DND Press Release
As part of Canada’s ongoing commitment to support Ukraine, the Canadian Armed Forces will temporarily increase the number of trainers in the country in order to assist in the training of a Battalion Tactical Group of Ukrainian troops.
Today, Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members are arriving at the International Peacekeeping and Security Centre in Starychi, Ukraine.
This represents the largest Canadian contingent since the start of Operation Unifier to help train and mentor the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Under Operation Unifier, the CAF is working with our US allies in providing military training and capacity building to the Armed Forces of Ukraine personnel to support Ukraine in its efforts to maintain sovereignty, security, and stability.
“This increase of CAF trainers demonstrates Canada’s enduring commitment to Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. This training assistance builds on previous support by our Government and will bolster Ukraine’s efforts to maintain its sovereignty, security, and stability,” said The Honourable Harjit Sajjan, Minister of National Defence.
The training provided by the CAF, in coordination with our allies, contributes to enhancing the Armed Forces of Ukraine self-sufficiency in training delivery and their ability to conduct military operations across the full spectrum of conflict.
By participating in this training mission, the CAF is helping to develop the professionalism and modernization of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, supporting Ukrainian aspirations to achieve military compatibility with NATO by 2020.
Since August 2015, the CAF has deployed approximately 200 CAF personnel on a rotating basis to Ukraine and will continue to do so until the end of March 2019. More than 5 000 Armed Forces of Ukraine candidates have participated in the training.
The surge team comprises a total of 48 CAF members from infantry, artillery, armored and logistical corps, increasing Canada’s presence to approximately 240 personnel for the duration of the temporary increase.
The duration of the temporary increase to the training team is approximately 60 days.
The International Peacekeeping and Security Centre is located in Starychi in western Ukraine close to the Polish border.
Monday, January 29, 2018
RCAF to Fly CF-18s until 2032
By: David Puglise, The National Post
Canada will squeeze even more flying time out of its aging CF-18s, keeping the jets operating for another 15 years.
There had been plans to take the jets out of service shortly after 2025.
But representatives from companies who took part in a Jan. 22 industry day outlining the Liberal government’s program to buy new fighter planes were told the RCAF will now keep the CF-18s operating until 2032.
The jets, first received in 1982, will be retired after 50 years of service.
Some aerospace industry sources, however, question whether the 2032 retirement is set in stone since any delays in the purchase of new jets could alter that schedule.
The first replacement aircraft for the CF-18s will arrive in 2025 but the deliveries of the 88 planes would not be completed until 2030, according to the federal government documents distributed to industry representatives at the Jan. 22 meeting in Ottawa.
The CF-18s have been upgraded over the years. In 2001 a modernization project was launched to allow the planes to continue operating until 2017-2020.
Structural improvements to maintain the fleet have also been ongoing and another upgrade program is in the works, with the aim to keep the planes flying until 2025, according to the RCAF.
That will provide the planes with various systems to allow them to operate with allied air forces as well as meet new rules to fly in domestic and international airspace. There could also be upgrades to weapons, the RCAF says.
It is unclear if yet another upgrade would be needed beyond that to keep the planes flying from 2025 to 2032.
Canada is in also in discussions with Australia to purchase 18 used F-18 aircraft to augment the existing fleet of CF-18s. While the exact cost of that deal won’t be made public until the contract is signed, the Liberal government has set aside $500 million for the project.
In November 2016, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan acknowledged that the CF-18s might have to keep flying longer than planned, suggesting they could even continue until 2030 or perhaps beyond. The briefing to industry representatives was the first official government confirmation that the RCAF would stretch out the life of the aircraft until 2032.
The Liberals have committed to buying 88 new fighter jets in a program that could cost as much as $19 billion. That price-tag does not include long-term maintenance.
Troy Crosby, director general of defence major projects at Public Services and Procurement Canada, said in an interview with Postmedia that a request for proposals from companies for the new fighter jets is expected to be issued in spring 2019. A contract would be signed in late 2021 or early 2022.
André Fillion, chief of staff in the materiel branch at the Department of National Defence, said the Jan. 22 meeting provided a way to brief industry on how the purchase will unfold. “This was an opportunity for us to start talking to industry about the context for the fleet in terms of its operation, sustainment and acquisition,” he explained in an interview with Postmedia. Fillion said attendees were given “a bit of an appreciation of where we are headed so they can start thinking about their solution.”
Further details of the purchase will emerge over the next year.
Canada is compiling a suppliers list which will include aircraft manufacturers and the foreign governments or defence agencies associated with those planes. The deadline for submissions to that list is Feb. 9.
The Canadian government will then evaluate the responses and a formal list will be drawn up by March. Only suppliers on the list at that time will be invited to take part in the competition and to submit proposals.
Canada will squeeze even more flying time out of its aging CF-18s, keeping the jets operating for another 15 years.
There had been plans to take the jets out of service shortly after 2025.
But representatives from companies who took part in a Jan. 22 industry day outlining the Liberal government’s program to buy new fighter planes were told the RCAF will now keep the CF-18s operating until 2032.
The jets, first received in 1982, will be retired after 50 years of service.
Some aerospace industry sources, however, question whether the 2032 retirement is set in stone since any delays in the purchase of new jets could alter that schedule.
The first replacement aircraft for the CF-18s will arrive in 2025 but the deliveries of the 88 planes would not be completed until 2030, according to the federal government documents distributed to industry representatives at the Jan. 22 meeting in Ottawa.
 |
| A CF-188 Hornet from the Canadian Air Task Force Lithuania perform manoeuvres over Lithuania on September 15, 2014 for the NATO Baltic Air Policing Block 36 during Operation Reassurance. Cpl Gabrielle DesRochers |
Structural improvements to maintain the fleet have also been ongoing and another upgrade program is in the works, with the aim to keep the planes flying until 2025, according to the RCAF.
That will provide the planes with various systems to allow them to operate with allied air forces as well as meet new rules to fly in domestic and international airspace. There could also be upgrades to weapons, the RCAF says.
It is unclear if yet another upgrade would be needed beyond that to keep the planes flying from 2025 to 2032.
Canada is in also in discussions with Australia to purchase 18 used F-18 aircraft to augment the existing fleet of CF-18s. While the exact cost of that deal won’t be made public until the contract is signed, the Liberal government has set aside $500 million for the project.
In November 2016, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan acknowledged that the CF-18s might have to keep flying longer than planned, suggesting they could even continue until 2030 or perhaps beyond. The briefing to industry representatives was the first official government confirmation that the RCAF would stretch out the life of the aircraft until 2032.
 |
| Seen from the window of a Canadian Forces CC-150 Polaris tanker, a CF-18 Hornet fighter jet refuels in the air over Vancouver during Operation Podium on Feb. 18, 2010. Master Corporal Andrew Collins, 14 Wing Imaging |
Troy Crosby, director general of defence major projects at Public Services and Procurement Canada, said in an interview with Postmedia that a request for proposals from companies for the new fighter jets is expected to be issued in spring 2019. A contract would be signed in late 2021 or early 2022.
André Fillion, chief of staff in the materiel branch at the Department of National Defence, said the Jan. 22 meeting provided a way to brief industry on how the purchase will unfold. “This was an opportunity for us to start talking to industry about the context for the fleet in terms of its operation, sustainment and acquisition,” he explained in an interview with Postmedia. Fillion said attendees were given “a bit of an appreciation of where we are headed so they can start thinking about their solution.”
Further details of the purchase will emerge over the next year.
Canada is compiling a suppliers list which will include aircraft manufacturers and the foreign governments or defence agencies associated with those planes. The deadline for submissions to that list is Feb. 9.
The Canadian government will then evaluate the responses and a formal list will be drawn up by March. Only suppliers on the list at that time will be invited to take part in the competition and to submit proposals.
Wednesday, January 24, 2018
2nd Hand Ice-Breakers Available...if GoC Wants Them
By Colonel (Retired) Pierre Leblanc
The Maritime Executive
I recently attended the Maritime and Arctic Security & Safety Conference in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, where I learned of an interesting unforeseen opportunity for the Canadian Government to acquire a number of modern icebreakers at deeply discounted prices.
On January 30, 2017 I raised my concerns with the aging of the Canadian Coast Guard fleet of icebreakers. The ships in that fleet are coming to the end of their technical designs. The average age of the fleet is 36 years. The CCGS Louis St-Laurent is 48 years old.
Although there can be life extending programs in place there is still a need to replace those ships with modern ones. There is only one vessel that I can clearly identify in the Ship Building Strategy. At the moment, the replacement for the Louis-St-Laurent is planned to enter service in 2028 at which point the Louis St-Laurent will be 59 years old.
Building a new fleet will provide an opportunity to introduce more environmentally friendly propulsion systems to reduce the pollution of black carbon and nitrous oxide in the Arctic since the momentum to ban heavy fuel oil from the Arctic is increasing.
Two related elements are creating stress on the Canadian icebreaker fleet: global warming and demand for services. I believe that most Canadians are by now aware that global warming is taking place and that the arctic ice is disappearing. What might not be realized is that the breaking up of the ice means that the winds and currents will move the ice, especially thick and hard multi-year ice, in unexpected places and at unexpected times. One day the ice may be gone from the shore of a community but the next day it may block the departure of the supply ship requiring the support of an icebreaker. The opposite may happen with a supply ship not being able to reach the community because the wind will have pushed a barrier of ice against the coast line. All of the communities of Nunavut are resupplied by ship; it is therefore essential that icebreaker services be readily available.
The other element of stress is that the level of human activity in the Arctic is on the increase, allowed by the easier access caused by the disappearance of the ice. There is more activity requiring icebreaker support. A cruise ship in distress may divert the support of an icebreaker from community resupply. This will more than likely continue to increase which will in turn likely call for more icebreaker support.
When I commanded Joint Task Force North, my Coast Guard colleagues used to tell me that “if there is more ice you need more icebreakers, and if there is less ice you still need more icebreakers.” Although counter-intuitive, the need for more icebreaker when there is less ice is because the Arctic ice starts moving around early and throughout the shipping season causing largely unpredictable ice dams. This is already reported by the Coast Guard and the marine companies resupplying the Canadian Arctic communities.
The oil and gas company Shell is reported to have spent in excess of $9 billion dollars exploring and developing a capability to drill for oil in the Arctic. For several reasons forming a “perfect storm,” in September of 2015 they canceled their Arctic project. To support their Arctic operations they had secured a number of icebreakers that are now surplus.
The m/v Aiviq is a Polar Class 3 icebreaker built by North American Shipbuilders in 2012. It is reported to be the world’s most powerful icebreaker privately owned. In addition, m/v Tor Viking II, m/v Vidar Viking and m/v Balder Viking are three Norwegian built Polar Class 4 icebreakers that were destined to support Shell’s arctic operations. All these vessels are now available to be secured by Canada and more specifically the Canadian Coast Guard.
I recently attended the Maritime and Arctic Security & Safety Conference in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, where I learned of an interesting unforeseen opportunity for the Canadian Government to acquire a number of modern icebreakers at deeply discounted prices.
On January 30, 2017 I raised my concerns with the aging of the Canadian Coast Guard fleet of icebreakers. The ships in that fleet are coming to the end of their technical designs. The average age of the fleet is 36 years. The CCGS Louis St-Laurent is 48 years old.
Although there can be life extending programs in place there is still a need to replace those ships with modern ones. There is only one vessel that I can clearly identify in the Ship Building Strategy. At the moment, the replacement for the Louis-St-Laurent is planned to enter service in 2028 at which point the Louis St-Laurent will be 59 years old.
Building a new fleet will provide an opportunity to introduce more environmentally friendly propulsion systems to reduce the pollution of black carbon and nitrous oxide in the Arctic since the momentum to ban heavy fuel oil from the Arctic is increasing.
Two related elements are creating stress on the Canadian icebreaker fleet: global warming and demand for services. I believe that most Canadians are by now aware that global warming is taking place and that the arctic ice is disappearing. What might not be realized is that the breaking up of the ice means that the winds and currents will move the ice, especially thick and hard multi-year ice, in unexpected places and at unexpected times. One day the ice may be gone from the shore of a community but the next day it may block the departure of the supply ship requiring the support of an icebreaker. The opposite may happen with a supply ship not being able to reach the community because the wind will have pushed a barrier of ice against the coast line. All of the communities of Nunavut are resupplied by ship; it is therefore essential that icebreaker services be readily available.
The other element of stress is that the level of human activity in the Arctic is on the increase, allowed by the easier access caused by the disappearance of the ice. There is more activity requiring icebreaker support. A cruise ship in distress may divert the support of an icebreaker from community resupply. This will more than likely continue to increase which will in turn likely call for more icebreaker support.
When I commanded Joint Task Force North, my Coast Guard colleagues used to tell me that “if there is more ice you need more icebreakers, and if there is less ice you still need more icebreakers.” Although counter-intuitive, the need for more icebreaker when there is less ice is because the Arctic ice starts moving around early and throughout the shipping season causing largely unpredictable ice dams. This is already reported by the Coast Guard and the marine companies resupplying the Canadian Arctic communities.
The oil and gas company Shell is reported to have spent in excess of $9 billion dollars exploring and developing a capability to drill for oil in the Arctic. For several reasons forming a “perfect storm,” in September of 2015 they canceled their Arctic project. To support their Arctic operations they had secured a number of icebreakers that are now surplus.
The m/v Aiviq is a Polar Class 3 icebreaker built by North American Shipbuilders in 2012. It is reported to be the world’s most powerful icebreaker privately owned. In addition, m/v Tor Viking II, m/v Vidar Viking and m/v Balder Viking are three Norwegian built Polar Class 4 icebreakers that were destined to support Shell’s arctic operations. All these vessels are now available to be secured by Canada and more specifically the Canadian Coast Guard.
 |
| The M/V Vidar Viking |
Given the state of the Canadian icebreaker fleet and the increasing demand for icebreaker support in both the Arctic and in support of the Saint-Lawrence Seaway, Canada might be wise to consider the offer of those icebreakers.
The ships will likely need some modifications to meet the Coast Guard requirements, but those should be relatively easy to complete in a short period of time compared to building a ship from the ground up. The U.S. has also identified a need for icebreakers to replace and augment the two that are in operation today. They may also be interested in acquiring the ones that were once destined to support the Shell Arctic operations that have been canceled.
---
Colonel (Retired) Pierre Leblanc is a former Commander of the Canadian Forces in the Canadian Arctic. www.arcticsecurity.ca
The ships will likely need some modifications to meet the Coast Guard requirements, but those should be relatively easy to complete in a short period of time compared to building a ship from the ground up. The U.S. has also identified a need for icebreakers to replace and augment the two that are in operation today. They may also be interested in acquiring the ones that were once destined to support the Shell Arctic operations that have been canceled.
---
Colonel (Retired) Pierre Leblanc is a former Commander of the Canadian Forces in the Canadian Arctic. www.arcticsecurity.ca
Forbes: Why We Are Buying Canadian Warships
By: Gordon Forbes, The Ottawa Citizen - Opinions
It is so simple, according to some: Just go out to your foreign new warship dealer and buy the warship of your dreams for billions less than you can build it is Canada. Take the savings and pay ex-shipyard workers Employment Insurance for 10 years.
This would, of course, close every shipyard capable of building large ships in Canada – all three of them. Why did nobody think of it before?
Well, they have, and for decades the idea has been rejected by every type of government. Because it is not just the shipyards that would lose business, but hundreds of small, medium and large businesses across the country. Businesses that not only provide such things as steel and copper but that produce products ranging from anchors to the integration of combat systems. Does anyone remember the hundreds of businesses that suffered when the Avro Arrow was canceled in 1959?
But the most important loss would be the loss of intellectual property (IP) that would go along with such an idea.
Intellectual property belongs to those who design the millions of things that go into a modern warship. This IP would belong to those offshore companies who designed the ship and it systems. We have already seen an inkling of this problem with the current attempt to buy offshore designs for the Navy’s Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC). Several countries and their shipyards have balked at the requirement for Canada to have access to the IP of their proposed designs.
But why is this IP important? It is primarily because it limits the amount of maintenance and modification that Canada can carry out. Without the IP, you cannot fix anything, you cannot modify anything and you cannot sell your technology to other countries. It would mean that we would have to send the ships back to their parent shipyards for dockings and other essential work. It would mean that maintenance of any ship systems, from main engines to combat systems, could only be done by the holders of the IP. It would mean little or no work for Canadian workers on any of these systems.
But surely we could buy the IP from the selling shipyard? Well, that would also mean buying it from every IP holder who has equipment on the ship. And it would cost us billions, many of those billions we might also have to put toward payment of ex-employees. This is a sellers’ market and Canada would have very little leverage to acquire IP for minimal cost.
To those who argue the point: It is just not that simple to buy all our warships offshore.
---
Gordon Forbes, LCDR (ret’d), has been involved in the naval procurement business for the most part of 38 years, both in the Navy and in the defence industry. He lives in Orléans.
It is so simple, according to some: Just go out to your foreign new warship dealer and buy the warship of your dreams for billions less than you can build it is Canada. Take the savings and pay ex-shipyard workers Employment Insurance for 10 years.
This would, of course, close every shipyard capable of building large ships in Canada – all three of them. Why did nobody think of it before?
Well, they have, and for decades the idea has been rejected by every type of government. Because it is not just the shipyards that would lose business, but hundreds of small, medium and large businesses across the country. Businesses that not only provide such things as steel and copper but that produce products ranging from anchors to the integration of combat systems. Does anyone remember the hundreds of businesses that suffered when the Avro Arrow was canceled in 1959?
 |
| Canada can take a lesson from the fate of the Avro Arrow fighter program. COPY PHOTO BY IAN ROBERTSON, SUN |
Intellectual property belongs to those who design the millions of things that go into a modern warship. This IP would belong to those offshore companies who designed the ship and it systems. We have already seen an inkling of this problem with the current attempt to buy offshore designs for the Navy’s Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC). Several countries and their shipyards have balked at the requirement for Canada to have access to the IP of their proposed designs.
But why is this IP important? It is primarily because it limits the amount of maintenance and modification that Canada can carry out. Without the IP, you cannot fix anything, you cannot modify anything and you cannot sell your technology to other countries. It would mean that we would have to send the ships back to their parent shipyards for dockings and other essential work. It would mean that maintenance of any ship systems, from main engines to combat systems, could only be done by the holders of the IP. It would mean little or no work for Canadian workers on any of these systems.
 |
| Artists Renditions of the Future Vessels of the RCN |
To those who argue the point: It is just not that simple to buy all our warships offshore.
---
Gordon Forbes, LCDR (ret’d), has been involved in the naval procurement business for the most part of 38 years, both in the Navy and in the defence industry. He lives in Orléans.
Boeing Skips Industry Day in CF-18 Replacement
SOURCE: FLIGHTGLOBAL.COM
BY: STEPHEN TRIMBLE
WASHINGTON DC
Boeing has yet to decide whether to compete for a contract worth $12-14.5 billion to replace Canada’s tactical fighter fleet. The airframer once had the deal in its pocket before Ottawa terminated plans to buy the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet after Boeing filed a trade complaint against Bombardier last May.
In a possible sign that the company could forego submitting a bid, Boeing chose to skip a one-day information session for potential bidders on 22 January that was hosted by Canadian agency managing the Future Fighter Capability acquisition programme.
Boeing confirmed the absence and says it remains convinced that the Super Hornet is the best option for the Royal Canadian Air Force, although the airframer has not decided whether to offer the aircraft yet.
“We continue to believe that the Super Hornet is the low-risk, low-cost approach that has all the advanced capabilities the Royal Canadian Air Force needs now and well into the future,” Boeing says.
“We will evaluate our participation in Canada’s Future Fighter Capability Project (FFCP) after the Government of Canada outlines the FFCP procurement approach, requirements and evaluation criteria,” Boeing adds.
US government officials attended the information session hosted by Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), the Canadian government’s acquisition arm, Boeing says.
Boeing may face a deadline in two weeks to make a decision. Attendance at the information session was not mandatory, but PSPC has requested that all potential bidders respond by 9 February to an invitation to join a Suppliers List. Only companies that respond to the invitation will be informed and allowed to participate in all future steps of the FFCP acquisition process, the PSPC says.
The indecision by Boeing reflects a staggering turn-around in the company’s fortunes in Ottawa since last year. In his victorious 2015 election campaign, now-prime minister Justin Trudeau promised to cancel the previous government’s plans to buy the Lockheed Martin F-35A without first staging a competition. A year later, the Trudeau government announced plans to acquire 24 new F/A-18E/Fs as an interim replacement for the CF-18, until a competition selected a permanent solution after 2020.
But those plans changed last May after Boeing filed an anti-dumping and countervailing duty complaint against Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier over an April 16 sale to Delta Air Lines of 75 CS100s. The US Commerce Department agreed with Boeing’s position and set a nearly 300% tariff on CSeries imports to the USA. The final outcome of the case now depends on a vote by the US International Trade Commission on 25 January, which will decide whether the Delta order caused financial harm to Boeing and, if so, ratify the tariff.
Meanwhile, the Trudeau government scrapped the plan to buy Super Hornets last summer. The RCAF instead plans to buy retired F/A-18s from the Royal Australian Air Force as an interim CF-18 replacement.
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