Victoria Shipyards signs contract to maintain Canada's West Coast-based Halifax-class Frigates

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  15 mars 2019 | Local, Aérospatial

  RCAF may not need seven of the 25 used Australian F-18s, says defence procurement chief

  DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN The Defence department's procurement chief says the Royal Canadian Air Force might not need the seven used Australian F-18 aircraft being purchased for parts afterall. Canada is buying 25 used F-18s from Australia, with 18 of those to be flown and seven to be either stripped down for parts or used for testing. The aircraft to be flown will augment the existing RCAF CF-18 fleet until a new generation fighter jet can be purchased. But Pat Finn, the Department of National Defence's Assistant Deputy Minister for Materiel, said there may be no need for the seven F-18s. “The seven, whether or not we actually take them at this point, we're still looking at that,” Finn recently told the Commons defence committee. “What we're actually finding is the number of spares that they've been able to provide to us is more than adequate. Rather than take aircraft apart and go through that cost, we're taking the spares. We may not, in fact, at this point look at any of the seven.” It is unclear whether there will be a reduction in the cost of the purchase or the overall project cost if the seven airframes are not acquired. The DND also clarified what is happening with the engines on the Australian F-18s. Rumours have been circulating in the retired military community that the engines are being stripped out of the planes and given back to Australia. “Only the engines from the first two Australian F-18s (four engines total) are being returned to Australia, at their request,” explained DND spokesman Dan Le Bouthillier. “Australia needs those engines to meet their own operational requirements.” In order to take advantage of an advanced delivery date for the first two Australian aircraft, Canada agreed to return those aircraft's engines to Australia, but the plan is to get an equivalent number of engines back at a later date, he added. “Canada has sufficient engines in reserve to support this plan and this will have no impact on operations,” Le Bouthillier stated. “We therefore found this to be a reasonable request, and agreed to it.” https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/rcaf-may-not-need-7-of-the-25-used-australian-f-18s-says-defence-procurement-chief

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  5 août 2019 | Local, Naval

  Government of Canada announces construction of new icebreakers for Canadian Coast Guard

  IQALUIT, NU, Aug. 2, 2019 /CNW/ - Canadians across the country rely on the critical services of the Canadian Coast Guard to protect mariners and the marine environment, and to ensure the safe and efficient movement of ships that are key to our vibrant economy. With continued growth in commercial shipping and with climate change already affecting our communities, demands on the Coast Guard continue to grow. The Coast Guard provides critical icebreaking services to ensure commercial ships and ferries have access to Canadian ports during the winter time, and supports summer re-supply activities in Canada's Arctic. To ensure the Coast Guard can continue to deliver these essential services, today, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, announced that the Coast Guard will be procuring six new program icebreakers to replace its current aging fleet of icebreakers. Minister Wilkinson also announced, on behalf of the Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility, that the Government of Canada is officially launching a competitive process, through an Invitation to Qualify, to add a third Canadian shipyard as a strategic partner under the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS). This new shipyard will build the new program icebreakers for the Coast Guard. Coast Guard program icebreakers are essential to Canada's economy by supporting year-round marine trade in Eastern Canada, the St. Lawrence waterway and the Great Lakes. They enable eastern Canadian ferries to operate during the winter time, and are critical to Canada's commercial fisheries. The program icebreakers are also used to provide service to Canada's northern residents by supporting the annual re-supply of goods to Canada's Arctic communities and their industries. Quotes "The Canadian Coast Guard saves lives at sea, maintains safe shipping, enables an otherwise ice-choked economy, protects the marine environment and supports Canadian sovereign presence in the Arctic. Demands on the Coast Guard will only grow as the impacts of climate change become more frequent and intense. By adding the new program icebreakers to renew the fleet, we are ensuring the women and men of the Canadian Coast Guard have the equipment they need to deliver icebreaking services in the Arctic, on the St. Lawrence waterway and on Canada's East Coast." The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard "This is an important undertaking with another significant investment to back it up, and it means even more jobs, more opportunity and more economic development right across the country, while ensuring our Canadian Coast Guard has the ships it needs to do its important work. Together with our partners, we are renewing Canada's federal fleet, advancing Canadian technological innovation and supporting jobs across Canada." The Honourable Carla Qualtrough Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility Quick facts Through the Invitation to Qualify, the Government of Canada will establish a short list of pre-qualified shipyards that will be eligible to submit a formal proposal to become the third strategic partner under the NSS, joining Irving Shipbuilding Inc. and Seaspan's Vancouver Shipyards. Interested suppliers have 15 days, starting today, to respond to the Invitation to Qualify. On May 22, 2019, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the Government of Canada is investing $15.7 billionto renew the Coast Guard fleet, with up to 16 Multi-Purpose Vessels to be built at Seaspan's Vancouver Shipyards and two new Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships to be built at Irving Shipbuilding Inc. To date, the Government of Canada has awarded more than $11.4 billion in NSS-related contracts across the country. The Government of Canada's NSS is a long-term, multi-billion-dollar program focused on renewing the Canadian Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy fleets to ensure that Canada's marine agencies have the modern ships they need to fulfill their missions, while revitalizing Canada's marine industry, creating good middle-class jobs and maximizing economic benefits across the country. Related products Backgrounder – Canadian Coast Guard's new icebreakers Backgrounder – Canada's National Shipbuilding Strategy – Process to add a third shipyard Associated links National Shipbuilding Strategy Prime Minister announces renewal of Canadian Coast Guard fleet Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook SOURCE Public Services and Procurement Canada For further information: Marielle Hossack, Press Secretary, Office of the Honourable Carla Qualtrough, 819-997-5421; Media Relations, Public Services and Procurement Canada, 819-420-5501, media@pwgsc-tpsgc.gc.ca; Jocelyn Lubczuk, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, 343-548-7863, Jocelyn.lubczuk@dfo-mpo.gc.ca; Media Relations, Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, 613-990-7537, Media.xncr@dfo-mpo.gc.ca Related Links www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/government-of-canada-announces-construction-of-new-icebreakers-for-canadian-coast-guard-821197891.html

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  19 mai 2020 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

  COVID-19 MAY WELL BE THE END OF THE CANADIAN ARMED FORCES AS WE HAVE KNOWN THEM…AND OF OUR EFFECTIVE SOVEREIGNTY

  The lesson from this history is simple. Cutting defence spending in times of austerity is a bipartisan affair in Canada. This is owing less to politics than arithmetic. DND's budget –which typically ranges from 1/5 to 1/4 of total federal departmental discretionary spending –is too big to be excluded from any serious spending restraint initiative. This is well understood by Liberals, Conservatives and the Finance Department. The COVID-19 Recession and its Impact No one knows how deep or how long the COVID-19-induced recession will be. But every serious analyst agrees it will produce the sharpest drop in output since the Great Depression. The International Monetary Fund, for example, projects a 6.2 per cent annualized decline in GDP for Canada,1nearly double that of the 2009 recession. And already the government's fiscal response is without precedent and will lead to the largest deficit in postwar Canadian history (at least 10 per cent of GDP, or over $200 billion). This does not mean that Ottawa will snap into austerity mode next year. The economy will likely be too weak for that kind of action and cutting government spending is not in the Trudeau government's DNA to begin with... One big difference between now and the past is that there will be enormous pressure on Ottawa after the recession to boost spending in a wide range of areas which have been exposed in the pandemic. These include public health funding, medical research, pandemic prevention and mitigation, the social safety net, and industries particularly hard hit during the recession. There are also Liberal election campaign commitments from 2019 to honour –almost none of which had been implemented pre-pandemic –of which national defence is conspicuously absent. ...this could produce a perfect storm for Strong, Secure, Engaged (SSE). This was always a big risk associated with a defence policy that had its funding ramped up gradually over many years. As the Harper government amply demonstrated, it is relatively easy to reduce or eliminate the rate of planned increases to defence funding –the government took almost no flak for doing so in 2010. Making matters worse, DND has failed to come anywhere near meeting the spending trajectory profiled in SSE, as David Perry has analyzed thoroughly. Which means flattening DND's budget ramp is even more tempting for any government in austerity or even re-prioritization mode. Would a change in government matter here? Unlikely. While the Conservatives are more committed to national defence and the Canadian Armed Forces than the Liberals, they would likely see deficit reduction as their top priority, and it is virtually impossible to have meaningful expenditure restraint that doesn't involve national defence [what the Harper government did from 2010 on]. Conclusion Over the past generation, recessions and the fiscal consolidation that has followed them have had a seriously negative impact on DND's budget. The COVID-19 recession could be the most severe Canada has faced in at least 40 years. It has already resulted in the largest peacetime deficit in Canadian history. And, because of the pandemic, government priorities have changed radically overnight. The future for SSE and its associated funding does not look bright. National Defence probably has a year or two before the crunch hits. Now is therefore the time for strategic thinking and serious priority setting among the political, public service and miitary leadership to ensure that the 2020s don't become another decade of darkness. Eugene Lang is Adjunct Professor, School of Policy Studies, Queen's University, and Fellow, Canadian Global Affairs Institute. He was chief of staff to two ministers of National Defence in the Chrétien and Martin governments and served as an official in the Department of Finance. The 2020s most certainly will be “another decade of darkness”. It is not improbable that the Canadian military, if the Liberals win the next election, will effectively end up as a constabulary/militia force with domestic response to natural disasters of various sorts as its primary function along with very token commitments to UN peacekeeping missions. Bye bye to serious numbers of new RCAF fighters, to serious numbers of new RCN frigates, and to the needed large funding to renew NORAD's North Warning System [see this post: “So Will the Canadian Government Put Some Big Bucks into Modernizing NORAD's North Warning System?“]. And bye bye to any meaningful military participation in NATO. Canada will then finally be defenceless against help from the US ( the following quote is from the last sentence of this earlier CGAI paper's Executive Summary: “Throughout its 60-year existence, NORAD has been Canada's “defence against help.”). Any American administration will have no hesitation in demanding the use of Canadian territory and waters for its own defence purposes if our efforts fall well below what the US thinks necessary. US Air Force bases at Cold Lake, Yellowknife, Goose Bay and a US Navy one at St. John's anyone? Take a look at this as an example of an increasingly prevalent Canadian progressive view; and Justin Trudeau's “base” is progressive to the max: Spending $19 billion on fighter jets won't fight COVID-19 or climate change Instead of buying a new weapons system, the federal government should disarm and invest in a Green New Deal There it is. Plus earlier from Mr Lang: Is the “business Liberal” extinct? By the way the photo at the top of the post is of the Avro CF-100 Canuck interceptor, the first jet fighter developed in Canada–to defend against Soviet bombers...and US help. Mark Collins