Second iAOR Supply Ship Not Needed: Trudeau

By: David Pugliese, Defence Watch

As the legal battle over the fate of Vice Admiral Mark Norman was being played out in an Ottawa court Wednesday just a short distance away in the House of Commons the country’s political leaders were dealing with a related issue.

MV Asterix, accompanying Royal Canadian Navy ships, replenished two US Navy vessels at the same time in the North Atlantic this week. The USN ships are USS Bainbridge and USS Mitscher. March 2018

Norman is charged with one count of breach of trust for allegedly providing information to Davie Shipbuilding which had entered into a deal with the previous Conservative government to provide a supply ship to the Royal Canadian Navy.

Conservative leader Andrew Scheer questioned the Liberal government why it was not moving ahead with having Davie provide a second supply ship – the Obelix – to the navy. Scheer said the navy needed the second ship. “The Prime Minister has to stop playing political games and before Christmas should award that contract to Davie,” he told the Commons. “What’s he waiting for?”

But Trudeau accused Scheer of playing “petty politics.”

“The armed forces did an assessment,” Trudeau explained. “They don’t need the Obelix and for him to suggest that we should buy it anyway is pure base politics, the worst politics. We make our decisions based on facts. We recognize the quality of work done by Davie shipyard and we do want them to get good jobs but we are not going to make up work for political reasons.” Trudeau's comments follow the same line as comments made by Minister of Transportation Marc Garneau in December of 2017.

Reports from the Royal Canadian Navy indicate that there is a need for a second supply ship on the West Coast - but for now, the Asterix will be shared between both coasts until the new Protecteur-Class AORs are built by Seaspan and in service around 2026.

M/V A.Obelix is a container ship which is available for immediate purchase and conversion into a second interim-auxiliary oil replenishment ship for the Royal Canadian Navy. Davie Shipbuilding and Federal Fleet Services is offering this to the Government of Canada, and says it could have the Obleix operational as an iAOR by early 2020; six years before the Protecteur-Class AORs are available. 

New RCAF Aircraft to be Operational in 2026; but No Decision on Replacement Yet

By: David Puligese,

The Royal Canadian Air Force will be operating the first nine aircraft from its new fleet of fighter jets starting in 2026, Department of National Defence officials say.

But at least one member of parliament questions whether the federal government will be able to meet its timetable to replace the CF-18 fighter fleet with advanced aircraft.

MPs on the Standing Committee on Public Accounts received more details on Monday about the Liberal government’s plan to buy 88 new fighter jets. Aircraft expected in the competition include Lockheed Martin’s F-35, the Eurofighter Typhoon, Saab’s Gripen and the Boeing Super Hornet.

Pat Finn, assistant deputy minister for material at the DND, told MPS that the formal request for proposals will go out in the spring of 2019. Negotiations would be held in 2021 and a contract awarded in 2022.

“We have tried to be very judicious and not have too risky a schedule to try to achieve some of that,” Finn explained to MPs. “But from the bids until the signing of the contract is where we’ve given ourselves two years for the competitive dialogue, the final negotiations and the various approvals we need to get, signing the contract in 2022.”

The first aircraft would be delivered in 2025. Finn said this schedule has been shared with all the potential bidders and “they’re comfortable with that approach.”

Jody Thomas, the DND deputy minister, told MPs that the plan is to “achieve initial operating capability by 2026 with nine advanced fighters ready to fulfill the NORAD mission.”

But one committee member, Conservative MP Pat Kelly, was wary of whether the aircraft acquisition would proceed as scheduled.

The plan, he told Finn, doesn’t leave a lot of margin for error. Everything would have to run like clockwork to meet the timetable and Kelly questioned if that would even be possible given the track record of defence procurement over the years. “We just don’t have time in this for the kinds of delays and the kinds of failures of procurement that we have seen in other programs,” Kelly said. “I shudder to think of what many Canadians listening to this hearing might think about. What has the potential to go wrong to get to 2025? I’m going to leave it at that.”

HMCS Calgary Witnesses Possible Violations of North Korean Sanctions on Patrol in Pacific

By: Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press

OTTAWA -- The crew of a Canadian warship in the Pacific had front-row seats to potential violations of UN sanctions against North Korea during a recent patrol in the East China Sea -- but was under orders not to intercept any suspicious vessels, the ship's commander says.

HMCS Calgary - Halifax Class Frigate 

Crew members on HMCS Calgary instead took photos and collected other information, Cmdr. Blair Saltel said Tuesday.

"We saw several ship-to-ship transfers at sea and by the markings -- based on the intelligence that we had -- some of those were associated with ... potential violators of those sanctions," Saltel said.

"We maintained a (distance), and that's in (accordance) with the entire approach to the operation. We took pictures, we passed that information to the higher authorities and the expectation is that could be used for legal sanctions."

HMCS Calgary is the first Canadian military vessel to deploy to the area after the federal government agreed earlier this year to help the U.S. and other allies crack down on smuggling designed to subvert sanctions against North Korea.

Western security officials have previously accused Russia and China of exporting oil to North Korea -- or at least turning a blind eye as their companies do -- which would be a violation of sanctions. Both countries have denied the charge.

While the Canadian frigate did not intercept any vessels, Saltel said the mere presence of a Western warship was enough in some cases to cause the other vessels to turn tail and run.

"We noted in a few instances that the transfers would wrap up quite quickly and they would have to escape. So our presence disrupted several of the transfers. But we had no intention of actually doing something as forceful as boarding or blocking a ship."

The Calgary and the navy's interim support ship, MV Asterix, are wrapping up a six-month deployment in the Pacific off Asia, during which they also participated in several multinational military exercises and visited several countries.

One of the main objectives was to demonstrate Canada's naval presence in a part of the world that is growing increasingly important to Canadian prosperity and international security.

Saltel said the deployment has included being shadowed by Chinese naval vessels in the South and East China Seas, which has become routine for Western military ships operating in the area amid growing tensions over competing territorial claims.

The U.S., the United Kingdom and other allies have made a point of sailing close to disputed islands and through disputed waters claimed by China, prompting several close calls and tense moments as the latter flexes its muscles.

The situation in the South China Sea, in particular, has been compared to a powder keg, as Chinese and U.S. naval vessels have almost collided as the U.S. navy has conducted "freedom of navigation" operations.

Saltel said he was not directed to do anything like that, and while HMCS Calgary did sail near the disputed Spratly Islands, its course was intended to save fuel and not to send a message to China.

The Canadian officer said his Chinese "shadows" acted professionally and "never really came within a distance that I would have considered unsafe."

HMCS Calgary's recent deployment was also unique for being the first to involve the Asterix, a converted civilian vessel that the federal government is leasing from Quebec-based Davie Shipbuilding until permanent support ships can be built.

The Asterix is captained and crewed by civilians except for a small contingent of military personnel who are responsible for providing fuel and other supplies at sea. Saltel said it has conducted about 50 such replenishments with the Calgary and allies.

Government Gets OK to award $60B Shipbuilding Contract to Lockheed Martin Canada

By: David Pugliese, The National Post

A federal trade tribunal has rescinded its order preventing the federal government from awarding a contract to Lockheed Martin Canada for a new fleet of warships for the Canadian navy.

The Canadian International Trade Tribunal ordered the government on Nov. 27 to postpone the awarding of the contract for the $60 billion Canadian Surface Combatant project while it investigated claims that Lockheed Martin’s proposed vessel doesn’t meet the military’s needs.

The firm is offering Canada the Type 26 warship designed by BAE in the United Kingdom.

Alion, one of the companies that submitted a bid on the project, filed a complaint with the trade tribunal alleging the process was flawed and that BAE’s Type 26 can’t meet Canadian requirements. Alion has also filed a legal challenge in federal court, asking for a judicial review of the decision by Irving and the government to select the BAE design. Alion argues the Type 26 cannot meet the stated mandatory requirements, including speed, that Canada set out for the new warship, so it should be disqualified.

But on Monday the CITT lifted its order, even though it has determined it will examine the Alion complaint. Mélanie Lalonde, CITT’s deputy director of communications, said Tuesday that the tribunal cannot comment on ongoing proceedings.

A delay in awarding contracts would be contrary to the public interest

But the decision came after Andre Fillion, an assistant deputy minister at Public Services and Procurement Canada, wrote to request the order be removed. He noted that “the procurement of goods and services to which the Alion Complaint pertains is urgent, and that a delay in awarding contracts would be contrary to the public interest.”

Alion’s legal team objected, noting that “no reasons, nor any justifications, are provided to support this claim.”

The CSC program, the largest single government purchase in Canadian history, will see the eventual construction of 15 warships at Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax. Lockheed Martin Canada says the Type 26 will meet all of Canada’s requirements. The government hopes to be in a position to have a contract ready for signature by early next year.

The Irving Shipbuilding facility is seen in Halifax on June 14, 2018. Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press

The CITT hearings into the Alion complaint could take as long as 90 days.

Alion had offered Canada the Dutch De Zeven Provinciën Air Defence and Command frigate, which the firm says meets all of Canada’s requirements. It also noted in its court application that the requirements and other parameters of the surface combatant project were altered 88 times during the process and that the changes diluted the requirements for a new warship, allowing the government and Irving to pick “an unproven design platform.”

The entry of the BAE Type 26 warship in the competition was controversial from the start. Previously, the government had said only mature existing designs or designs of ships already in service with other navies would be accepted for the bidding process, on the grounds they could be built faster and would be less risky — unproven designs can face challenges as problems are found once the vessel is in the water and operating.

But that criteria was changed and the Liberal government and Irving accepted the BAE design in the process, though at the time it existed only on the drawing board. Construction began on the first Type 26 frigate in the summer of 2017 for Britain’s Royal Navy, but it has not been completed.

Company claims about what the Type 26 ship can do, including how fast it can go, are based on simulations or projections.

The two other bidders in the surface combatant program have ships actually in service with other navies so their capabilities are known.

Quebec Pushing for more Federal Shipbuilding Work

By: David Pugliese, Defence Watch

Quebec’s National Assembly has unanimously adopted a motion in support of the federal government re-examining the National Shipbuilding Strategy and how work on that strategy is allocated. The motion on Friday calls for more work to be directed to Quebec-based Davie Shipbuilding.

MV Asterix departs Halifax Harbour on 11 April, 2018 for the Pacific coast to work with Maritime Forces Pacific. Canadian Forces photo.

Davie has already converted one supply vessel, the Asterix, which is currently at the centre of the legal battle Vice Admiral Mark Norman faces. It is also converting a fleet of used icebreakers for the Canadian Coast Guard.

Quebec’s politicians want the Liberal government to proceed immediately with a second supply ship from Davie.

Not surprisingly, Davie officials and industry affiliates welcomed the political support and issued a news release Friday highlighting the National Assembly’s position.

“In order to ensure the success of the government’s defence policy – Strong, Secure and Engaged – as well as the navy’s Leadmark 2050 plan, we need to begin the construction of a second ship without delay,” James Davies, President of Davie Shipbuilding, said in a statement.

Irving and Seaspan, the shipyards selected to perform the major chunk of work under the shipbuilding strategy, are opposed to additional contracts going to Davie. Irving, in particular, has voiced its concern.

Seaspan shipyards in Vancouver will build the first of two Joint Support Ships, scheduled to be ready in the 2021-2022 timeframe.

This is not the first time that Quebec has pushed for more work under the shipbuilding strategy. In December 2017, politicians and unions in Quebec tried to turn up the heat on the Liberal government, questioning why Davie shipyards wasn’t getting work from the federal government. They highlighted the capability of the shipyard to deliver a second Asterix-type ship quickly.

But Transport Minister, and former navy officer, Marc Garneau said the federal government didn’t need another supply ship.
”We cannot artificially create a need for something that doesn’t exist,” he told reporters at the time.

He did not explain how one supply ship would support naval fleets operating on two coasts.

Sajjan Pledges Support for Anti-ISIS Mission - But Does not Extend Canadian Mission

The Canadian Press

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan pledged Canada’s enduring support for Iraq and the war against Islamic State group on Thursday – but stopped short of extending Canada’s military mission in the region, most of which is set to expire next spring.

Rather, after hosting a meeting with representatives from more than a dozen countries to discuss the future of Iraq and Syria and plot next steps in the effort to destroy ISIL (also known as ISIS), Sajjan said the government continues to weigh Canada’s long-term role in the region.

“Today, we reaffirmed our focus on the enduring defeat of ISIS’s own network of foreign terrorist fighters, financing and propaganda,” the minister said in a statement after the meeting at a government-owned estate on Meech Lake, near Ottawa.

“Moving forward, the coalition’s continued collaboration and partnership remains crucial, and the strategic advice and direction provided during this morning’s meeting will be essential in shaping our next steps toward winning this fight.”

The comments came shortly after Canada’s top general told a parliamentary committee that while progress has been made in the fight against ISIL, it’s still too early to say when Canadian soldiers might no longer be needed in Iraq.

Defence chief Gen. Jonathan Vance said many of the political, economic and social problems that contributed to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’s rise more than four years ago remain.

And while ISIL has lost all the territory it once held in Iraq, Vance says ISIL remains a threat and that Canada and its allies must remain on guard against any attempts to re-assert itself.

“At some point in the future, I would look forward to being able to provide the advice that Iraq has come far enough and (ISIL) has gone backwards enough that we don’t need the military forces there anymore,” Vance said. “We’re not at that point right now.”

A recent U.S. Defense Department report that said that ISIL has started to dig roots as an “effective” insurgent group – and that it could take “years, if not decades” before the Iraqi military can deal with it on its own.

Canada earlier this year assumed command of a NATO training mission that includes 250 Canadian troops and whose aim is to train the Iraqi military so that it can ensure security.

However, hundreds of other Canadian soldiers not assigned to the training mission have continued to fly transport and refuelling aircraft, collect and analyze intelligence and provide medical assistance to coalition efforts against ISIL, also known as ISIS.

Vance also revealed that Canada still has an undisclosed number of special-forces soldiers in Iraq who have been working with Iraqi security forces as the latter hunt down ISIL forces left over from earlier battles.

Without an extension, the non-NATO mission is set to expire in March.

The question heading into Thursday’s meeting at Meech Lake was whether the federal government would opt to keep them in Iraq longer, change the overall mission or begin to withdraw from the country.

Sajjan and his co-host, U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis, said coming out that they had “reaffirmed our focus on the enduring defeat of ISIS and defined our vision moving forward.

© 2018 The Canadian Press

AETE to move from Cold Lake to Ottawa

By: David Pugliese and Tyler Dawson, The National Post 

The Aerospace, Engineering, Testing Estavlishment Cover Phoro - Griffon Helicopter, CF-18 Hornet, and CT-114 Tutor

The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) flight test unit Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment (AETE) will move from CFB Cold Lake (Alta.) to the airport of Canada’s capital, Ottawa. The AETE will thus partner with the National Research Council (NRC) Flight Research Laboratory, the Canadian government’s civil flight test unit, based here, to streamline flight testing and evaluation capability.

Meanwhile, space will be freed up at CFB Cold Lake for the arrival of additional fighter aircraft. The costs of moving the AETE is part of the budget which had been set aside to acquire the former Australian F/A-18A/B Hornet fighter aircraft, the first of which are due to arrive in 2019. However, the move of AETE to Ottawa will not take place before the Summer of 2021.

The National Research Council (NRC) fleet consists of Bell 205, Bell 206 and Bell 212 helicopters, a Convair 580, an Extra 300L, a Falcon 20 jet, a Harvard trainer, a DHC-6 Twin Otter and a T-33 jet. The AETE fleet currently has six CT-114 Tutors, two CH-146 Griffons and two CF-188 Hornets on strength.

The federal government will create a new centre of excellence in Ottawa to support aircraft testing, but it will come at the cost of relocating staff and shutting down existing military facilities in Alberta.

The move affects the Canadian military’s Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment, or AETE, which has been at Cold Lake, Alta. since 1971. Under the new plan AETE would be relocated to the international airport in Ottawa and partnered with the National Research Council Flight Research Laboratory and Transport Canada Aircraft Services Directorate to create a centre of excellence for flight testing and evaluation. The move would affect almost one-third of the unit, which employs 166 military personnel and 22 public servants. The remaining two-thirds would be reassigned to other air force functions, said Department of National Defence spokesman Dan Le Bouthillier.

Moving AETE will save $14 million a year and free up space for the arrival of more fighter jets at Cold Lake. Canada is in the process of purchasing used fighter aircraft from Australia and the federal government has committed to buying 88 new jets to replace the existing fleet of CF-18s.

“This partnership will streamline our flight testing and evaluation capability, while ensuring sufficient space is available for the arrival of additional fighter aircraft in Cold Lake,” Le Bouthillier said.


This partnership will streamline our flight testing and evaluation capability, while ensuring sufficient space is available for the arrival of additional fighter aircraft in Cold Lake

The move, however, is not sitting well with local politicians.

David Yurdiga, the Conservative MP for the area, said he’d heard about the move on Monday when it was raised at the House Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts. DND officials briefing the committee said there had been consultation about the move with local politicians. “It’s totally not true,” said Yurdiga.

Craig Copeland, the mayor of Cold Lake, said the city hasn’t yet received a briefing from officials in Ottawa. “It’s been sort of verbally mentioned over the years that there would be a re-org,” he explained. “We’re hoping to get somebody to brief us.”

Details about the exact number of jobs that will be moved from Alberta are still not clear. It is not known how many of the air force personnel who will be reassigned to new jobs would continue to operate from Cold Lake.

Yurdiga said the loss of jobs would hit the community hard but he added that defence minister Harjit Sajjan had assured him there would be a “net benefit” to the community. “Cold Lake can’t afford to lose even one position,” Yurdiga said.

“There are so many unanswered questions and uncertainty is what the community is facing,” he added.

Copeland said he had heard an estimate of 50 jobs being lost. That would be a real blow to the area, already suffering from depressed oil prices, and with a home foreclosure rate, he said, of around 10 per cent. “That is concerning to me,” Copeland said. “On the one hand it’s tough to see people leave our community but on the other hands, we are hopeful — and expecting — that the Canadian military’s going to be investing (locally) for the new fighter jet program.”

AETE currently occupies the second-largest and newest hangar at Cold Lake, which will be repurposed for other air force needs, including the new fighter program.

The final details of the move are still being worked on, including costs, Le Bouthillier said. DND is in ongoing discussions with the Ottawa International Airport Authority regarding the location of the new centre, he added.

The costs for relocating AETE are included in the $470 million the Liberal government has set aside for buying the used Australian F-18 fighter jets, and would not take place before summer 2021.

The Cold Lake location was primarily selected for AETE because of the large evaluation range nearby and its favourable climate for flight testing. AETE employs test pilots, flight test engineers, qualified systems evaluators, specialist engineers, and technologists.

Postmedia first revealed the proposal to move AETE in April 2016. The plan first started under the Conservative government but the Liberals continued with the relocation initiative. At the time the Canadian Forces said it would still use the bombing ranges associated with the Cold Lake installation but other test work could be moved.

At the time, the military told defence industry representatives the remote Cold Lake location made it challenging to attract or retain people and that relocating could save money.