RCAF still dealing with legal issues on new rescue aircraft name – military doesn’t know when it will be able to announce a name

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  25 octobre 2018 | Local, Aérospatial

  Lockheed Martin Canada lays off 20 employees in Ottawa, 11 in Dartmouth, Montreal

  DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN Lockheed Martin Canada has laid off 20 employees in Ottawa and another 11 at its facilities in Montreal and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The employees were informed of the layoffs on Oct. 3, according to a Lockheed Martin statement to Defence Watch. Irving Shipbuilding and Public Services and Procurement Canada have announced Oct. 19 that a BAE-Lockheed Martin consortium has been selected as the “preferred bidder” for the Canadian Surface Combatant program. That selection will now set off negotiations which in turn will – if all is successful – produce a contract. The entire project is worth $60 billion, with an estimated 60 per cent for the actual ship. Lockheed Martin Canada is acting as the prime for the team which offered BAE's Type 26 ship. Lockheed Martin did not provide details on what areas the employees who were laid off had worked in. “This decision was not taken lightly and was the result of the company's need to rebalance the workforce reflecting current volume and skill sets,” the Lockheed Martin statement noted. “As a project-driven company, we routinely experience peaks and valleys related to work volume and review our business operations to stay competitive and agile.” Lockheed Martin Canada “remains in a growth mode and as the CSC program progresses, our hiring campaign will ramp up to ensure we attract and retain top talent to best support our customer's needs,” the statement added. Industry sources say some of the layoffs can be attributed to the recent loss of the Halifax-class underwater warfare suite upgrade contract, which went to General Dynamics Mission Systems – Canada. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/lockheed-martin-canada-lays-off-20-employees-in-ottawa-11-in-dartmouth-montreal

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  21 juin 2019 | Local, Aérospatial

  Some changes made to Canadian fighter jet requirements as new document sent to companies

  DAVID PUGLIESE Procurement Canada has provided aerospace firms a new draft version of the requirements for Canada's next generation fighter jet fleet. Some changes have been made in the draft request for proposals document to deal with concerns raised by the companies, according to federal government sources. The requirements for the new Canadian fighter jet originally put emphasis on strategic attack and striking at ground targets during foreign missions, according to federal government procurement documents obtained by Postmedia. While the Liberal government had been highlighting the need to buy the jets to protect Canadian airspace and meet the country's commitments to the U.S.-Canadian North American Aerospace Defence Command, the procurement criteria provided additional weight to those aircraft that can excel at ground attack for overseas operations. That criteria was seen to favour Lockheed Martin's F-35 stealth jet, say those industry representatives allied with Lockheed's rivals in the upcoming $19 billion competition. The evaluation criteria also had less emphasis on sustainability, another plus for the F-35 which has been dogged with high maintenance bills, they added. The latest version of the requirements now eases back somewhat on the ground attack role and puts a little more emphasis on air-to-air scenarios, say sources. Some changes have also been made to provide for more points to companies who can provide a better deal on sustainment of the aircraft. Another change affects the length of time a firm has to meet its industrial benefits associated with its proposal. That has increased from 20 years to 25 years. Pat Finn, the Department of National Defence's procurement chief, has said he wants the final request for proposals for the fighter jets out to industry by mid-July. At this point four aircraft are to be considered. Those include two U.S.-built aircraft, the F-35, and the Super Hornet, and two European planes, the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Gripen. The winning bidder will build 88 jets for Canada. The new aircraft will replace the Royal Canadian Air Force's CF-18s. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/some-changes-made-to-canadian-fighter-jet-requirements-as-new-document-sent-to-companies

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  4 février 2019 | Local, Terrestre

  Too soon to think about INF withdrawal ripple effects on Canada: Defence Minister

  By Charlie Pinkerton The United States will no longer abide by its nuclear arms agreement with Russia and will be removing itself from the treaty in six months if Russia doesn't come back into its compliance, but Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said it's too early to think about what the ripple effects could be for Canada. In a written statement, U.S. President Donald Trump said his country will be removing itself from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. Russia and the United States agreed to the treaty in 1987. It eliminated all nuclear and conventional missiles and launchers that had ranges of 500 to 5,500 kilometres. Trump said the U.S. will no longer abide by the treaty as of Saturday and will formally withdrawal in six months. “The United States has complied with the INF Treaty for more than 30 years, but we will not be held back while Russia cheats,” says the White House statement, which repeatedly blames Russia for not conforming to the requirements of the arms treaty. “We agree with our allies' assessment that Russia has been in a breach of the INF Treaty,” Sajjan said. Sajjan said that he and new acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan didn't discuss the INF “directly” today in Washington, where Sajjan had his first meeting with Shanahan since he's been acting as the U.S. defence chief. Shanahan was previously the deputy secretary of defence but was appointed to the more senior role in an acting capacity after Jim Mattis resigned following U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of his intention to remove American troops from Syria. “For non-proliferation and (nuclear) disarmament to occur, everyone needs to make sure they're in compliance with the treaty,” Sajjan said. According to the statement from the White House, only Russia's destruction of its INF-violating missiles and launches will keep the U.S. in compliance and stop them from withdrawing completely in August. The defence minister acknowledged that a treaty-free Russia could cause uneasiness for Canadian and U.S. allies in Europe, but that it's too early to say what the impacts could be domestically. “It's important for us to send a unified message to Russia to come back to the rules based order so that we can maintain the stability that we have known for some time,” Sajjan said. “This decision solely rests on the actions of Russia. There is opportunity still for Russia to come and be verifiably compliant and ... we can always hope that they can come into compliance,” said the defence minister. https://ipolitics.ca/2019/02/01/too-soon-to-think-about-inf-withdrawal-ripple-effects-on-canada-defence-minister/