Canadian Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

Canada entertains Australian Hornet buy to fill interim role

• 
  

• 07 SEPTEMBER, 2017
  
• SOURCE: FLIGHTGLOBAL.COM
  
• BY: LEIGH GIANGRECO
  
• WASHINGTON DC

Canada could acquire used Boeing F/A-18A/B Hornets from Australia to replace a fleet of aging CF-18s, a move that would both satisfy its interim fleet needs and dodge a need to acquire new aircraft on a temporary basis.

Canada is exploring several options to supplement its CF-18 fleet until it finds a permanent fighter replacement, Canadian defence minister Harjit Sajjan’s office says in a statement this week.

“This option requires discussions with other F-18 users,” Sajjan says. “In light of Australia recently notifying all allies about their intent to dispose of their F-18 fleet, Canada visited them to inquire about the state of their equipment and spare parts.”

The CF-18 fighter jet recapitalisation became a political lightning rod during Canada’s federal 2015 election, when then Liberal candidate Justin Trudeau criticised the Harper government for allegedly buying the Lockheed Martin F-35 without a competition.

Last November, the Canadian government announced its intent to launch an open competition to replace the CF-18s and its plan to purchase 18 new Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornets as an interim fix for its current capability gap.

But those plans imploded after Boeing’s commercial arm accused Canadian company Bombardier of dumping its CSeries jet onto the US market, prompting a US Department of Commerce investigation to determine if the company received unfair subsidies from the Canadian government.

A potential used aircraft acquisition could sidestep a direct quarrel with Boeing, while also leveraging the Australian Hornet’s commonality with the CF-18s. Australia began operating its Hornet fleet in the mid-1980s through the early 1990s, just a few years after Canada received its CF-18s. The Royal Australian Air Force plans on replacing its 71 F/A-18A/B Hornets with 72 Lockheed F-35As beginning in 2018.

Click to expand...

Jura said:

Jun 6, 2017

now just Deadline for warship designs missing in action

Jul 25 2017

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Click to expand...

The Canadian government expects bids for a multi-billion dollar fleet of new warships to be submitted by early November, with a winner selected sometime next year. But bidders will be allowed a one-time free pass if their proposals initially don’t meet Canada’s requirements, giving them the opportunity to rejig their bids for the $62-billion program.

“They’ll get feedback on whether the bids meet all of Canada’s mandatory requirements,” Lisa Campbell, an assistant deputy minister at Public Services and Procurement Canada, said in an interview. “Where there are gaps they’ll be allowed one time — only once — to submit additional information to demonstrate that their bids meet our requirements.”

She said having that option improves the competition in the long run and removes past issues where firms had been punted immediately for not meeting all criteria.

Canada has pre-approved 12 firms to bid on various aspects of the Canadian Surface Combatant program, which will see Irving Shipbuilding construct a fleet of new ships for the Royal Canadian Navy.

Those companies will receive the final bid package by the end of the month, and will then have another month to prepare their proposals. “We expect the final date for submission is early November,” Campbell said.

Evaluation of the bids was originally expected to be finished by the end of this year but that has been delayed slightly, added Campbell. Instead, bids will be evaluated in early 2018 and a winner is expected to be determined later that year. Construction of the ships would begin in the early 2020s, Campbell said.

She said at this point no company has withdrawn from the program. Some industry officials, however, predict that may soon happen as a number of firms could decide that bidding on the program is not worth their while.

Campbell said she believes that concerns over companies having to turn over the intellectual property rights on equipment they’ve developed have been dealt with. “We think we’ve struck the right balance,” she added. “Canada will make sure that whatever we pay to develop, we own. For the rest we have licensing and access.”

The program calls for the construction of 15 ships. The original budget for the CSC program was $26.2 billion, or $1.7 billion per ship for 15 ships. But parliamentary budget officer Jean-Denis Fréchette estimates the program will cost $61.82 billion, or $4.1 billion per ship — roughly 2.4 times more than originally budgeted.

This estimate includes costs resulting from development, production, spare parts, ammunition, training, government program management and upgrades to existing facilities. It does not include costs associated with the operation, maintenance and mid-life refurbishment of the ships, other than the spare parts that will be purchased when the ships are built, the PBO said in a June report.

The PBO also estimated the cost due to inflation for delaying the awarding of the contract after 2018. “We estimate that for each year of delay, the program would cost about $3 billion more,” Fréchette wrote in the study.

Irving Shipbuilding president Kevin McCoy has said his firm is ramping up to work on the CSC, with its current workforce of around 1,800 expected to grow to 2,400 by 2020.

The date for submitting bids has been extended a number of times. The original deadline was set for April 27, 2017. It was then extended to June 22, and after that extended again to sometime in August. Potential bidders had previously complained they didn’t have enough time to recruit Canadian firms to work with them on the program. Promoting industrial benefits for Canadian companies is a key aspect of the government’s overall shipbuilding approach.

Click to expand...

Jura said:

Jul 27, 2017
and here's an update:
Bids for Canada’s $62-billion warship program expected in by early November — with a chance for a do-over
09.07.2017

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Click to expand...

PiSigma said:

This is why the damned liberals are raising taxes on small business. We don't need to spend so much on military. Better to use the money and build infrastructure or subsidize pipelines ( we need energy east!) And not more taxes and stupid government reviews. Seriously need to vote out these stupid liberals and NDP.

Click to expand...

vincent said:

As if the Cons don't waste money on the military
As for the pipelines, tell that to the people in BC, the natives and the Supreme Court (who ruled we need native's approval for everything)

Click to expand...

PiSigma said:

There are plenty if native groups in Alberta and BC that are pro pipeline, you just won't see CBC reporting it. I know plenty of band members from cold lake cree and stoney dakoda that loves the oil industry. Trans mountain is already approved, not the BC NDP do can stop it, but you know they are the domestic terrorist party.

The conservatives are wasting 62 billion... Its an extra zero.

The whole new NEB review on pipelines for emission from after sales is ridiculous, they don't do that for Saudi oil. Traitorous bastards. Any Canadian that use oil should use Canadian oil first.

Click to expand...

vincent said:

Unfortunately the few native bands that oppose the pipelines are blocking it

Click to expand...

The proposed $5.23 billion sale of 18 F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighters to Canada received U.S. Department of State approval, marking a significant step toward U.S. ally’s plan to upgrade its aging fighter jet fleet.

If the sale is completed, Canada will purchase ten F/A-18E Super Hornet aircraft with F414-GE-400 engines, and eight F/A-18F Super Hornet aircraft with F414-GE-400 engines. Canada will also be purchasing various weapons systems, spare parts, flight gear, and material support as part of the deal, according to a statement released by the Defense Security Co-operation Agency.

“This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by helping to improve the security of a NATO ally which has been, and continues to be, a key democratic partner of the United States in ensuring peace and stability,” is how the agency justified the potential sale, through a statement.

State approval is an important milestone for the potential sale, but the final purchase still must be approved by Congress. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency formally notified Congress of the possible sale on Monday.

The announced deal is also significant because Canada has for years appeared to waffle on how it would upgrade the jets in its air force. Canadian news reports have routinely reported how successive governments have wrestled with the question of how much to spend on new fighter jets.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

, the Toronto-based Globe and Mail reported in May the Boeing-made Super Hornet appeared to become the favored option.

The Canadian government was said to also be considering the F-35, along with a pair of European-built fighters, but balked at the higher price tag, according to the Globe and Mail.

For years, though, the current Liberal Party-controlled Canadian government hinted the F-35 would not be its fighter jet of the future. Not buying the F-35 was part of current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s 2015 campaign, including a specific “No F-35” plank in his party’s platform.

The following is the complete Sept. 12, 2917 DSCA Statement.

WASHINGTON, Sep. 12, 2017 – The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Canada of ten (10) F/A-18E Super Hornet aircraft, with F414-GE-400 engines; eight (8) F/A-18F Super Hornet aircraft, with F414-GE-400 engines; eight (8) F414-GE-400 engine spares; twenty (20) AN/APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars; twenty (20) M61A2 20MM gun systems; twenty-eight (28) AN/ALR-67(V)3 Electronic Warfare Countermeasures Receiving Sets; fifteen (15) AN/AAQ-33 Sniper Advanced Targeting Pods; twenty (20) Multifunctional Information Distribution Systems–Joint Tactical Radio System (MIDS-JTRS); thirty (30) Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems (JHMCS); twenty-eight (28) AN/ALQ-214 Integrated Countermeasures Systems; one hundred thirty (130) LAU-127E/A and or F/A Guided Missile Launchers; twenty-two (22) AN/AYK-29 Distributed Targeting System (DTS); twenty-two (22) AN/AYK-29 Distributed Targeting Processor (DTP); one hundred (100) AIM-9X-2 Sidewinder Block II Tactical Missiles; thirty (30) AIM-9X-2 Sidewinder Block II Captive Air Training Missiles (CATM); eight (8) AIM-9X-2 Sidewinder Block II Special Air Training Missiles (NATM); twenty (20) AIM-9X-2 Sidewinder Block II Tactical Guidance Units; sixteen (16) AIM-9X-2 Sidewinder Block II CATM Guidance Units.

Also included in this sale are AN/AVS-9 Night Vision Goggles (NVG); AN/ALE-47 Electronic Warfare Countermeasures Systems; AN/ARC-210 Communication System; AN/APX-111 Combined Interrogator Transponder; AN/ALE-55 Towed Decoys; Joint Mission Planning System (JMPS); AN/PYQ-10C Simple Key Loader (SKL); Data Transfer Unit (DTU); Accurate Navigation (ANAV) Global Positioning System (GPS) Navigation; KIV-78 Duel Channel Encryptor, Identification Friend or Foe (IFF); CADS/PADS; Instrument Landing System (ILS); Aircraft Armament Equipment (AAE); High Speed Video Network (HSVN) Digital Video Recorder (HDVR); Launchers (LAU-115D/A, LAU-116B/A, LAU-118A); flight test services; site survey; aircraft ferry; auxiliary fuel tanks; aircraft spares; containers; storage and preservation; transportation; aircrew and maintenance training; training aids and equipment, devices and spares and repair parts; weapon system support and test equipment; technical data Engineering Change Proposals; technical publications and documentation; software; avionics software support; software development/integration; system integration and testing; U.S. Government and contractor engineering technical and logistics support; Repair of Repairable (RoR); repair and return warranties; other technical assistance and support equipment; and other related elements of logistics and program support. The estimated total case value is $5.23 billion. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on September 11, 2017.

This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by helping to improve the security of a NATO ally which has been, and continues to be, a key democratic partner of the United States in ensuring peace and stability. The acquisition of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft, associated weapons and capability will allow for greater interoperability with U.S. forces, providing benefits for training and possible future coalition operations in support of shared regional security objectives.

The proposed sale of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft will improve Canada’s capability to meet current and future warfare threats and provide greater security for its critical infrastructure. Canada will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces.

The proposed sale of this equipment and support does not alter the basic military balance in the region.

The principal contractors will be: Boeing Company, St. Louis, MO; Northrop Grumman, Los Angeles, CA; Raytheon, El Segundo, CA; General Electric, Lynn, MA; and Raytheon Missile Systems Company, Tucson, AZ. The Government of Canada has advised that it will negotiate offset agreements with key U.S. contractors.

Implementation of this proposed sale will require the assignment of contractor representatives to Canada on and intermittent basis over the life of the case to support delivery of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft and weapons and to provide supply support management, inventory control and equipment familiarization.

There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.

This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.

Click to expand...

Jura said:

Jul 27, 2017
and here's an update:
Bids for Canada’s $62-billion warship program expected in by early November — with a chance for a do-over
09.07.2017

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Click to expand...

Request for proposals overhauled to avoid 'a failed procurement,' sources say

Companies vying to design and help build the navy's new frigates will have until Nov. 17 to submit their bids, CBC News has learned.

The new deadline, established by the Public Services and Procurement Department, was communicated to the 12 pre-qualified companies on Wednesday, said defence industry sources familiar with the file.

The stakes are enormous.

The program is estimated to be worth $60 billion over the next few decades and the behind-the-scenes manoeuvring is meant to ensure that as many companies as possible remain in the race.

There has been concern that the government would have few, if any bids, to consider because of the requirements and conditions that have been set down.

The design competition was launched almost a year ago with the Liberal government saying the plan to select a foreign, off-the-shelf design would be cheaper and faster than building a warship from scratch.

Bids were supposed to be handed in last spring and the new submission date means the program is about seven months off track.

'Very high risk of failure'
Public works officials said at the beginning of this month that it will take until the spring of 2018 before the government decides who the winner might be.

At the time, they insisted the delay would not impact the overall schedule, which aims to start construction of the complex warships in the early 2020s.

With over 600 requirements to fulfil, many bidders complained to both public works and Irving Shipbuilding, the federal government's go-to yard, for warship construction, that the tender needed to be overhauled.

Otherwise, it faced a "very high risk of failure," according to documents obtained by CBC News in June.

The sources, who could speak only on background because of the sensitivity of the file, said the request for proposals has been overhauled to ensure there "won't be a failed procurement."

Companies are scored on various aspects of their pitch, from warfare requirements to industrial benefits and the involvement of Canadian industry.

Earlier this month, Lisa Campbell, the assistant deputy minister of defence and marine procurement, outlined a few of the amendments being made to the proposal plan.

Sources said Thursday that the new system identifies approximately 20 critical requirements that each designer must meet without exception. A bidder may still be considered even if it fails on some of the lesser prerequisites, said the sources.

In the instance where there are multiple bids with minor flaws, the government will still select a winner using the highest evaluation score.

Campbell, in her Sept. 6 presentation, took pains to underline the navy's requirements for the kinds of warships it wants — and the systems that will go into them — have not changed.

The former Conservative government faced criticism for allowing the design of the navy's much smaller Arctic patrol ships to be watered down.

Bidders are also being given a grace period.

If their proposal has one, or more flaws, they will be given one shot to fix them.

Click to expand...

Jura said:

ooh la la

Canada signals it will use military equipment to resist US protectionist measures

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Click to expand...

The U.S. Commerce Department on Tuesday sided with Boeing in a case against Canadian aerospace firm Bombardier that marks a big win for the company’s commercial side ― but places a potential $5 billion Super Hornet order at risk.


In April, Boeing lodged a complaint with the Commerce Department that Bombardier had received more than $3 billion in government subsidies on its C-series jets that allowed it to undercut its competition. Boeing does not produce a rival to the C-series, but the United States’ largest aerospace company feared that Bombardier’s advantage in that market could allow it to feed larger profits into creating larger airliners that Boeing would then have to compete against.

Tuesday evening, Treasury announced it was siding with Boeing and recommended imposing a 219 percent tariff on Bombardier C Series imports, a massive price hike for the commercial design. And although the dispute revolved around Bombardier and Boeing’s commercial business, the row caused turmoil in the U.S.-Canada relationship that filtered into the defense aerospace market.

Shortly after Boeing announced its complaint, Canada’s defense and foreign ministers threatened to cancel a planned purchase of 18 F/A-18E/F Super Hornet jets, which are manufactured by Boeing in St. Louis, Missouri. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has repeated that claim, saying the country could stop doing business with Boeing altogether unless the company pulled its complaint.

The decision on Tuesday leaves the fate of the Super Hornet deal still unclear, although Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace analyst with the Teal Group, said it likely potends the end of Boeing’s negotiations with Canada.

“This kills it, unless Boeing re-thinks. They aimed for their own foot, and managed to hit it right above the big toe,” he said.

Trudeau campaigned on a platform of cancelling Canada’s F-35 joint strike fighter purchase. His government announced last year that instead of buying the F-35, it would purchase an interim buy of Super Hornets and restart a fighter competition after a new defense strategy had been formed.

A Canadian Super Hornet buy could give Boeing a foothold in a future competition, as the country will have to make training and infrastructure investments in order to support F/A-18E/F flight operations.

The U.S. government has also taken steps to move the Super Hornet deal forward.

Earlier this month, the U.S. State Department approved the sale of 18 Super Hornets to Canada despite a final contract agreement being in question. The arms package, valued at $5.23 billion, included 10 F/A-18Es and 8 F/A-18Fs as well as associated engines, AN/APG-79 active electronically scanned array radars, 20mm guns, electronic warfare countermeasures systems, 100 AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles and other gear.

Instead of buying new Super Hornets from the United States, the Canadian government could opt to buy used F/A-18s from Australia ― an economical move that would let Canada punish Boeing and allow Trudeau to keep his campaign promise.

Meanwhile, F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin has said that it could offer joint strike fighters to Canada in lieu of the Super Hornet. That option could help to preserve defense and trade relations between the United States and Canada.

Despite the unpopularity of the F-35 with the Canadian public, Lockheed has industrial leverage due to Canadian defense companies’ work on the program. As a partner of the F-35 program, an estimated 110 Canadian firms have already racked up more than CA$825 million, or $668 million in U.S. dollars. Should Canada ultimately walk away from an F-35 purchase, Lockheed could pull its business from the country.

Following Tuesday’s ruling, Boeing applauded punishing its rival for taking “massive illegal subsidies in violation of existing trade law.

“Global trade works only if everyone plays by the rules that we’ve all endorsed to ensure fair competition, as adjudicated by independent national and international bodies,” a company statement read. “This dispute has nothing to do with limiting innovation or competition, which we welcome. Rather, it has everything to do with maintaining a level playing field and ensuring that aerospace companies abide by trade agreements.”

Meanwhile, Bombardier strongly condemned the U.S. government’s decision, calling it “absurd and divorced from reality.” The company also voiced hope that the International Trade Commission would ultimately rule in its favor.

“Looking beyond today’s and next month’s preliminary decisions, the International Trade Commission will determine next year whether Boeing suffered any injury from the C Series. Because Boeing did not compete at Delta and because Boeing years ago abandoned the market the C Series serves, there is no harm,” it said in a statement.

Click to expand...