Statement from the Commander 1 Canadian Air Division

Sur le même sujet

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  28 novembre 2018 | Local, Naval

  Frigate design decision faces another delay after latest challenge

  Murray Brewster · CBC News The federal government's plan to award a group of companies led by Lockheed Martin Canada the contract to design and support the construction of the navy's new frigates was dealt another setback late Tuesday by the Canadian International Trade Tribunal, CBC News has learned. The agency said it intends to investigate a complaint by one of the other bidders, Alion Science and Technology Corp., and its subsidiary Alion Canada.The tribunal ordered the Liberal government to suspend negotiations with Lockheed Martin, which was selected last month by Public Services and Procurement Canada as the preferred bidder on the $60 billion program. "You are hereby ordered to postpone the award of any contract in connection with the above-mentioned procurement until the Canadian International Trade Tribunal determines the validity of the complaint," said a copy of the letter that was obtained late Tuesday by CBC News. Alion asked the CITT last week to investigate the procurement deal, saying the preferred warship design will need substantial changes and that it doesn't meet the navy's requirements as spelled out in the government tender. Last week, the company asked the Federal Court in a separate filing for a judicial review of the long-awaited decision.Three companies were in the running to design the next generation of warships to replace the navy's aging Halifax-class frigates. Navantia, a Spanish-based company, was the other bidder in the competition. Alion proposed its De Zeven Provinciën Air Defence and Command (LCF) frigate, a Dutch-designed warship, for the Canadian competition. The ship is already in service in other countries. No one from the trade tribunal, nor the federal government was immediately available for comment late Tuesday. Program already behind schedule Experts had warned the trade challenge and the court case might delay the program, which is already behind schedule. The design competition stretched for almost two years as public services officials and executives at the federal government's go-to shipyard for combat vessel construction, Irving Shipbuilding of Halifax, worked with bidders to ensure a fair competition and to avoid post-decision court fights. Public Services and Procurement Canada declined comment when the court challenge was launched last week. But a senior federal official, speaking on background at the time, said the federal government has up to 20 days to respond in Federal Court. The official — who was not authorized to speak on the record because of the sensitivity of the file — said there is flexibility built into the timeline and the government is optimistic it can meet its goal of an early 2019 contract signing. The substance of the Alion complaint is that the Lockheed Martin Canada-led bid should have been disqualified from the outset because it allegedly doesn't meet the navy's criteria in terms of speed and crew space. The Liberal government said it wanted to go with a proven warship design, rather than starting from scratch, because it would be faster and cheaper. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/frigate-design-decision-faces-another-delay-after-latest-challenge-1.4923364

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  17 décembre 2023 | Local, Naval

  Royal Canadian Navy ships to return from Indo-Pacific deployment

  Media are invited to attend the homecoming ceremony of His Majesty’s Canadian Ships (HMC Ships) Vancouver and Ottawa, and Motor Vessel (MV) Asterix, as the ships return to Esquimalt, B.C. on December 18, 2023, after 126 days away from home while deployed to the Indo-Pacific region.

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  26 décembre 2019 | Local, Naval

  Canada's new Arctic patrol ships could be tasked with hurricane relief

  Murray Brewster · The Canadian navy will take possession of two Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships in the new year — and it looks like they'll be spending as much time in the sunny south as they do in the Far North. Vice-Admiral Art McDonald, the commander of the navy, told CBC News recently that military planners see the ships playing a role in delivering disaster relief in the Caribbean, where hurricanes have been increasing in size and destructive power. "We can see a great opportunity to use this hurricane response as we go forward," McDonald said in a year-end interview. "Ironically, the Arctic offshore patrol vessel will find itself equally spending its time between our Far North and down south in support of our securing the continent." The first of the long-awaited patrol ships, HMCS Harry DeWolf, conducted sea trials a few weeks ago under the supervision of its builder, Irving Shipbuilding of Halifax. It's due to be handed over to the navy in the spring, McDonald said. Some members of the ship's inaugural crew took part in the shakedown to familiarize themselves with the new vessels. "We've completed our training and we're ready to take it," McDonald said. A second ship, HMCS Margaret Brooke, will be delivered to the navy in the fall. Irving's Halifax Shipyard originally was slated to deliver the Harry DeWolf in 2018, but the deadline was pushed ahead to the end of 2019 and then pushed again into 2020. That new timeline puts the date of delivery nearly five years after construction started. McDonald said there are always delays when the first ships in a new class of vessels are introduced and the navy is satisfied it will receive fully functional, capable ships. "We know that the lessons learned from tackling those production challenges, they're being folded into the second ship and into the third ship," he said. Major component blocks of the third ship are being assembled at the Halifax yard now, and company officials, speaking recently on background, said production has become exponentially more efficient since the completion of the second vessel. Steel for the fourth ship is being cut and shaped. The brainchild of the former Conservative government, the Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships originally were pitched 15 years ago as three armed heavy icebreakers for the Far North. That morphed into a plan — originally pegged at $3.1 billion — to build eight light icebreakers. The number was cut to five (with the possible addition of a sixth) by the time the program got underway. A little more than a year ago, the Liberal government confirmed it would build a sixth ship for the navy and construct two others for the Canadian Coast Guard. Irving is the prime contractor for the navy's new frigate program; some expressed concerns that the company would be stuck with a gap in production between the frigates and the patrol ships. The addition of the three new ships promised by the Liberals all but closes that construction gap, company officials acknowledged. It also added $800 million to the program's revised $3.5 billion budget. CBC News recently was given access to the Harry DeWolf as contractors completed last-minute work. Compared with previous Canadian warships, its cabins and work areas are spacious and high-tech. McDonald said he believes the versatile design will make the ship useful, not only for sovereignty and security patrols, but also for research projects. "We can bring on scientists," he said. "We can bring on teams focused around missions that are larger than the navy as we go forward." https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/arctic-offshore-patrol-ships-frigates-irving-canadian-navy-1.5404650