3 septembre 2019 | Local, Aérospatial
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.
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.
13 décembre 2022 | Local, Autre défense
Anita Anand will appoint a committee to review the future of Canada’s military colleges following a scathing report published in May by former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour.
27 novembre 2017 | Local, Aérospatial, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
Orlando, USA – November 27, 2017 – Presagis is introducing three new products to the training and simulation market at the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) taking place November 27 to December 1 in Orlando, Florida. A leader in modeling and simulation software, Presagis is bolstering its line of sensor simulators with the introduction of ONDULUS NVG, Panorama -- an image generation platform, and VELOCITY, a next-generation solution for the production of large synthetic training environments. “By supplying simulation software to most of the top 100 defense and aerospace companies in the world, Presagis is extremely well positioned to capture the needs of our customers by innovating and developing solutions that respond directly to their needs,” explains Jean-Michel Brière, Presagis' President. “These three products – Ondulus NVG, Panorama, and VELOCITY -- not only provide our customers with more accuracy, realism, and cost-savings, but mark significant technological achievements in the evolution of our company.” Panorama is a competitively-priced image generation system that gives organizations the ability to add high-fidelity, scalable imaging to their simulation solutions. Leveraging Vega Prime, Ondulus and other Presagis software solutions, Panorama is capable of providing Out-of-the-Window (OTW), Electro-Optical (EO), night-vision goggles (NVG) and infrared (IR) views for ground, air, and marine domains. VELOCITY is a new, revolutionary way of building synthetic environments that will permit agencies and organizations to analyze and use the unmanageable amounts of data they have to automate the creation of rich, immersive 3D virtual environments. Building on the success of the Ondulus family of sensor products, Ondulus NVG gives users the ability to add realistic physics-based night-vision sensor simulation to their research, training or mission planning environments. Ondulus NVG supports both passive and active illumination. In addition to these new products, Presagis is also launching the newest version of its M&S Suite – version 17. Comprising industry-standard software such as STAGE, Creator, Terra Vista, and Vega Prime, M&S Suite 17 is set to release in early 2018 with an arsenal of new features. “The M&S Suite is a pillar in the Presagis portfolio. We continue to respond to our customers' needs by providing new features and tools for content creators, as well as wider access and more scripting functionality for developers. Every product in the suite has been improved – from Creator and Terra Vista, to the simulators and Vega Prime. The Ondulus family in particular received many improvements in the form of new detectors for Ondulus IR, and several new radar modes for Ondulus Radar,” said Stéphane Blondin, Presagis' Vice President of Product Management and Marketing. Presagis will also be showcasing its series of customizable simulators, HELI CRAFT and UAV CRAFT. In response to the increasing demand for open architecture simulators and training devices, Presagis offers virtual unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) station and a helicopter simulator. These reference platforms integrate nearly all Presagis commercial off-the-shelf simulation products and technology, and can be used as advanced start points for customers interested in building their own simulators. Presagis will be demonstrating its full range of simulation software and solutions at the upcoming Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) from November 27 to December 1 in Orlando, FL. (Presagis booth: #1762). About Presagis Presagis is a global leader providing commercial modeling, simulation and embedded software solutions to the aerospace, defense and security, and critical infrastructure markets. Presagis combines an open simulation development framework with expert professional services to help customers streamline development workflows, reduce project risks, and deliver game-quality immersive simulations. Presagis is also at the forefront of avionics software design for certifiable cockpit displays. The company serves hundreds of customers worldwide, including many of the world's most respected organizations such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Airbus, BAE Systems, and CAE. For more information, visit www.presagis.com. For further information: Stéphane Blondin, Vice President of Product Management and Marketing, Tel: +1 514 341.3874, E-Mail: Stephane.Blondin@presagis.com https://www.presagis.com/fr/press-center/detail/presagis-unveils-three-new-products-at-i-itsec/
13 février 2019 | Local, Naval, C4ISR
DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN Here are some updates on defence and aerospace industry contracts and appointments, that I outlined in the latest issue of Esprit de Corps magazine: The Canadian government has awarded a contract to Saab Microwave Canada for radar upgrades on the Halifax-class frigates. The $21.7 million contract is to procure a modern electronically-stabilized antenna set for the Sea Giraffe 180 radar, already installed on the frigates. The contract includes an option to acquire 12 more antenna sets, which could bring the total investment to $97.5 million, according to the federal government. Sea Giraffe 180 is a medium-range air and surface search radar. The upgrades to the antenna set will enhance its performance, increase its reach to up to 180 km, and provide new 3-D detection and tracking capability, according to the government. The frigate to receive the first antenna is currently expected to be HMCS St John's, in early 2021. The installation will coincide with its planned maintenance period schedules. The first M-345 HET (High Efficiency Trainer) production basic/advanced trainer aircraft built by Leonardo successfully performed its maiden flight at Venegono Superiore airport in Varese, Italy in late December. The Italian Air Force, the launch customer, has a requirement for up to 45 M-345s (designated the T-345A by ITAF) to progressively replace 137 MB-339s, which first entered service in 1982, and to become the Italian Air Force's new aerobatic team airplane. At this point, the Italian Air Force has placed an order for five aircraft and the first will be delivered in early 2020. The new M-345s will integrate the M-346s used during the advanced training phase of the Italian Air Force's pilots. The new M-345 HET (High Efficiency Trainer) reduces the time required by Air Forces to train pilots, according to Leonardo. It also gives trainees the chance to fly an aircraft that features higher performance characteristics than other basic/advanced trainer aircraft currently in service around the world. The performance of the M-345 allows it to carry out the most demanding mission types found in a training syllabus, delivering high quality training at significantly lower cost. The M-345 cockpit architecture is the same as the frontline fighters. The M-345 can also perform operational roles, thanks to an extended flight envelope, with a high-speed maneuvering capability even at high altitudes, modern avionics systems, high load capacity and performance. Rheinmetall recently transferred a new nautical training facility to the German Navy School in Mürwik on the Baltic. One of the most advanced facilities of its kind, the German Navy will use it for training its bridge personnel, the company noted. It will be used for training all German Navy cadets, all future watch officers, and for preparing bridge personnel for nautical operations. The capability spectrum of the facility ranges from basic navigation and nautical training through to crew resource management, according to Rheinmetall. The facility includes two large and four small bridge simulators, six trainer stations, an auditorium for post-operation briefings as well as additional infrastructure for planning exercises and administrating and updating the database. Every surface combatant now in the German inventory – from minesweepers to supply ships – is modelled in the facility. This applies not only to the physical depiction of various ships and boats, but to their exact performance characteristics, Rheinmetall noted. In mid-December the Canadian Coast Guard received from Davie Shipbuilding the Captain Molly Kool, its first new icebreaker in the last 25 years. It is the first of three icebreakers that Davie will refit for the Coast Guard to fill a capability gap. The ship is named after Myrtle “Molly” Kool of New Brunswick who went on to become the first woman in North America to become a licensed ship captain. The federal government has approved a five-year contract extension with Quebec-based firm L3 MAS for the continued maintenance of the Royal Canadian Air Force's fleet of five CC-150 Polaris aircraft. The contract, valued at up to $230 million, is a renewal of the original in-service support contract awarded in 2013 to L3 MAS in Mirabel. The original contract included extension options for two five-year periods. The work will be done at Mirabel and at 8 Wing Trenton, ON where the fleet is based and operated by 437 Transport Squadron. The CC-150 Polaris is a multi-purpose, twin-engine, long-range jet aircraft that is used for strategic air-to-air refueling and transport. Two CC-150 Polaris aircraft are configured for strategic air-to-air refueling and the rest are used for transport and other roles. First-level maintenance will continue to take place at 8 Wing Trenton. The contract secures L3 MAS as the government's CC-150 support contractor up to March 2023, with eligibility for additional years (up to March 2028), subject to satisfactory performance. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/radar-upgrades-for-halifax-class-frigates-and-other-news-on-defence-contracts