Canadian WW2 Remains Identified as Pvt. K. Duncanson

DND Press Release
Ottawa – National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces

The Department of National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) have identified the remains of a Second World War soldier found in a farmer’s field near Molentje, Damme, Belgium, as those of Private Kenneth Donald Duncanson from Dutton, Ontario. Private Duncanson was a member of The Algonquin Regiment, which served in 10th Infantry Brigade, 4th Canadian Armoured Division in Northwest Europe.

DND and the CAF have notified members of Private Duncanson’s family, and Veterans Affairs Canada is providing the family with ongoing support as final arrangements are made. Private Duncanson’s remains will be interred at Adegem Canadian War Cemetery in Belgium in the fall of 2016 by his Regiment. Next-of-kin have been invited to attend.

Adegem Canadian War Cemetery, Belgium (Commonwealth War Graves Commission)

DND’s Casualty Identification Program exists to identify unknown soldiers when their remains are discovered so that they may be buried with a name by their Regiment and in the presence of their family. In meeting this aim, the program fosters a sense of continuity and identity within the CAF, as it provides an opportunity for all Canadians to reflect upon the experiences of those men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

“We are grateful for the dedication of the Raakvlak Intercommunal Archaeological Service of Belgium, and the support of our international partners, which ultimately made it possible for our officers to identify Private Duncanson, and to provide a sense of closure to his family, his Regiment, and the country which he served. He will not be forgotten.” - Harjit S. Sajjan, Defence Minister

“Private Duncanson gave his life in service to Canada during the Second World War. Now, finally, he may be solemnly laid to rest with the honour and dignity he deserves.”- Kent Hehr, Veterans Affairs Minister and Associate Minister of National Defence

Private Duncanson was born in Wallacetown, Ontario, on June 7, 1915. He married in 1939 and lived in Dutton, Ontario. He enlisted in the Canadian Army on August 24, 1942. He joined The Algonquin Regiment in April 1944.

Private Duncanson was killed on September 14, 1944, during an attempt by the Algonquin Regiment to establish a bridgehead crossing of the Dérivation de la Lys and the Leopold Canal, at the hamlet of Molentje, now in the municipality of Damme, Belgium. This was part of the preliminary battles leading up to the Battle of the Scheldt. Private Duncanson was 29 at the time of his death.
His name is recorded on panel 11 of the Groesbeek Memorial at the Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery in the Netherlands, which commemorates by name more than 1,000 members of the Commonwealth land forces who died during the campaign in Northwest Europe between the time of crossing the Seine at the end of August 1944 and the end of the war in Europe, and whose graves are not known.

On Remembrance Day, November 11, 2014, a metal detector hobbyist discovered the remains of Private Duncanson in a farmer’s field near Molentje, Damme, Belgium.

Subsequently, the remains were fully recovered by the Raakvlak Intercommunal Archaeological Service of Bruges, Belgium, with assistance from DND’s Casualty Identification Program, and with the support of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, the Canadian Embassy in Brussels, and the Canadian Defence Attaché in Paris.

Private Duncanson’s identification resulted from a combination of historical context, anthropological analysis, artefact evidence, and dental records. The identification was made by the Casualty Identification Program, with the assistance of the Royal Canadian Dental Corps and the Canadian Museum of History.

Dassault Aviation Congratulates Trudeau and Pitches Rafale

In the days following the 2015 Federal Election, and the election of a Majority Liberal Government, there were congratulations pouring in from around the world for Prime Minister-Elect Justin Trudeau.

One of those letters came from the Chairman of Dassault Aviation, Eric Trappier who in his congratulations letter pitched the Rafael fighter jet as a potential replacement to Canada's aging fleet of CF-18s. While it is considered by many highly unlikely that Canada will buy a non-America fighter jet - many see the Dassault Rafael as a contender. Many, including me, see a built in Canada Rafael as the ideal replacement. It is cheaper than the F-35, combat proven, and has a dual-engine; something that is essential when operating in remote locations like Canada's arctic region.

While the Rafael is a little more expensive than purchasing new(er) F/A-18 Super Hornets from Boeing, the Rafael is a new aircraft, and Boeing will only pitch the F/A-18 to keep its assembly line open. If the assembly line is closing, that should be an indication that the aircraft is out of date.

Dassault has already agreed to export the Rafael to Egypt, Qatar (sale not final), and India (sale not final). They are hopeful that next year they will also sell to Belgium, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates.

A French Air Force Rafael in action over Libya in 2011. 

When the RAFALE programme was launched, the French Air Force and French Navy published a joint requirement for an omnirole aircraft that would have to replace the seven types of combat aircraft then in operation.

The Rafael aircraft is now able to carry out a very wide range of missions:

- Air-defence / air-superiority;
- Anti-Access/Area Denial;
- Reconnaissance;
- Close air support;
- Dynamic Targeting;
- Air-to-ground precision strike / interdiction;
- Anti-ship attacks;
- Nuclear deterrence;
- buddy-buddy refuelling.

These requirements were taken into account from the start of the RAFALE’s development, leading engineers to invent an aircraft which goes beyond the needs of each type of mission.

Versatile and best in all categories of missions, the RAFALE is a true “Force Multiplier”.

The RAFALE has exhibited a remarkable survivability rate during the latest French Air Force and Navy operations, thanks to an optimized airframe and to a wide range of smart and discrete sensors. It is slated to be the French armed forces prime combat aircraft until 2040 at least.  That would give Canada at least 20 years of a combat ready aircraft - and it will be capable to fly well past that date. 

Thanks to its outstanding reliability, the RAFALE has lower maintenance costs. Its unique maintenance concept results in a lighter scheduled maintenance plan with less man-hours and a smaller number of maintenance technicians.

For all its service life, the RAFALE does not have to leave its operational base for maintenance purposes. It does away with costly and time-consuming airframe and engine depot level inspections required on other types of fighter aircraft, with “shop replaceable units” (SRUs) the only items to be shipped for maintenance / repair.

Here is the original article about Dassault's pitch to Trudeau.

Below Written by Pierre Tran of defensenews.com 

PARIS — Dassault Aviation Chairman Eric Trappier said Thursday he had written a letter of congratulations to Justin Trudeau, the newly elected Canadian prime minister, and pitched an offer of the Rafale fighter if Ottawa pulled out of the US F-35 program.

“We have to wait and see what he decides now he is in office,” Trappier told the association of aerospace journalists. “I wrote a letter to congratulate him and to remind him that if the F-35 were canceled, the Rafale would be potentially proposed." The letter was sent in the last two days.

Dassault sees India as the next export client for the Rafale, he said.

We’re on the right track, discussions are going well,” he said.

The French aircraft builder hopes a deal for 36 Rafales will be sealed with India by the end of the calendar rather than the financial year.

“We’re coming fast to the end of the calendar year but I remain hopeful for the end of the calendar year,” he said. “But I am a major optimist.”

Negotiations have moved relatively swiftly on a government-to-government level, and there is agreement on an industrial offset with local Indian partners to comply with the Make in India drive. Under the proposed deal, Dassault would be free to choose the local partner rather than accept the government’s pick, although New Delhi will likely ask for its right to approve the selection, he said.

Dassault could also set up joint ventures in India, which could help the Rafale gain additional orders, as the Indian Air Force is keen to acquire 126 aircraft rather than settle for 36. Russia is also active in the Indian market.

Qatar, which in May signed an order for 24 Rafales, has still not paid a deposit for the €6.3 billion (US $7 billion) deal but the payment is in the process of being made, he said.

Dassault does not expect any “specific announcements” at the upcoming Dubai Air Show, he said. Dassault has sold Mirages in the Arabian Gulf, an important region for fighter sales, and hopes to sell twin-engined Rafales as a replacement.

Talks are continuing with the United Arab Emirates, which is engaged in combat in Yemen, with the UAE Mirages being flown in that conflict, he said. Dassault is getting close to local industry to help provide support. Egypt and Qatar are the two foreign clients of the Rafale, and the order from Cairo surprised Dassault as the first customer.

Belgium and Switzerland are among long-term prospects, he said. Dassault opened a Belgian office last year and is seeking local partners for an expected fighter competition for when Belgium replaces the F-16.

Switzerland, which canceled a pick of the Saab Gripen, still must eventually replace its F-5s and also the F-18. The family-controlled aircraft builder sees the multirole Rafale as fitting the requirements for replacing two types of aircraft.

Dassault expects a “snowball effect” in foreign orders and the company hopes to sign more deals in coming months. But it looked less likely a fourth client would sign this year, he said.

The company, in anticipation of further export sales, has agreed with Tier 2 subcontractors to increase output by the end of 2018 to deliver three aircraft per month from the present one per month, with the line closed for the month of August for an annual holiday.

“We’re taking a risk, a measured risk,” he said. If there were a lack of foreign orders, then production will return to the current production rate.

A speeded up dispatch of the first six Rafales for Egypt came out of the slots intended for the French Air Force, which is keen to see a return of delivery as the service is forming a second nuclear squadron, as confirmed in the revised multiyear budget law, he said.

Malaysia is another export prospect, Trappier told Defense New. Low oil prices weakens the budget for Kuala Lumpur, but “it will be a political decision.”

On the proposed European medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) drone, Dassault would accept an appointment of Airbus as prime contractor.

“It could be Airbus, there’s no problem for us,” he said.

A key factor in the project is the mission payload with electro-optics, radar, and datalink, he said. Thales is a key supplier of these systems.

Spain and Poland have shown interest.

Laurent Collet-Billon, head of procurement office Direction Générale de l’Armement, told the defense committee of the National Assembly lower house Oct. 7 that Germany will hold just over 30 percent of the European MALE UAV project, with France, Italy and Spain each holding 23 percent. A technical study contract is due to be signed by March.

Airbus, Dassault and Finmeccanica pitched the MALE UAV project to France, Germany and Italy, and French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has backed the plan.

Le Drian “more than helped” on the Rafale exports, Trappier said. There were geopolitics, a fading US influence in the gulf, direct and indirect support from the French armed forces, and the president's influence. A 20-25 percent fall in the euro/dollar exchange rate also helped.

“There is the minister who works the relations, on which Jean-Yves Le Drian served well,” he said. Once the French companies saw the close bilateral ties, they could focus the sales effort.

“The minister does not interfere in the sale, he leaves that to us. That’s fundamental,” he said.

Dassault is happy to see Thales improve its profitability and welcomed the acquisition of a US cybersecurity firm, a key area for the defense electronics company, he said.

“Thales is a company that we follow with close attention, and in which we will stay for a long time," he said. Dassault is the industrial shareholder in Thales and is pleased with its investment in a high-technology company with a large international reach.

On Wednesday, Thales reported a 74 percent rise in orders in the July-to-September quarter, with the defense and security orders jumping 43 percent. The third quarter sales were stable at €2.79 billion compared with €2.72 billion a year ago.

Canadian Forces Training in France

DND released late last week that 30 members of the 1st Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (1 CMBG) based out of Edmonton, Alberta are taking part in Exercise CITADEL KLEBER at the Mourmelon Training grounds in France.

The CAF announced that the training exercise began on March 3 2015, and will run until March 20 2015. The CAF in recent years has stepped up its training exercises with France, and more are expected in the future according to DND.

Exercise CITADEL KLEBER also includes troops from Belgium, Spain, and the Netherlands. It totals more than 1,700 troops. The exercise is being led by France, who is getting ready to take over the NATO Rapid Response HQ in 2017.

The 1 CMBG troops are taking the opportunity to plan and execute crisis response situations and sharpen their interoperability skills with NATO allies.