25 juillet 2019 | Aérospatial

Remplacement des CF-18 canadiens : le Canada pris entre les États-Unis et la Turquie

Cette semaine, le Canada a annoncé l'ouverture du dépôt des propositions officielles pour remplacer sa flotte de CF-18. La semaine dernière, les États-Unis ont expulsé la Turquie du programme du F-35. Deux nouvelles en apparence distinctes, mais qui sont liées et qui vont très probablement voir le F-35 comme successeur au vénérable CF-18.

Le F-35 dans la saga du remplacement des CF-18 canadiens

Lors de l'élection fédérale de 2015, Justin Trudeau avait promis d'annuler le contrat d'achat des F-35 signé par le gouvernement Harper l'année précédente. Cette promesse peut maintenant être considérée comme partiellement tenue avec l'ouverture officielle cette semaine des appels d'offres pour le remplacement du CF-18. Si quatre fabricants sont toujours la course (Lockheed Martin, Airbus, Boeing et Saab), le F-35 de Lockheed Martin part avec une longueur d'avance qui va vraisemblablement lui assurer la victoire.

D'un côté, Saab et Airbus partent avec plusieurs défauts, notamment le fait qu'ils ne sont pas intégrés à la filière industrielle militaire nord-américaine, en plus de présenter une interopérabilité moindre avec les Américains. C'est sans compter que lorsque Dassault a déclaré ne pas participer à l'appel d'offres, des spéculations autour de la participation d'Airbus se sont aussi faites entendre. Il ne resterait alors que Lockheed Martin et Boeing comme choix crédibles. Dans les faits, Boeing part avec deux prises contre lui, en raison de la saga du C Series de Bombardier.

De plus, même si le Super Hornet de Boeing est un successeur naturel du CF-18, donc un appareil beaucoup plus facile à intégrer pour l'Aviation royale canadienne, l'establishment militaire canadien est déjà vendu au F-35 depuis longtemps, l'ayant recommandé chaudement au gouvernement Harper. D'ailleurs, lors du dernier spectacle aérien de Bagotville, le F-35 a été mis bien en évidence et sa présentation a été très clairement écrite par Lockheed Martin.

L'impact de la Turquie

Pour autant, Boeing avait encore une chance de se qualifier, le Super Hornet étant un appareil présentant plusieurs avantages pour le Canada. Mais c'était avant que la Turquie, malgré les pressions américaines, n'aille de l'avant avec l'achat de système antimissile russe. En réaction, les États-Unis ont expulsé la Turquie du programme du F-35, affirmant qu'un allié de l'OTAN ne pouvait pas se procurer de l'armement stratégique russe dans l'état actuel des relations actuelles entre l'Alliance atlantique et la Russie.

Le problème avec cette riposte américaine est qu'elle va coûter au-delà de 500 millions $US à la défense américaine pour trouver et signer de nouveaux fournisseurs de pièces et composantes, puisque les fournisseurs turcs sont aussi expulsés du programme du F-35. Face à des coûts militaires imprévus importants à l'étranger, Washington a l'habitude de se tourner vers ses alliés pour l'aider à compenser. Sans que les alliés ne répondent toujours favorablement, ils finissent généralement par aider d'une façon où d'une autre les États-Unis.

Le Canada comme sortie de secours pour les Américains et le F-35

On comprend alors mieux pourquoi le F-35 risque de s'imposer comme remplacement au CF-18. D'une part, le Canada est toujours membre du programme de développement du F-35, malgré l'annulation du contrat d'achat initial.

Cela permettrait de rapidement trouver des fournisseurs de remplacement aux fournisseurs turcs, probablement à un meilleur coût. D'autre part, le lobbying de Lockheed Martin au Canada a toujours été très important et va certainement s'accentuer dans les mois à venir. C'est sans compter les pressions politiques en faveur du F-35 venant de la Maison blanche, peu importe la présidence, envers le Canada. Avec l'expulsion de la Turquie, il est évident que les États-Unis cherchent une porte de sortie pour continuer le programme du F-35 au meilleur coût possible. Leur regard est clairement tourné vers le Canada.

Finalement, l'interopérabilité sera un argument de poids que tant les Américains que Lockheed Martin feront valoir en coulisses. En plus de celle avec les États-Unis, le Canada cherche aussi à maintenir une bonne interopérabilité avec quelques alliés-clé, autant au sein de l'OTAN qu'avec des membres du Commonwealth. À cet égard, les Pays-Bas, le Royaume-Uni et l'Australie possèdent tous des F-35. De plus, l'Australie pourrait être un excellent exemple pour le Canada, l'aviation australienne passant justement du F-18 au F-35.

La sagesse populaire veut qu'on ne doit pas vendre la peau de l'ours avant de l'avoir tué. Dans le cas présent, même si l'ours est toujours en vie, il est clairement dans la mire du chasseur...

http://www.45enord.ca/2019/07/remplacement-des-cf-18-canadiens-le-canada-pris-entre-les-etats-unis-et-la-turquie/

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  • Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - August 14, 2019

    15 août 2019 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

    Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - August 14, 2019

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The site work associated with this project includes an extension of an asphalt roadway to magazines and related site utility improvements to serve the new magazines. Additional site improvements include the demolition of three existing high explosive concrete magazines and incidental related work. Work will be performed in Quantico, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by March 2021. Fiscal 2019 military construction (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $12,742,282 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Six proposals were received for this task order. Naval Facilities Engineering Command Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. ARMY KBRwyle Technical Solutions LLC, Columbia, Maryland, was awarded a $45,452,730 modification (0002 55) to contract W52P1J-12-G-0061 for maintenance, supply, transportation and other logistics functions for the Army Prepositioned Stock-3. 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(Awarded Aug. 13, 2019) Phase Sensitive Innovations, Newark, Delaware, has been awarded a $10,553,397 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for research and development. This contract will design, develop and demonstrate RF-photonic systems, sub-systems, components and devices for the Coherent Homodyne Integrated RF-Photonic System. Work will be performed at Newark, Delaware, and is to be completed by Nov. 15, 2023. This award is the result of a Small Business Innovation Research III request for proposal acquisition with one offer received. Fiscal 2018 research and development funds in the amount of $10,553,397 are being obligated at time of award for the effort. The Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8650-19-C-1027). DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY Raytheon BBN Technologies Corp., Cambridge, Massachusetts, was awarded a $13,130,426 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency research project. Work will be performed in Cambridge, Massachusetts; and Columbia, Maryland, with an expected completion date of August 2023. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $1,653,000 are being obligated at time of award. This contract was a competitive acquisition under an open broad agency announcement and nine offers were received. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (HR001119C0102). *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/1934626/source/GovDelivery/

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