3 septembre 2019 | Local, Aérospatial

Airbus se retire de la course pour remplacer les CF-18 canadiens

Par LEE BERTHIAUME

La division Airbus Defence and Space, en partenariat avec le gouvernement britannique, était l'une des quatre entreprises qui devaient selon toute vraisemblance soumissionner pour ce contrat de 19 milliards portant sur la construction des 88 nouveaux avions de chasse qui doivent remplacer les CF-18 vieillissants de l'Aviation royale canadienne.

Mais dans un communiqué publié vendredi, Airbus annonce qu'elle a informé le gouvernement canadien de sa décision de retirer de la course son « Eurofighter Typhoon » pour deux motifs — déjà évoqués par ailleurs avant même le lancement officiel de l'appel d'offres en juillet.

Le premier motif concerne l'obligation pour les soumissionnaires de préciser comment ils comptent s'assurer que leurs avions pourront s'intégrer au réseau canado-américain ultra-secret de renseignement, connu sous le nom de « Two Eyes », qui est utilisé pour coordonner la défense commune de l'Amérique du Nord.

Airbus conclut que cette exigence fait peser « un coût trop lourd » sur les avions qui ne sont pas américains. Le géant européen explique qu'il aurait été tenu de démontrer comment il envisageait d'intégrer son Typhoon au système « Two-Eyes » sans même connaître les détails techniques de ce système ultra-secret de renseignement.

Le deuxième facteur a été la décision du gouvernement libéral de modifier la politique qui obligeait traditionnellement les soumissionnaires à s'engager légalement à investir autant d'argent dans des produits et activités au Canada que ce qu'ils tirent des contrats militaires décrochés.

En vertu du nouveau mécanisme, les soumissionnaires peuvent plutôt établir des « objectifs industriels » et signer des accords non contraignants promettant de tout mettre en œuvre pour les atteindre. Ces soumissionnaires perdent des points dans l'appel d'offres, mais ils ne sont plus écartés d'emblée de la course.

Les États-Unis soutenaient que la politique précédente violait un accord signé par le Canada en 2006 pour devenir l'un des neuf pays partenaires dans le développement du F-35 de Lockheed Martin. Or, cet accord prévoit que les entreprises des pays partenaires se feront toutes concurrence pour obtenir des contrats en sous-traitance.

Deuxième retrait

Dans son annonce, vendredi, Airbus soutient que la nouvelle approche ne valorise pas suffisamment les engagements contraignants qu'elle était prête à offrir et qui constituaient l'un de ses principaux arguments.

La ministre des Services publics et de l'Approvisionnement, Carla Qualtrough, a défendu à nouveau l'approche de son gouvernement dans ce dossier. Dans une déclaration écrite publiée après l'annonce du retrait d'Airbus, elle a estimé que cette nouvelle approche « assurera une participation maximale des fournisseurs ».

« Notre gouvernement priorise les retombées économiques solides dans ce projet, a soutenu Mme Qualtrough. Nous sommes convaincus que cet investissement soutiendra la croissance de la main-d'œuvre canadienne hautement qualifiée dans les industries de l'aérospatiale et de la défense pour les décennies à venir et créera d'importantes retombées économiques et industrielles dans l'ensemble du pays. »

Airbus devient la deuxième entreprise à retirer son chasseur de l'appel d'offres canadien, après le retrait du « Rafale » de la société française Dassault en novembre dernier. Il ne reste plus maintenant comme prétendants que le « F-35 » de Lockheed Martin, le « Super Hornet » de son concurrent américain Boeing et le « Gripen » du suédois Saab.

Boeing et Saab ont déjà exprimé leurs préoccupations au sujet de la nouvelle politique en matière d'exigences industrielles, affirmant que ces changements ne profiteront pas aux contribuables et à l'industrie canadienne de l'aérospatiale et de la défense.

Les entreprises devraient soumettre leurs offres l'hiver prochain et le contrat final doit être signé en 2022 ; le premier avion ne sera pas livré avant au moins 2025. Les gouvernements fédéraux successifs s'emploient à remplacer les CF-18 depuis plus de dix ans.

Selon le porte-parole conservateur en matière de défense, James Bezan, le retrait d'Airbus prouve que le gouvernement libéral a mal géré tout ce dossier pendant son mandat — notamment en attendant quatre ans avant de lancer l'appel d'offres promis en campagne électorale en 2015. « Alors que d'autres pays ont choisi des avions de combat en moins de deux ans, le bilan du premier ministre Justin Trudeau en matière d'achats militaires en est un de retards et d'échecs », a estimé M. Bezan.

Le gouvernement conservateur précédent avait annoncé en 2010 un plan pour acheter des F-35 de Lockheed Martin sans appel d'offres, mais il y a renoncé deux ans plus tard à la suite de préoccupations concernant les coûts et les capacités de ce chasseur furtif.

https://www.lapresse.ca/affaires/entreprises/201908/30/01-5239279-airbus-se-retire-de-la-course-pour-remplacer-les-cf-18-canadiens.php

Sur le même sujet

  • The Liberals want to 'refresh' the shipbuilding strategy. What does that mean?

    15 août 2018 | Local, Naval

    The Liberals want to 'refresh' the shipbuilding strategy. What does that mean?

    Murray Brewster Recent comments by a parliamentary secretary had Irving asking for a public commitment to the strategy The federal government has been quietly debating a "refresh" of its marquee — but troubled — national shipbuilding strategy, federal documents reveal. A memorandum to the deputy minister of Finance, obtained by CBC News under access to information legislation, notes there was "tangible progress" in ship construction last year, but also references impending production gaps at the two designated shipyards: Irving-owned Halifax Shipyard and Seaspan in Vancouver. The size and scope of the "policy refresh" was not made clear in the heavily redacted memo, dated Jan. 23, 2018. Officials at Public Services and Procurement Canada were asked to explain, but did not produce a response by Tuesday evening. As recently as last week, government officials were insisting they were still committed to the strategy. Still 'broken'? During the last election campaign, the Liberals pledged to fix the "broken" procurement system and invest heavily in the navy. Conceived under the Conservatives but embraced by the Liberals, the national shipbuilding strategy has been plagued by delays and ballooning cost estimates in the building of both warships and civilian vessels. Critics have long complained it would be cheaper and faster for Canada to buy offshore from foreign competitors. It also remains unclear whether the build-in-Canada provision that is at the heart of the strategy is up for consideration in the reset. Much of the icebreaking fleet belonging to the coast guard is in need of replacement — a critical gap that led the government recently to set aside $610 million for the refurbishment of three commercial ships. Similarly, the navy has been forced to lease a replenishment ship because of delays associated with the Joint Support Ship program. Confidential sources in the defence community said the review is being driven partly by a yet-to-be completed assessment of the coast guard, which has — according to a 2015 statutory assessment — among the oldest coast guard fleets in the world. The retooled policy is expected to be ready this fall, the sources said, and will also encompass updated budget estimates and timelines for delivery. Last spring, CBC News reported the federal government had received a revised delivery schedule for vessels being constructed at Seaspan. But it refused to release it. The new timetable, which apparently forecasts delays outside of the company's control, is politically sensitive. It speaks to issues at the heart of the breach-of-trust case against Vice Admiral Mark Norman, the military's second-highest commander — in particular, the program's inability to deliver ships in a timely manner. Full Article: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/liberals-shipbuilding-navy-refresh-1.4785465

  • Experts say COVID-19 hasn’t hurt Canada’s campaign for UN security council seat

    12 juin 2020 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

    Experts say COVID-19 hasn’t hurt Canada’s campaign for UN security council seat

    By Rachel Emmanuel. Published on Jun 12, 2020 12:00am Experts say COVID-19 hasn't negatively impacted Canada's bid for a seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), though the final result is still anyone's guess. The UN General Assembly will vote on June 17 on what countries will join the powerful body as non-permanent members for two-year terms. Canada is facing stiff competition from Norway and Ireland, who both entered the race earlier, to fill the two Western European and other states seats. Adam Chapnick, deputy director of education at the Canadian Forces College and a professor of defence studies at the Royal Military College of Canada, said the coronavirus pandemic has changed Canada's narrative in the race — it can now portray itself as a large, wealthy country capable of helping smaller, less affluent nations emerge from the COVID-19-induced economic downturn. “We have more money to give and as a result we can demonstrate, in a time like this, the value of having us at the centre of global power,” he told iPolitics on Thursday. “[The COVID-19 pandemic] has allowed Canada to highlight some of the factors that differentiate it from its competitors, in a way that it would otherwise not have been able to do.” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau first announced Canada would pursue a seat on the UNSC back in 2016, just months after the Liberals bounced the Harper government from power. An outline of Canada's campaign is displayed on the Global Affairs website and points to commitments like addressing climate change, promoting economic security and advancing gender equality. While Canada announced its campaign long before the global COVID-19 pandemic, Andrea Charron, an associate professor and director of the Centre for Defence and Security Studies at the University of Manitoba, said the crisis could end up benefitting Canada's bid. Coming out of the coronavirus pandemic, she said Canada can signal that they'll be there to help struggling countries as they recover from their own economic crises. “It does no good if some states recover beautifully and others fall hopelessly behind,” Charron said. Like most other public gatherings, the vote will also be impacted by COVID-19 restrictions. In other years, all delegates would show up to UN headquarters in New York City and vote in person, with each round of voting taking a couple minutes. But this year, because of the pandemic, Chapnick said delegates now have a designated time to arrive and voting in the first round will take around 10 hours. Because a country requires two thirds of the vote to be elected, Chapnick said delegates will likely be asked to return to the building to vote again the following day or days, in the case that two countries aren't elected in the first round, which he said is probable. At a certain point, Chapnick said delegates might stop showing up to cast their ballots, with the bid becoming a “get out and vote campaign” that would never happen in a normal election year. “We've never had anything like this before,” he explained. Charron, who's also a Canadian Global Affairs Institute fellow, said it will be interesting to see how countries revamp their second ballot strategy, which refers to a country's plan to win the second seat if they didn't win in the first voting round. She said in a typical election, all the delegates are milling around and candidates can easily speak with particular countries in a last minute push to win their vote. However, because of COVID-19 restrictions, countries won't have quick access to make their case to the 192 UN delegates in one room. Chapnick said this new process has major implications for the second ballot strategy. Traditionally, he said Canada has had trouble creating a second ballot strategy because, as a G7 country, it assumes it will win in the first round. He said Canada is committed to the UN and views itself as a country that belongs on the security council, whereas smaller countries may ask to be considered in the second round if they lost to a more powerful country in the first run. “For a G7 country normally to have a second ballot strategy would suggest weakness,” he explained. But, by entering the race late, he said Canada now has wiggle room to develop a second ballot strategy — it can ask countries who pledged support to Norway or Ireland before Canada entered, to vote for the country in the second round, if there is one. Chapnick also said the Canadian team can spend the longer gap in between rounds calling delegates and asking for their support. Still, he warned that there's a “discount rate” of 15 to 35 per cent of countries who promised the Canadian government they'd vote for them, but won't. He said even the Canadian government cannot be sure who's voting for them. “Countries lie all the time,” he said. In fact, Chapnick said part of the reason the countries are voting in-person is because a number of countries refused to participate in electronic voting at the risk that someone could hack the system and realize a country broke their voting promises. He said countries break promises in one of two ways; countries make individuals deals to support all three countries but can only vote for two, or the head of government makes a promise and the ambassador then goes “freelance” when it comes time to vote. “You can never actually tell how a campaign is doing,” he warned. “Really strange things happen in these elections.” Charron said the good news is that all the UNSC candidates are excellent. She said there's concern that Canada will let this election define itself, with lots of national “gnashing of teeth” and deciding on the fate of the government in general, which she said is overblown. “It's just one of the organizations to which we belong,” she said. “We've won six times, we've lost times, we've survived, carried on in all cases.” https://ipolitics.ca/2020/06/12/experts-say-covid-19-hasnt-derailed-canadas-campaign-for-un-security-council-seat/

  • Registration is Now Open | 8th Annual Defense R&D Summit

    29 octobre 2021 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

    Registration is Now Open | 8th Annual Defense R&D Summit

    Wednesday, January 19, 2022 - 8:00 AM ET - Virtual Registration is Now Open for the 8th Annual Defense Research and Development Summit! Join the Potomac Officers Club for the 8th Annual Defense Research and Development Summit on Wednesday, January 19th, where elite government and industry leaders will come together to discuss the Department of Defense's current innovation priorities, technology advancements and general strategy to stay ahead of the curve in the evolving defense sector. Register Now! Take 10% Off Your Registration With Promo Code: EARLYBIRD11922 Stay tuned for more event details and speaker announcements by clicking here! The Speaker Lineup DR. STEFANIE TOMPKINS Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) HEIDI SHYU Under Secretary, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD R&E), Acquisition and Sustainment of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Thank you to our event sponsors: POC Membership and Event Attendance Requirements: Individual requesting POC membership or event registration must hold or have recently held a director level or above position with a company*, federal government agency or non-profit organization. (*Company must sell directly to the Federal Government, have a minimum annual revenue of $5 million and may not be a service provider) info@potomacofficersclub.com www.potomacofficersclub.com (703) 226-7007

Toutes les nouvelles