13 mai 2022 | Local, Aérospatial, Terrestre
Ottawa weighing ballistic missile defence as part of North American defence upgrades
OTTAWA - Defence Minister Anita Anand says the federal government is weighing whether Canada should join the U...
26 septembre 2018 | Local, Aérospatial
Transport Canada looking at used German drone to patrol Arctic
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.
'Premature'
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.
Drone or missile?
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
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16 février 2021 | Local, Terrestre
SOUCY INTERNATIONAL Inc. ( DEFENSE DIVISION ) AWARDED CONTRACT TO INTEGRATE SEGMENTED COMPOSITE RUBBER TRACK ON TO U . S ARMY OMFV TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATOR
SOUCY INTERNATIONAL Inc. (DEFENSE DIVISION) AWARDED CONTRACT TO INTEGRATE SEGMENTED COMPOSITE RUBBER TRACK ON TO U.S ARMY OMFV TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATOR 11 February 2021 – Drummondville QC Canada, Soucy International Defense Division, has been awarded a contract to manufacture and deliver prototype Segmented Composite Rubber Track (SCRT) systems for the U.S Army Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC) as part of the Platform Electrification and Mobility (PEM) project This project has been created to help develop, integrate and test essential electrification and mobility technologies necessary for soldier experimentation of manned and unmanned Next Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV) platforms. Within the NGCV program, there is the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV) and the Robotically Controlled Vehicle (RCV). Soucy will refine existing SCRT technology as part of the OMFV Demonstrator within the PEM program that is aimed to achieve its goal of silent mobility, reduce track system weight compared to conventional steel tracks, reduce rolling resistance, and ease maintenance and logistical burden. One of the major technical objectives of the PEM project is to provide silent mobility for a 50-ton tracked vehicle. Continuous composite rubber track (CRT) solutions provide significant noise and vibration reduction compared to a typical steel track. Soucy CRT has made great improvements over the last 15 years, with the continuous, single loop design providing significant reductions in weight; vibration; acoustic and thermal signature; increased fuel efficiency, and ease of maintenance, allowing for reduced logistical support. Segmentation of a composite rubber track could potentially further reduce soldier physical maintenance burden, vehicle installation time, and ease overall sustainment challenges in a contested operational environment. This prototype will allow the United States (US) Army and Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC) to evaluate demonstrated options of different track systems for the OMFV program. -ends- Media Contacts: Angeline Heckel-Elies, Soucy Defense Division, +1 (819) 474 4522, Angeline.heckel-elies@soucy-group.com About CRT Tracks Increased durability over conventional steel tracks. Reduced vibration (up to 70%), noise (up to 13dB), thermal signature, braking distance, vehicle weight (up to 50%) and fuel consumption (up to 30%). Reduced vehicle crew fatigue. Significant reduction in life cycle costs and virtually maintenance free. Elimination of damage to infrastructure. About Soucy Soucy has been established for 50 years and specialize in the design, development, and manufacturing of CRT. Soucy supply a variety of components and parts for major manufacturers of power sport, industrial, agricultural and Defense vehicles around the world. Since entering the Defense market 26 years ago, the demand for Soucy's products has grown, and now being utilised in 12 counties worldwide. Soucy's expertise and knowledge of rubber track applications lie in compounding and track construction. The key elements in exceeding the specifications of traditional Steel Tracks and meeting customer requirements is the relationship between the Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) and rubber heat generation, this balance is critical in the design of CRT. www.soucy-defense.com
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17 mars 2020 | Local, C4ISR, Sécurité
Online 'phishing' attacks expected to target housebound staffers as COVID-19 spreads
It's a 'huge opportunity' for online crime, one expert warns The number of "phishing" attacks meant to steal the online credentials of public servants and corporate sector employees now housebound due to the COVID-19 pandemic is on the rise, one cyber security expert warns. Many attempts are being made against employees who are working from home on virtual private works (VPNs). Cyber experts are still gathering data to establish a direct correlation between the pandemic crisis and the increase in malicious activity. But Rafal Rohozinski, chief executive officer of the SecDev Group of Companies, said this pandemic moment — when large numbers of employees are at home and receiving instructions from their workplaces on how to connect to internal networks — offers online thieves a "huge opportunity." Federal government and corporate sector systems were never designed to support a sudden, mass migration of employees from offices to their homes, he said. "The opening that creates for those who want to wreak havoc through ransomware and malware is really, really significant," said Rohozinski. "And I don't think we're anywhere near prepared for that. "What we're seeing is an increase in phishing being used as a means to get people's credentials." U.S. Health Department attacked The U.S. Health and Human Services Department's website was hit by a cyber attack over several hours on Sunday, an incident which involved overloading its servers with millions of hits. Officials said the system was not penetrated, although media reports in Washington described it as an attempt to undermine the U.S. government's response to the coronavirus pandemic — and may have been the work of a foreign actor. Rohozinski said that while the facts are not all in yet, his "professional guess" is that there's a link between the attack and the COVID-19 crisis. Last week, Canada's top military commander warned that he'd seen recent indications the country's adversaries intend to exploit the uncertainty, confusion and fear generated by the pandemic. Send in the trolls: Canada braces for an online disinformation assault on COVID-19 Gen. Jonathan Vance, chief of the defence staff, was not specific about the potential threats — but experts say they could range from hacking to online disinformation campaigns aimed at discrediting the federal government's response. Rohozinski said he's concerned about the federal government's technical capacity to support thousands of employees on private networks. "Everybody's moving on to VPNs. Everybody," he said. "This is an enormous pinpoint and an enormous vulnerability." Federal Digital Government Minister Joyce Murray's office was asked for a response Monday, but was unable to provide an immediate comment. Many of the country's leading information technology companies are part of the Canadian Cyber Threat Exchange (CCTE), a nonprofit centre where companies can swap information and insights. A CCTE spokeswoman said the corporate sector is better prepared to face the challenges posed by the mass movement of employees to home networks. Canada to bar entry to travellers who are not citizens, permanent residents or Americans Canadian military bans international travel in response to COVID-19 Still, there is reason for concern. "Given we are moving people to work from home now, companies need to ensure that the work from home environment is as safe as the corporate environment and that people are trained to notice these phishing campaigns, just like they were in the corporate environment," said Mary Jane Couldridge, director of business development at the CCTE. "It's a matter of keeping our community aware of what is impacting Canada daily so we know how to react to it and prevent it from spreading — and not chase rainbows." Most corporations have plans they'll activate now to cover the wholesale movement of employees to networks outside of the office, she added. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/online-hacking-phishing-covid-19-coronavirus-1.5499725