26 septembre 2018 | Local, Aérospatial
Murray Brewster · CBC News
A used German drone is one of a handful of aircraft under consideration by Transport Canada for its long-delayed Arctic surveillance program.
A spokeswoman for the department said no decision has been made about the kind of remotely-piloted system the department will purchase.
Marie-Anyk Cote said the plan is to buy an aircraft to detect and monitor oil spills, survey ice levels and marine habitats and keep track of shipping and ice movement in Canada's far northern waters.
"As part of its technical assessment, the government sought information from suppliers to better understand the technology and the solutions available," Cote said in an email.
The Associated Press reported on Monday that Canada was negotiating with Germany to purchase a secondhand Global Hawk surveillance drone, which originally cost the Germans $823 million.
Cote said "it is still premature to speculate which remotely piloted aircraft system will be purchased" and that the evaluation is still underway.
In a statement issued to AP, Germany's defence ministry said talks with Canada were planned, but declined to comment on a possible sale price or closure date.
The news surfaced in a response to lawmakers tabled by the German government in the Bundestag, Germany's parliament. It stated that Germany has decided to "begin concrete negotiations with Canada for the sale of the Euro Hawk aircraft, two ground stations and possibly certain spare parts."
Northrop Grumman, the maker of the Global Hawk, pitched the Canadian military on buying the high-altitude surveillance system a few years ago.
New, the aircraft cost more than US $131 million each.
National Defence has its own, separate drone program which is not expected to start delivering aircraft until 2021. That new fleet will not be fully operational until 2023.
The drone under consideration by Transport Canada is a prototype that was purchased by the Germans in 2000, according the AP report.
It has flown only a handful of times; the program was cancelled because of skyrocketing costs and the German government's inability to get it certified to fly in Europe. According to 2013 German media reports, the manufacturer had refused to share technical data with the German government and the drone lacked an anti-collision alarm required by European regulators.
According to the German government's written response, the drone has now been "demilitarized" — meaning it has been stripped of its U.S.-made radio equipment, GPS receiver and flight control system.
There could be more complications ahead if Ottawa is successful in negotiations with the Germans.
A year ago, CBC News reported the Arctic drone surveillance program had been delayed because of complex international arms control rules that would categorize the unmanned aircraft as a missile.
The federal government approved $39.5 million for a technical assessment in 2015 — and the plan had been to have a small fleet airborne by last spring.
Officials told CBC News last year that they were not expecting delivery of the drones until 2020.
The Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), adopted by Canada and 34 other countries, was intended to prevent the spread of weapons systems that can deliver nuclear missiles. Drones were added to the list recently and the rules restrict missiles and drones from carrying a payload of more than 500 kilograms or travelling more than 300 kilometres.
A fully loaded Global Hawk can carry a sensor suite payload weighing up to 540 kilograms.
With files from the Associated Press
16 novembre 2022 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, C4ISR
In a report tabled Tuesday, Karen Hogan says the agencies responsible for safety and security in the North don't have a clear picture of traffic in the region.
22 juin 2018 | Local, Aérospatial
David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen An Italian aerospace firm dropped a lawsuit against Canada over what it claimed was a rigged aircraft purchase shortly before the federal government awarded it a new sole-source deal potentially worth billions of dollars. But the Canadian Forces and officials with Italian defence company, Leonardo, say the ending of the legal action in May had nothing to do with the company being picked for a new project the same month. Leonardo has been selected by the Royal Canadian Air Force to upgrade its Cormorant search-and-rescue helicopters and provide seven additional aircraft. It is estimated the project will cost taxpayers between $1 billion and $5 billion, a price tag that includes the purchase of simulators and support equipment. Leonardo had been fighting the Canadian government in Federal Court over its 2016 decision to award its rival, Airbus, a contract to build fixed-wing search-and-rescue planes as part of a $4.7-billion program. The company was asking the court to overturn the contract to Airbus and instead award the lucrative deal to Leonardo and its Canadian partners. It alleged the Airbus aircraft failed to meet the government's basic criteria. But that legal action was stopped in May just as the Canadian government was awarding Leonardo the new helicopter deal. The Department of National Defence suggested the decision to drop the lawsuit was not related to its decision to select Leonardo for the sole-source deal. “The Government of Canada's priority is to select a best-value package for the Cormorant Mid-Life Upgrade,” the DND noted in an email. “Decisions related to this procurement were made based on consultations with industry and our subject matter experts and follow standard procurement reviews.” But the sole-source deal to Leonardo caught the aerospace industry by surprise. The RCAF had asked companies just last year for informal proposals on how Canada's future search and rescue helicopter needs could be met. One firm, Sikorsky, went as far as launching a campaign to promote its civilian S-92 helicopter as a cost-effective solution. It proposed that it was cheaper to buy new helicopters than to upgrade the older Cormorants. The federal government acknowledged that it has now received correspondence from aerospace firms raising issues about the sole-source deal with Leonardo. “We have received some responses,” Pierre-Alain Bujold, a spokesman for Public Services and Procurement Canada, stated in an email. “PSPC officials are currently reviewing the responses, in collaboration with the Department of National Defence and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.” “Once this review is complete, officials will determine appropriate next steps and inform respondents accordingly,” Bujold added. But defence industry insiders say the review is simply for the sake of appearances and it is expected the deal with Leonardo will proceed. Leonardo officials said their decision to drop the lawsuit was made in April but it took until the next month before that process could be completed. The Cormorant fleet entered service in the year 2000 and the modernization would allow the helicopters to operate for another 25 years at least. One of Leonardo's subsidiaries was the original manufacturer of the Cormorants. The decision to sole-source the deal moved through the federal system quickly. On April 20, RCAF spokesman Maj. Scott Spurr stated the air force was still examining options on how to proceed and that the next phase of the project wouldn't come until 2019. But on May 24 the Canadian government announced it had decided to go with Leonardo on the exclusive deal. Department of National Defence officials say it was determined that it was more cost effective to stay with the Cormorant fleet as it is a proven aircraft the RCAF knows well. The upgrade program is expected to include the latest avionic and mission systems, advanced radars and sensors, vision enhancement and tracking systems. http://nationalpost.com/news/politics/aerospace-firm-drops-lawsuit-against-dnd-as-defence-officials-award-it-multibillion-dollar-contract
25 novembre 2019 | Local, Aérospatial
Effective Jan. 30, 2020, air traffic controllers will once again be working at Montreal International (Mirabel) Airport (CYMX). Following the completion of a recent aeronautical study, Nav Canada has decided to reinstate air traffic control (ATC) services at the airport for 16 hours a day, from 1100 to 0300 Coordinated Universal Time (1000 to 0200 UTC during daylight savings time) using the current mandatory frequency 119.1 MHz. While the tower is in operation, the control zone and terminal control area will become Class C airspace. When ATC is closed, the Flight Service Station (FSS) will operate and the airspace will revert to Class E and transponder airspace. Nav Canada said ground control service during ATC operating hours and ground advisory service during FSS operating hours will be provided on VHF frequency 121.8 MHz. Mirabel saw over 69,000 movements in 2017 and exceeded 75,000 in 2018. https://www.skiesmag.com/news/atc-returning-to-mirabel-in-january/