Government claims warship construction will accelerate because of new money for Irving, but procurement department can't back up its claims.
18 septembre 2017 | Local, Aérospatial, C4ISR
PSPC awarded a contract to Ottawa-based Kongsberg Geospatial for an emergency operations airspace UAV tracking system. http://www.prweb.com/releases/2017/09/prweb14704092.htm
1 avril 2019 | Local, Naval
MDA continues positive momentum to provide game-changing defence capabilities MONTREAL, April 1, 2019 /CNW/ - MDA, a Maxar company (NYSE: MAXR) (TSX: MAXR), today announced that it has signed a CAD $4 million contract with Lockheed Martin Canada for the initial phase of design work for the Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) ship's Electronic Warfare system. Lockheed Martin Canada was selected as the winning bidder for the CSC program by Irving Shipbuilding. Irving Shipbuilding is the CSC Prime Contractor and will build 15 ships at Halifax Shipyard. This design work is expected to become the basis for the manufacture, integration, installation and commissioning of the Electronic Warfare equipment on the Royal Canadian Navy's next-generation CSC ships. "MDA is very pleased to be able to play such a critical role in supplying systems for the Canadian Surface Combatant program," said Mike Greenley, group president of MDA. "We are proud to support Lockheed Martin Canada by leveraging MDA's deep Canadian expertise in project management, system engineering, electronics, antennas, signal processing and software. This initial contract represents the first phase of what we anticipate will become a decades-long journey as a tier-1 partner on the Lockheed Martin Canada team." The CSC is a globally deployable, multi-role warship designed to meet the distinctive mission requirements of the Royal Canadian Navy. MDA is partnered with other industry leaders including BAE Systems, CAE, Lockheed Martin Canada, L3 Technologies and Ultra Electronics as Canada'sCombat Ship Team to provide the Royal Canadian Navy the most advanced and modern warship design. Purposely designed for anti-submarine warfare and capable of performing a variety of missions in any part of the world, the CSC is acoustically quiet, versatile, highly survivable, and reconfigurable for future modernization. The most recent Canadian Defence Policy stated that 15 of these ships will be built in Canada over the next 25 years and will serve the Royal Canadian Navy for decades to come. About Maxar Technologies As a global leader of advanced space technology solutions, Maxar is at the nexus of the new space economy, developing and sustaining the infrastructure and delivering the information, services, systems that unlock the promise of space for commercial and government markets. The operations of DigitalGlobe, SSL and Radiant Solutions were unified under the Maxar brand in February; MDA continues to operate as an independent business unit within the Maxar organization. As a trusted partner with 5,900 employees in over 30 global locations, Maxar provides vertically integrated capabilities and expertise including satellites, Earth imagery, robotics, geospatial data and analytics to help customers anticipate and address their most complex mission-critical challenges with confidence. Every day, billions of people rely on Maxar to communicate, share information and data, and deliver insights that Build a Better World. Maxar trades on the New York Stock Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange as MAXR. For more information, visit www.maxar.com. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements and other information included in this release constitute "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") under applicable securities laws. Statements including words such as "may", "will", "could", "should", "would", "plan", "potential", "intend", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate" or "expect" and other words, terms and phrases of similar meaning are often intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Forward-looking statements involve estimates, expectations, projections, goals, forecasts, assumptions, risks and uncertainties, as well as other statements referring to or including forward-looking information included in this press release. Forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from the anticipated results or expectations expressed in this release. As a result, although management of the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. The risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to, the risk factors and other disclosures about the Company and its business included in the Company's continuous disclosure materials filed from time to time with Canadian and U.S. securities regulatory authorities, which are available online under the Company's EDGAR profile at www.sec.gov, under the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com or on the Company's website at www.maxar.com. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements. All such forward-looking statements are based upon data available as of the date of this release or other specified date and speak only as of such date. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements in this release as a result of new information or future events, except as may be required under applicable securities legislation. Contact Leslie Swartman | MDA Media Contact | 1-613-736-6917| leslie.swartman@mdacorporation.com Jason Gursky | Maxar Investor Relations | 1-303-684-2207 | jason.gursky@maxar.com SOURCE Maxar Technologies Ltd. https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/maxar-technologies-mda-to-provide-design-services-for-the-electronic-warfare-suite-for-the-canadian-surface-combatant-877885915.html
31 mai 2019 | Local, Aérospatial
by Ken Pole Shortly before Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan announced on May 29 that a formal request for proposals (RFP) to supply 88 new Canadian fighter jets would be delayed again — this time to mid-July — two potential contenders said that a proposal to scrap the customary industrial benefits element of the procurement is problematic. Jim Barnes, director of Business Development in Canada for Boeing Defense, Space & Security and Roger Schallom, the company's St. Louis-based vice-president of International Business Development, along with Patrick Palmer, vice-president and head of Sales at Saab Canada Inc., expressed their common concern during briefings at CANSEC, the annual Ottawa trade show organized by the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI). Boeing's contender to replace the RCAF's legacy fleet of CF-188 Hornets is the F/A-18 Super Hornet, while Saab's is the JAS 39 Gripen (the company had a full-scale replica parked front-and-centre outside CANSEC's main entrance). The other contenders are Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) and Airbus Military's Eurofighter Typhoon. Barring any further hiccups in a program fraught with political indecision and already years behind the original schedule, the RFP process overseen by Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) is expected to lead to two finalists being chosen next year with a view to making a final selection in 2022. The government had been expected to issue its RFP by May 31 after years of indecision, but that latest deadline in the troubled procurement was postponed as officials at DND, PSPC and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada review the industrial benefits element. “This is proof that your feedback is heard and acted upon,” Sajjan told the CANSEC audience. The proposed industrial benefits change was disclosed earlier this month by Richard Shimooka, a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute (MLI), an Ottawa-based think tank. He said in a report published by the MLI (May 6) that the Canadian government was yielding to pressure from the United States by changing the long-established requirement that companies bidding for contracts agree to investing an equivalent amount in Canada. The fighter procurement, including in-service support, is expected to cost at least $18 billion. Shimooka cited letters from U.S. officials that indicate “resentment and distrust towards the government of Canada had grown, particularly within the U.S. Air Force.” The letters evidently focused on the “significant strategic and economic benefits that have already been accrued from being part of the JSF program.” However, he added, the letters also contained “an implicit (but clear) threat that Canada could be kicked out of the program if Ottawa continues with its current policy of trying to obtain guaranteed industrial benefits that, by their very nature, are not allowed under the JSF Program. . . . There was a complete lack of logic of Canada's policy, which seemed to ignore basic facts about membership in the JSF program, including clear advantages in cost and capability that the F-35 provided.” In his CANSEC briefing, Barnes admitted to having been “surprised by the recommended changes” in the shift in the long-standing requirement. “That policy's been in place for decades and it's been very successful for Canadian industry,” he replied, questioning what he called the government's decision to “accommodate a competitor.” Schallom added that adhering to the historic requirement for direct industrial offsets, rather than simply offering “non-binding” bidding opportunities on future contracts, would be better for Canada's economy over the expected 30 years or more of the new fighter program. “You're probably missing out on $30 billion-plus in guaranteed work.” Saab's Palmer echoed that position 30 minutes later, saying that he is concerned that the “non-binding requirement may not necessarily give Canadians the best value over the long term,” but, “until we see the final RFP (request for proposals), I'll reserve final judgment.” However, when asked how Saab had responded formally to the proposed change on industrial benefits, he said, “We've asked them for some more information as it relates to the specifics of how items are going to be measured,” but had “definitely indicated that it doesn't necessarily encourage the best solution for Canada at the end of the day.” https://www.skiesmag.com/news/fighter-rfp-delayed-again-pending-official-review-of-industrial-benefits-policy