Team Cohort to Develop Multi-Domain, Multi-Autonomous Vehicle Control System for Canadian Warships - Seapower

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  24 décembre 2018 | Local, Aérospatial

  Canada to deploy cargo plane part time for UN missions in new year

  Murray Brewster · CBC News A Canadian military Hercules transport will soon begin once-a-week support missions for United Nations peacekeeping operations in Africa, the country's top military commander said. Those flights, by a C-130J, will eventually morph to a full-fledged deployment and deliver on the second in a long list of capabilities promised over a year ago by the Liberal government at a star-studded international conference in Vancouver. Gen. Jonathan Vance, chief of the defence staff, refused to be pinned down to a specific date when asked in a year-end interview with CBC News. His remarks were made prior to last weekend's quick, clandestine trip by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to visit Canadian aircrew and personnel taking part in the UN mission in Mali. 'This hasn't been done before' The aircraft being used will split its time between supporting operations in Iraq and flying out Entebbe, Uganda, for the UN. A letter to assist, which sets out the terms of the arrangement with the UN, has yet to be finalized and Vance defended the amount of time it has taken to fulfil what was expected to be an easy promise. "This hasn't been done before," he said. "It's pretty new. This is Canada offering up a capability where there wasn't necessarily a capability before." Usually as peace support operations unfold the UN makes requests for specific military equipment and personnel. But with the medium-lift cargo plane, Vance said, Canadian planners pointed out to the UN the need for an aircraft to support operations in Africa. "There's always need for air power," he said. There has been frustration with Canada at UN headquarters in New York. After many lofty, high-profile words of political support, the Liberal government has over the last three years turned down a number of specific peacekeeping requests, including mission command posts. A copy of the 2017 list of requests for multilateral peace operations — known internally within government as the evergreen list — was obtained by CBC News under access-to-information legislation. It shows that after being spurned throughout 2016 the UN appeared to scale back what it asked of Canada to only a handful of assignments involving single soldiers or pairs of soldiers, for leadership training or advising missions. Trudeau touts Mali mission as success Over the weekend in Mali, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau refused to extend the anticipated mid-summer end of Canada's helicopter support mission in the war-torn country. The UN requested the time to cover an anticipated gap between the current detachment and the arrival of the Romanian relief force. He declared the Mali mission to be a success and even suggested it was contributing to the peace process in that country by giving UN operations more certainty. Canada's approach of sharing its expertise and refined equipment is, Trudeau insisted, the best approach. "Part of the way Canada can best help involves coming, taking on an operation, demonstrating how it can be done in the absolute best possible way and helping others gain in those capacities," he said while answering questions from reporters on Saturday. Even still, there remains a long list of unfulfilled promises to the UN, said Walter Dorn, a professor of defence studies at the Canadian Forces College. At the Vancouver conference, the Liberal government promised to deliver a quick reaction force of 200 soldiers for a future peacekeeping mission as well as military training for other less experienced countries that contribute to operations. It also pledged to help get more women involved in peacekeeping through a measure known as the Elsie Initiative. That, Dorn said, is "inching along," with two partner countries, Ghana and Zambia, selected earlier this year, "but I haven't heard of actual progress." Vance said he is working with a three-to-five year timeline, and the initiatives promised in Vancouver were not intended to be delivered all at once. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-to-deploy-cargo-plane-part-time-for-un-missions-in-new-year-1.4958079

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  21 novembre 2018 | Local, Aérospatial

  Auditor general trashes Liberal plan to keep CF-18s flying until 2032

  Murray Brewster · CBC News Fighter pilots, technicians are in short supply for Canada's fighter jets Canada's auditor general has shot down the Liberal government's handling of the air force's aging CF-18s in a blistering report that raises questions about national security, and even long-term safety, regarding the viability of the country's frontline fighter jets. Auditor General Michael Ferguson's fall report, tabled Tuesday, methodically picks apart the recent policy change at the Department of National Defence, which requires the military to have enough warplanes to meet Canada's commitments to both NORAD and NATO at the same time. From the get-go the policy was a non-starter, and the federal government knew it, said Ferguson. "The fighter force could not meet the requirement because National Defence was already experiencing a shortage in personnel, and the CF-18 was old and increasingly hard to maintain," said the audit. As of April 2018, the air force's CF-18 squadrons faced a 22 per cent shortage in technical positions — and a startling number of technicians were not fully qualified to do maintenance. Fighter pilots are also in short supply. The air force is losing more of them than it is training each year; among those who do remain, almost one third do not get the required 140 hours of flying time per year. At a news conference following the release of the report, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan conceded that personnel shortages were identified "early on" after the Liberals took over in 2015. "This is a problem we knew we had," he said, pointing the finger at budget cuts made by the previous Conservative government. "This is what happens when you don't put enough resources into the military." The extent of Liberals' own efforts to boost recruiting and retention of pilots and technicians in the three years since the election was the subject of some confusion Tuesday. A written statement from Sajjan said the government "will launch new efforts to recruit and retain pilots and technicians." During the news conference, the minister said the military's top commander had been directed to deal with the problem and that recruiting pilots is "a priority." Pressed for specifics on recruitment, Sajjan said he's "going to leave it to the experts to figure out." Proposed solution 'will not help solve' issues The auditor's report took issue with the Liberal government's strategy to fill the so-called capability gap by buying additional interim aircraft. The current proposal is to buy used Australian F-18s — of approximately the same vintage as Canada's CF-18s — and convert them for further use until the federal government completes the purchase of brand-new aircraft. This plan, the auditor's report said, "will not help solve either the personnel shortage or the aging fleet." Ferguson said an earlier, $6.3 billion plan to buy 18 brand new Super Hornet fighter jets on an interim basis would have been even worse — and the government was told so in no uncertain terms by the air force. "National Defence's analysis showed that buying the Super Hornet alone would not allow the department to meet the new operational requirement," said the audit. "The department stated that the Super Hornet would initially decrease, not increase, the daily number of aircraft available because technicians and pilots would have to be pulled away from the CF-18s to train on the new aircraft." The proposal to buy Super Hornets was scrapped last spring after the manufacturer, Chicago-based Boeing, angered the Trudeau government in a separate trade dispute involving the sale of Bombardier passenger jets. The Opposition Conservatives have long claimed the 'capability gap' was concocted by the Liberals as a way to push off a decision on a permanent replacement for the CF-18s. In the last election, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged not to buy the F-35 stealth fighter, the preferred option of the Harper government. Sparring in the House The report led to sparring in the House of Commons, with the Conservatives seeing the auditor general's assessment as vindication. "Today's report confirms what we have been saying all along," said James Bezan, the defence critic. "Justin Trudeau deliberately misled Canadians by manufacturing a 'capability gap' to fulfil a misguided campaign promise, and in the process has put the safety and security of Canadians at risk." Sajjan, however, believed the report supported the government's position. "The report confirms what we have always known: The Harper Conservatives mismanaged the fighter jet files and misled Canadians for over a decade," he said. "The report confirms a capability gap exists, and started under the Conservatives." In fact, what the report said was that "Canada's fighter force could not meet the government's new operational requirement." It contained objective analysis of how many aircraft would be required to meet various contingencies. Fleet 'will become more vulnerable' Meanwhile, the auditor is warning that the Liberal government has no plan to upgrade the combat capabilities of the CF-18s to keep them current over the next decade while the air force waits for replacements. The last major refurbishment of the war-fighting equipment on the jets happened in 2008, and Department of National Defence planners have done little since because they had been expecting new planes by 2020. National Defence did not have a plan to upgrade the combat capability of the CF-18 even though it will now have to fly until 2032," said the audit. "Without these upgrades, according to the department, the CF-18 will become more vulnerable as advanced combat aircraft and air defence systems continue to be developed and used by other nations." The fact that the CF-18s are not up to date means they will not be able to operate in certain environments where the risk of surface-to-air missiles or advanced enemy planes is great. That, in turn, "would limit Canada's contribution to NORAD and NATO operations," Ferguson said. Sajjan said the department is looking at an upgrade to the combat systems. "We would love to be able to solve this problem immediately," he said. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/auditor-general-trashes-liberal-plan-to-keep-cf-18s-flying-until-2032-1.4912813

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  28 novembre 2018 | Local, Aérospatial

  Aerospace execs call for government strategy to support key industrial capabilities

  Chris Thatcher Canada will struggle to retain its position as a leading player in the global aerospace market without a government-backed industrial policy. That was the stark message form a trio of industry executives to the Canadian Aerospace Summit in mid-November as the sector embarks on Vision 2025, an exercise involving industry, federal and provincial governments, and other stakeholders to develop recommendations the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada (AIAC) hopes will lead to a long-term, fully-funded sector strategy. “I think it is important we have a sound industrial policy in Canada,” said David Gossen, president of Halifax-based IMP Aerospace and Defence. “It's clear every nation [that has an indigenous capability] is doing all they can to protect that industry. I think we need to follow that same principle.” As an engineering and in-service support (ISS) provider to the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), Gossen has seen the business model transform in recent years as OEMs have transitioned from long-term partners to fierce competitors for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) work. He's watched emerging markets start to create their own domestic support capabilities–in some cases after requesting IMP know-how. And he's seen established aerospace nations erect barriers to protect their own ISS providers. He's also watched the boom and bust cycle of Canada's shipbuilding industry on the East Coast and drawn lessons he fears aerospace is in danger of repeating. “We don't [want to] spend 10 years trying to figure out how we rebuild [our] industry,” he cautioned. Many of Gossen's concerns were echoed by fellow panellists Dan Goldberg, president and chief executive officer of Ottawa-based Telesat, and Amandeep Kaler, chief executive officer of aerostructure manufacturer Avcorp Group. Goldberg said the 50-year-old satellite communication services provider is being buffeted by similar dynamics as traditional players seek greater protection at home and emerging markets strive to gain entry. “Our industry is changing dramatically,” he said. For manufacturers like Avcorp, a component and repair services supplier to international OEMs and airlines for over 16 years, “our business is being reshaped,” said Kaler, noting the growth of build-to-print suppliers in government-support markets. “The race for best price is not going to slow down anytime soon,” he said. “You can let it happen or you can take the steps . . . to be the leading-edge of that by bringing your own capabilities and leveraging other technologies that are available to us in Canada.” To survive, all three executives pointed to the need for expertise and intellectual property in niche capabilities. But they acknowledged government planning and support will be necessary if aerospace is going to capitalize on new technologies. While Telesat, for example, would prefer its satellites to be manufactured and integrated by Canadian suppliers, many of which have the technical ability, “at the end of the day we are a for-profit company . . . and we are going to procure satellites from the group of companies that can give us the best overall value proposition,” said Goldberg. If Canadian suppliers are to compete in the company's project for a new constellation of low orbit satellites, they will have to make “meaningful investments,” which will require provincial and federal assistance, he acknowledged. “I can say their competitors outside of Canada are receiving that kind of support,” he said. Goldberg flagged niche capabilities such as digital processing in space, phased array antenna technologies, and optical communications which several Canadian companies already provide. “They need to evolve their technologies to deliver what we need, and that is going to be a big investment on their part,” he said. Kaler and Gossen highlighted niche areas like robotics, automation, business aircraft, artificial intelligence as well as simulation and training systems and ISS, both of which were identified in a 2013 report by Tom Jenkins of Open Text, Canada First: Leveraging Defence Procurement Through Key Industrial Capabilities. Though government departments have refined the list of key industrial capabilities since the report was published, the strategy to leverage them is still pending. “Every segment will say we need to be supported. The reality is we can't be everything; we need to pick those we're good at and ensure we have good policies to support them,” said Gossen. “We need a healthy debate within government and industry to identify what those capabilities are,” he added, alluding to the promise of Vision 2025, an exercise now underway and led by Jean Charest, a former Québec premier and federal cabinet minister. “If I were a government policymaker, I'd start with what are we good at today and where these global markets are going, and then try and connect the dots between the two. And then I would start making some bets,” said Goldberg. “If the government doesn't start leaning in on some of these policies, all of these capabilities will completely atrophy.” In a controlled market such as defence, where governments often protect domestic manufacturers and build new capabilities, Gossen also argued for a similar approach to level the play field. Canadian suppliers need government help understanding where they can sell, he said, noting “a lot of markets are just closed to us.” Playing the sovereignty card, he said Canadian companies “should have the ability to service Canada's military equipment,” and suggested an industrial strategy could ensure “homefield is always protected.” https://www.skiesmag.com/news/aerospace-execs-call-for-government-strategy-to-support-key-industrial-capabilities