23 novembre 2018 | Local, Aérospatial
By Levon Sevunts, Radio Canada International
As the federal government embarks on a much delayed and criticized quest to find a replacement for its ageing fleet of CF-18 Hornet fighter jets, Norway's saga with the acquisition of F-35 stealth fighters offers Canada a valuable lesson.
The search for a replacement for CF-18 got a new urgency Tuesday after a blistering report by Canada's auditor general, who lambasted the Liberal government's handling of the file that could have serious implications for Ottawa's ability to fulfill its NATO and NORAD obligations.
Just like Ottawa, Oslo was one of the first NATO countries to show interest in the new stealth multirole fighters developed by U.S. defence giant Lockheed Martin.
In June 2009, the Norwegian Parliament decided that the F-35A Lightning II would replace its current fleet of F-16 fighter jets. Unlike Ottawa, despite strong internal opposition, Oslo saw things through.
By 2025, Norway hopes to have a fleet of 52 F-35s.
No-show at Trident Juncture demonstration
Norwegian authorities were hoping to showcase their newest and most expensive defence acquisition in the country's history at a massive display of NATO's military might during the official launch of Trident Juncture 2018 exercise on Oct. 30.
But much to the chagrin of dozens of journalists, NATO officials and dignitaries that had assembled on the shores of the Trondheim Fjord in central Norway to watch the display of land, sea and air power, the Norwegian F-35s never showed up.
Lt.-Col. Stale Nymoen, commander of the 332 Squadron of the Royal Norwegian Air Force and one of the first Norwegian pilots to learn to fly the F-35s, said strong crosswinds at the Ørland Air Base forced officials to cancel the planned overflight.
The cancellation of the overflight on an otherwise perfect autumn day had nothing to do with the jet's capabilities, Nymoen said.
“Seen from my perspective, it's one of the best fighter aircraft out there,” Nymoen told a roomful of journalists during a briefing at the Ørland Air Base in central Norway earlier this month.
But it has taken even experienced pilots like him years to learn to fly the new fighter jets and, just as importantly, unlearn old habits, Nymoen said.
Learning to crawl before walking
Norway received its first four F-35s in January of 2017. But all of them were stationed at the Luke Air Force Base in Phoenix, Arizona, where Norwegian, U.S. and Italian pilots trained on the new aircraft.
It wasn't until November of 2017 that the stealth fighter jets actually arrived for service in Norway, at the Ørland Air Base, which is going through a massive infrastructure upgrade to house the new planes.
Operating and flying them in Norway with its harsh North Atlantic and Arctic climate is a whole new experience, Nymoen said.
“What is different from Luke when we train to operate the aircraft here is temperatures, winter, icy and slippery runways, winds,” Nymoen said. “Those are conditions that we don't necessarily get to train for when we're training in the United States.”
And the Norwegian air force is taking a very cautious approach to avoid any accidents, he said.
“We have to learn to crawl before we can walk, and we have to learn to walk before we can run,” Nymoen said.
The first squadron of F-35s is expected to reach initial operational capability in 2019 and full operational capability only in 2025, eight years after the aircraft were delivered to Norway.
This timeline would also apply to Canada, if Lockheed Martin were to emerge as the winner of the competition to buy 98 advanced aircraft for the Royal Canadian Air Force announced by the Liberal government last December.
The list of eligible suppliers identified by the federal government also includes France's Dassault Aviation, Sweden's SAAB, the U.K.'s Airbus Defense and Space, and the U.S. defence and aerospace giant Boeing.
If the federal government manages to stick to its timetable, a contract award is anticipated in 2022 and the first replacement aircraft delivered in 2025.
This means that the current fleet of Canadian CF-18s and the 18 additional second-hand Australian F-18s the federal government is buying as a stopgap measure will have to operate until at least 2030, experts say.
http://www.rcinet.ca/en/2018/11/21/norway-f-35-fighter-jets-offers-lesson-for-canada
20 novembre 2023 | Local, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
The Minister of National Defence, the Honourable Bill Blair, issued the following statement today regarding the External Monitor’s second status report on the implementation of the recommendations of the Independent External Comprehensive Review (IECR).
24 mars 2020 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
“This is information we don't want opposing forces to have as we're relatively a small force,” a spokesman said Friday. DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN The Canadian Forces won't be releasing information on the numbers of military personnel who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus because of security reasons. The military had previously confirmed three cases, including one involving a reservist who had been on a personal trip to Spain. The Canadian Forces had also stated that no personnel on overseas operations had tested positive for COVID-19. But going forward, the Canadian military will no longer be confirming any other cases publicly because of operational security, Department of National Defence spokesman Dan Le Bouthillier said Friday. “This is information we don't want opposing forces to have as we're relatively a small force,” he added. Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jon Vance has warned that the “integrity” of some military units could be threatened by personnel contracting coronavirus. The Canadian Forces could be eventually called upon by the federal government to provide support if the pandemic worsens. The U.S. military has confirmed that more than 50 of its personnel have tested positive for COVID-19. The Canadian Forces has also ordered approximately 2000 COVID-19 test kits for military clinics across the country, Le Bouthillier said. The kits are expected in the next week. “The needs of deployed units for COVID-19 testing will be considered in the distribution plan,” he added. “In the interim, we are working in collaboration with our partners, through a combination of integral, allied and host nation supports, to ensure deployed CAF members are provided with the best available health care.” COVID-19 has also caused the cancellation of Exercise Maple Resolve, the army's main training event for the year, as well as a naval exercise off the coast of Africa. HMCS Glace Bay and HMCS Shawinigan, which were to take part in that naval training, are now returning to Halifax. The ships are expected to arrive in mid-April. Troops from Canadian Forces Base Petawawa who were supposed to take part in Exercise Maple Resolve will now be training in smaller groups, Le Bouthillier said. “We will mitigate this lost training opportunity through the aggressive pursuit of smaller training events and professional development,” he noted. “We will return to our normal managed readiness cycle when conditions permit.” “The current situation with COVID-19 is unprecedented and prudence demands we adopt a posture that allows us to best support civilian authorities should the need arise while safe-guarding the well-being of our personnel and the broader Canadian public,” Le Bouthillier stated. Maple Resolve was scheduled to take place from May 11 to 24 at Wainwright Alta. It normally involves approximately 5000 personnel and 1450 pieces of major equipment. The exercise gives participating personnel the opportunity to train with a wide variety of weapons, simulation technology, armoured fighting vehicles, and aircraft in order to hone their skills in a realistic setting, short of an actual operation. Another exercise that was to have taken place before Maple Resolve has also been cancelled. That training event, scheduled to run from April 5 to May 5, would have involved around 2,000 troops. Military personnel from the U.S., United Kingdom, France and Brazil had been scheduled to take part in Maple Resolve. Many other nations are also cancelling military exercises because of COVID-19. In addition, the Canadian Forces is also limiting public access to its recruiting centres across the country. The military is continuing to recruit but has asked new applicants to begin their recruiting process using its website. “For those applicants currently going through the recruitment process, please note that all face-to-face interactions will be restricted and by appointment only,” the Canadian Forces added in a social media post. “If contacted for an appointment, please note that we are implementing additional protective protocols including increased questions specific to individual circumstances in order to ensure the continued health of our recruiting teams.” https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/canadian-military-will-no-longer-release-info-about-numbers-of-personnel-affected-by-covid-19
13 avril 2021 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu urged NATO ally Canada on Monday to review defence industry restrictions which it imposed on Ankara last year.