread as it went. Many details of the project and technology involved are still classified. And we may never know whether Spinnaker ever picked up any Russian submarines. By the time it had been laid the Russian Navy was in steep decline following the end of the Cold War. But with a resurgent Russian Navy today, the relevance of systems like Spinnaker may be greater than ever. And one of the roles which large submarine drones like the Orca might do is lay cables on the sea floor, unseen from above. Historical precedents like Theseaus can help us understand the way that these might be employed, and the challenges that they will face. https://www.forbes.com/sites/hisutton/2020/07/12/canada-secret-cold-war-drone-submarine-is-still-relevant-today/#121a2da51e96