INDUSTRY WATCH: Canadian military orders thermal imagers from Thales, French get Canadian firefighting aircraft

The Thales Sophie Ultima long-range handheld thermal imagers have been selected by the Canadian Armed Forces (Thales photo)

By David Pugliese

The Thales Sophie Ultima long-range handheld thermal imagers have been selected by the Canadian Armed Forces, the first contract awarded under Canada’s Night Vision Systems Modernization (NVSM) project.

Manufactured and maintained in Canada, the Sophie Ultima will enhance operational capabilities for the Canadian Army with advanced technology and resilient navigation, according to Thales.

The Sophie Ultima is a lightweight, handheld thermal imager. Thales noted it has a high performance infrared channel and offers NATO tank recognition range performance of up to six kilometres. The continuous optical zoom and wide 20 degree field of view enable operators to maintain visual contact with targets during detection, recognition, and identification phases, ensuring rapid and precise engagement, according to the firm.

Thales will manufacture and maintain the Sophie Ultima at its existing Canadian Electro-Optics Center of Excellence. In addition, the Thales Optronics facility in Montreal will provide comprehensive in-service support, the firm noted.

Vard Marine Inc. has brought DEW Engineering into its Team Vigilance network. At CANSEC 2023, Vard Marine Inc., a Fincantieri company, launched Vigilance, as its solution to replace the Royal Canadian Navy’s Kingston Class Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels. In conjunction with Team Vigilance partner companies Thales Canada, Ontario Shipyards, SH Defence, and Fincantieri, the plan is to provide the RCN with a lightweight and operationally flexible ship to fulfill crucial naval warfare duties beyond the capabilities of both the MCDV and the Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessels.

DEW recently signed a teaming agreement with SH Defence as an experienced payload supplier and integrator for The Cube multi-mission module system and as a Canada-based production, sustainment, and marketing partner.

Davie announced the appointment of Maxie Lafleur as President of Chantier Davie Canada Inc. on Sept. 16. A Montreal native, she has held various leadership positions at prominent companies such as Bus.com and CAE, where she spearheaded significant growth and transformation initiatives, including the sale and delivery of complex multi-year government contracts.

The Canadian Commercial Corporation announced the signing of a government-to-government contract with France’s DGA – La direction générale de l’Armement (DGA) du ministère français des Armées – a branch of the French Ministry of Defence, for the sale of two DHC-515 firefighting aircraft manufactured by De Havilland Aircraft of Canada (DHC). DHC will provide France with the waterbombers, along with spare parts, training, and maintenance support.

“For decades, the Canadair aircraft have been the backbone of the French firefighting fleet. We are proud that France has once again selected the latest version of the Canadair, the DHC-515, to help protect the people and property of the country,” Jean-Philippe Côté, Vice President, Programs and Business Improvement, De Havilland Aircraft of Canada said in a statement.

In recent years, France has faced a notable rise in the frequency and severity of wildfires, a trend largely driven by climate change and evolving weather patterns. The acquisition of these new waterbombers will bolster the country’s firefighting capabilities.

The DHC-515 aircraft is capable of delivering nearly 700,000 liters of water into the fire zone each day. That is more than double the capacity of its nearest competitor, according to De Havilland. The DHC-515’s main feature is its ability to refill its tanks in just 12 seconds from a variety of sources, including rivers, small lakes, and oceans, the firm noted.

New work could be soon coming for Canadian space and high tech firms. In July, the Canadian Space Agency issued a Letter of Interest notification to companies for a Lunar Utility Vehicle.

The project is still in early concept development, according to the agency. But Canadian companies will be selected as part of a competitive process to further develop concepts leading to the design, development, and operation of the multi-purpose utility rover. The rover is planned to be launched in the 2030s.

The Canadian multi-purpose utility rover will feature key capabilities including a design that allows it to survive the harsh lunar night, with temperatures as low as −200 degrees C.

It will have semi-autonomous navigation capabilities and tools that could include a small robotic arm to assist logistics and crew operations as well as advanced sensors to scan and analyze the environment.

In August Seaspan Shipyards launch the Canadian Coast Guard’s flagship science vessel, CCGS Naalak Nappaaluk, Canada’s newest and most modern research vessel.

It is the fourth ship designed, built and launched by Seaspan under the National Shipbuilding Strategy.

The Offshore Oceanographic Science Vessel (OOSV) is a floating laboratory that will serve as the primary oceanographic science platform for Fisheries and Oceans Canada, according to the federal government. As a Polar Class 6 vessel, it will be a highly advanced ice capable ship equipped with the latest scientific research systems. The new ship will provide increased capability and capacity to support marine surveys and scientific research on ocean currents and the seabed in Atlantic Canada.

Canadian Forces Base Bagotville, Quebec will be getting a new Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) facility. This facility will enable will be in support of the RCAF’s incoming fleet of CF-35A fighter jets which will contribute to North American Aerospace Defense Command as well as international operations.

The new 7,400 square metre QRA facility at CFB Bagotville will include aircraft hangar bays, office space and sleeping quarters for personnel, and a 17,000 square metre secure fenced compound surrounding the facility. Construction is estimated at approximately $120 million. The facility is expected to be completed in 2027.The design and construction contract has been awarded to Pomerleau Inc of Lévis, QC. 

Boeing Showcases Compact Laser Weapon System at IDEaS Sandbox Event

By Adrian Olivier

From May 27-31, at the bi-annual Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) Sandbox in Suffield, Alberta, Boeing displayed its Compact Laser Weapon System (CLWS). The system is a laser counter to Unmanned Aircraft Vehicles (UAVs) designed to track and destroy Group 1 and 2 small UAVs. These types of UAVs have, in the last few years, rapidly increased their capabilities and are challenging to detect and defeat. The system can also be used to destroy unexploded ordnance.

A sandbox refers to an environment where companies can test their innovative technologies. The Counter Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Sandbox, organized by Canada’s Department of National Defence’s IDEaS program in coordination with the Canadian Armed Forces, brought together multiple countries to test their ability to detect and defeat small UAVs. IDEaS is a defence innovation program, launched in 2018 which invests in research and technology for the DND and the CAF.

Boeing brought two CLWS systems to the Sandbox, one mounted on a Polaris RZR, widely used by the U.S. military and one in a fixed containerized configuration. They were placed side-by-side to cooperatively detect and defeat single and multiple drone targets, including first-person view (FPV) drones, stationary mortars and a swarm of five UAVs.

Ron Dauk, who has led Boeing’s Laser and Electro-Optical systems group for the last half-decade, said Boeing’s “Compact laser weapon system brings a hard kill capability, which means we're able to actually knock it down out of the sky when we engage those targets.”

The CLWS has been tested at ranges from 200 metres to 2.5 kilometres, but the system is more effective the closer a drone gets. “The shorter the range, the faster that they can be killed. Our first engagements up at the sandbox were almost less than a second. They were very short, but they can be tens of seconds. For very long-range engagements, it's a little dependent on, the overall conditions and, and some other factors but they're kind of in that category of less than a second, up to tens of seconds when you need to engage a target longer ranges,” Dauk said.

“The operator picks an aim point, sometimes it's just the center of mass of the target, especially for long-range engagements, you're not seeing a lot of definition, but for shorter-range engagements where you can resolve the target much more efficiently, you may choose to engage one of the rotors or a motor and the laser is effectively a blowtorch at range,” Dauk said.

Boeing's focus on ruggedness and reliability was evident in the design of the CLWS. The system has undergone extensive testing in various environments, including rain, snow, dust, and extreme temperatures. Additionally, the CLWS has been tested on different platforms, including aircraft and combat vehicles, proving its versatility and durability in challenging conditions.

CLWS uses a high-performance mid-wave infrared sensor which allows for both day and night detection and engagement of the UAVs. Dauk emphasized the importance of addressing the growing threat posed by small drones, which are increasingly used for reconnaissance and direct engagement in conflicts worldwide. The CLWS offers a cost-effective solution, with each shot costing only as much as a cup of diesel fuel, compared to the exorbitant costs of traditional missile systems. This low-cost per-shot advantage, combined with the system's ability to engage multiple targets continuously, makes it an attractive choice.

This system doesn’t come cheap though. Though Boeing didn’t give an exact figure, the price tag for the CLWS is in the millions. While the cost of the CLWS system remains higher than some traditional weapons, its long-term benefits and cost-effectiveness make it an attractive option for defence organizations. The ability to engage targets continuously, without the need for frequent and expensive reloading, provides a distinct advantage in prolonged engagements and swarm scenarios. “As long as you have diesel fuel in the tank of your vehicle, you have capability. So you have a very deep magazine and you're able to engage multiple targets, continue that over a long period of time and then also engage swarms.” Dauk said.

The system doesn’t require much training either and can be easily operated by a single operator. They use controllers which Dauk said look like Game Boy controllers, which is how they drive the beam director – the part of the system that points toward the target. “Once they acquire the target, they put it into an automatic tracking mode,” Dauk said. Dauk said hundreds of operators have already been trained on the system, which has a simple and intuitive interface with only a single screen. “We have found that training operators can be done in one to two weeks or less, to make them proficient enough to be engaging UAVs.” Dauk said.

All the production, from design through to prototype and fabrication takes place at Boeing’s facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This facility recently underwent a 27,000-foot expansion. “Right now we have the capability that we could produce, tens of units per year. So we're in that kind of capability that if we had a customer that said they had an urgent need, we could start building those today and start hitting, numbers where we can be doing, you know, multiple unit deliveries per month fairly quickly.” Dauk said.

Boeing also has collaboration agreements with General Atomics on larger laser systems. These larger systems, targeting hard targets with hundreds of kilowatts of laser power, are part of the broader strategy to provide scalable and cost-effective defence solutions.

Seaspan Shipyards Unveils Digital Model of Canada’s Heavy Polar Icebreaker

At CANSEC 2024, Canada’s leading defence & security tradeshow, Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards presented its progress towards completing the functional design on the first heavy Polar Icebreaker in Canada in over 60 years. Functional Design of the vessel is now more than 70 per cent complete and 3D modelling of the vessel is well advanced, setting the stage for Seaspan to cut steel on the flagship of the Canadian Coast Guard’s icebreaking fleet before the end of the year.

With Canada’s current largest Icebreaker, the CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent, expected to retire at the end of the decade, the new Polar Icebreaker will be one of the world’s largest, most capable and powerful icebreakers. While designed and built before the implementation of the Polar Code, the Louis’ capability is akin to a Polar Class 4. Canada’s operational requirements drive to building a new Polar Class 2 icebreaker that can independently operate anywhere in the Arctic year round – this capability includes the ability to operate at -50 degrees Celsius which introduces considerable complexity to the design and build of the vessel.

Most icebreakers primarily break ice. The new Polar Icebreaker will also be capable of fulfilling many different demanding missions necessary for Canada including a wide array of Arctic science missions, search and rescue, security, navigation, transportation and emergency response. This impressive range of capabilities also adds to the design and engineering challenges that are being addressed by the Canadian Coast Guard and the Seaspan team.

“Beginning construction on the Polar Icebreaker will be a monumental achievement for Seaspan, Canada and the National Shipbuilding Strategy,” said Dave Hargreaves, Seaspan Shipyards’ Senior Vice President of Strategy, Business Development and Communications. “By re-investing in our shipyard’s capabilities and continuously driving improvements in efficiency and quality ship over ship, Seaspan has shown that we have the experience, skills, and personnel to build one of the largest and most complex ships ever to be constructed in Canada. Our experience as the modern Coast Guard's leading shipbuilding partner can now be leveraged by other Canadian shipyards to deliver Canada's ships faster and smarter.”

“The Polar Icebreaker presents unique and complex design challenges, and I’m extremely proud of our team and the progress we’ve made to optimize the design of this important vessel for Canada,” said Jessica Fetterman, Chief Engineer, Polar Icebreaker for Seaspan. “Thanks in part to our cross- country supply-chain of 750+ partners, Seaspan has built Canada's largest marine engineering and design team, a tremendous capability that did not exist here before the National Shipbuilding Strategy.”

In preparation for full-rate construction, Seaspan successfully completed construction of a Polar

‘Prototype Block’ earlier this year to ensure that our production teams are fully prepared to cut steel on the Polar Icebreaker in late 2024. The process of building the Prototype Block resulted in learnings in three key areas: improvements in design for manufacturing; testing of new equipment, processes and procedures; and validation of first-time quality in manufacturing to form and weld this new, specialized and thicker steel. Steel needed to construct the Polar Icebreaker is twice as thick in some areas as the steel Seaspan has used for the other ships built under the NSS and is more challenging to work with combined with the tight frame spaces to support icebreaking capabilities. It also takes additional time to weld, and the thicker steel is not as malleable, therefore constructing this extra Prototype Block prior to starting full rate construction was crucial for Seaspan’s preparedness.

QUICK FACTS ABOUT THE POLAR ICEBREAKER

• With a design displacement of 26,036t, the Polar Icebreaker will be 158 metres long and 28 metres wide, and able to accommodate up to 100 personnel. It will be able to operate farther north, in more difficult ice conditions and for longer periods than any icebreaker in Canada to date.

• The primary missions of the Polar Icebreaker include protecting Canada’s sovereignty, Arctic science, environmental response, Northern resupply, and search and rescue.

• Highlights of key design features, include:

o IACS Polar Class 2 (PC2) Heavy Icebreaker
o More than 40MW of installed power
o Ice-classed azimuthing propulsion system
o Complex, multi-role mission capability
o Scientific Laboratories
o Moon Pool (to allow for safe deployment of equipment from within the ship) o Helicopter flight deck and Hangar
o Vehicle Garage and future Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) capability

• Under the NSS, Seaspan has become a major economic and job creation engine. According to an economic analysis conducted by Deloitte, Seaspan has contributed $5.7 billion to Canada’s GDP since 2012, while also creating or sustaining more than 7,000 jobs annually.

BIGGER & BETTER: HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Shipbuilding Capability

By Scott Taylor

On Thursday April 6, I had the honour of attending the handover ceremony of the Shin Chae-Ho, a 3,000 ton, modern diesel-electric attack submarine developed and built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HD HHI) and delivered to the Republic of Korea’s Navy. The ceremony took place at the HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea and was attended by over 100 international and Korean officials. Many of the attendees took the morning train to Ulsan from Seoul and consisted of a large number of foreign military attaches including Canadian Captain (N) Jill Marrack. One of the guests of honour was Canadian senator, the Honourable Michael L. MacDonald. This was Senator MacDonald’s second trip to the HD Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard and his third visit to South Korean shipyards in total. 

“The big three Korean shipyards – Hyundai, Hanwha and Samsung – are arguably the finest in the world in terms of productivity, quality control, technical proficiency, and on-time delivery of  product. Canadian shipyards are simply not in the same league as these behemoths, but neither are many other shipyards around the world” Senator MacDonald said in a statement to Esprit de Corps. “When it comes to building quality ships and value for money, a  professional working relationship with the Korean shipbuilders is something worth considering by those that would build large vessels in Canada.”

The Seoul-based correspondent for Naval News described Senator MacDonald as being “known to be interested in South Korea’s 3,000-ton class submarines”. Naval News further speculates that “Canada is expected to order a fleet of such vessels in 2026, with South Korean shipbuilders one of the candidates.”

THE CEREMONY

Following a brief cocktail reception, attendees of the ceremony were welcomed to a five course lunch in the HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Guest House. Speakers included: His Worship, Doo gyum, Kim, the mayor of Ulsan metropolitan city, Mr. Kyung-ho, Han, the Director General for future capability program of DAPA (Defense Acquision Program Agency), Mr. Il Sung, Deputy Minister of MND (RoK Ministry of National Defence), RADM Jung-ho Kang, Commander, the RoK Submarine Forces, H.E. Paul Fernando Duclos Parodi, Ambassador of Peru and last but not least the Honourable Senator Michael MacDonald of Canada.. One of the oft-repeated themes of the speeches was the fact that HD Hyundai Heavy Industries continues to build warships and submarines with on time and on budget deliveries.The formal portion of the event involved a ceremonial signing over of the Shin Chae-ho from the Shipyard to the RoK Navy. Following this event there was a brief tour of the sprawling HD Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard and a tour of the KSS III, Shin Chae-Ho submarine.

THE SHIN CHAE-HO

For the majority of the attendees, our business attire or dress uniforms in the case of the attaches and senior naval officers, the ladder climbing and close quarters of the submarine made for a somewhat challenging tour. However, the unique experience made it well worth the effort.

The Shin Chae-ho is equipped with the latest fuel cell, lead-acid battery propulsion system and state-of-the-art noise-control technology, which provides a significant boost in terms of covert mission capabilities and survivability.

The Shin Chae-ho is actually the third submarine in her class, albeit the first of them built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries. The other two were constructed at the DSME (now Hanwha) shipyard. If all goes according to the current schedule, the Republic of Korea Navy will have six newly built KSS III submarines by 2030.

South Korea is proud of the fact that they have developed into one of only eight countries which are currently capable of building 3,000-ton submarines with homegrown technology. That list includes; the United States, Britain, France, Japan, India, China and Russia.

The Shin Chae-ho boasts domestically-developed key technologies for essential sub-surface warfare equipment, such as combat and sonar systems. With its air-independent propulsion (AIP) system the Shin Chae-ho possesses a high-performance fuel system which can generate electricity underwater without the need for external air intake, thus allowing for longer diving times. Something which the RCN would require for operating in the Arctic.

The Shin Chae-ho is armed with six vertical-launch tubes for submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLMB). These are counter measures aimed at eliminating any incoming North Korean missile threats.

 While the quarters are admittedly cramped the Shin Chae-ho can accommodate around 50 crew-members without requiring these submariners to engage in the practice of ‘hot-bunking. Unlike most older diesel-electric submarines currently in service, the Shin Chae-ho crew have the luxury of having their very own bunk. While the exact speed remains classified it is estimated to be close to 20 knots (roughly 37 kilometers per hour).

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries SHIPYARD

The first impression of any visitor to the HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Ulsan shipyard is the sheer scale of the operation. South Korea has emerged as the pre-eminent shipbuilding nation in the world and ‘seeing is believing’ when one drives through the sprawling facilities of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard. In total there are 10 dry-docks and one shiplift equipped with 10 Goliath cranes and modern construction facilities. To cater strictly to warship and submarine construction there is a dedicated organization named the Naval & Special Ship Business Unit (NSSBU). This unique division has specialized manpower and independent building facilities in a secured zone within the shipyard. The size of the workforce alone boggles the mind as the Ulsan facility alone employees some 13,000 workers. During our visit, the HD Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard was a beehive of activity reminiscent of newsreels from WW2 depicting the US war-time construction fervour. There was no ‘quiet’ or unused portion of the facility evident. “Korean shipyards normally have order books of 4-5 years in the queue.” noted senator MacDonald “They are never idle for work.”  

BEST DEFENCE CONFERENCE: Showcasing Southwestern Ontario Defence Industry

By Scott Taylor

Since its inception in 2011 the Best Defence Conference has had a challenging name to live up to. Having attended almost all of these show annually for the past 13 years I can attest that the organizers have certainly grown this event into that moniker.
Held in London, Ontario from 15-16 November 2023, the Best Defence Conference has firmly established itself as a must-attend event for defence industry reps, military brass and procurement officials.

What Best Defence lacks in terms of scale – it is far smaller than the Halifax based DEFSEC Atlantic trade show and the annual CANSEC expo in Ottawa – the event in London makes up for with enhanced business–to–business (B2B) networking opportunities. It was originally the brainchild of Heather Pilot, who organized the inaugural event on behalf of the London Economic Development Corporation.

In 2016 Heather formed the company Pilot Hill Ltd. and began producing Best Defence as a private venture. It was Pilot’s successful entrepreneurial spirit in creating this annual defence conference that led to her being selected as one of Esprit de Corps’ ‘Top 20 Women in Defence’ in 2018.

This year, once again, Best Defence was a full two-day conference. It kicked off with a Wednesday 15 November, CAF Mini-Outlooks with representatives from all three military branches -Army, Navy, Air force - giving a 20 minute summary of the future procurement needs of the CAF.

The highlight of Day One was the Pan Domain Command and Control panel, featuring Lt Gen (ret'd) Stu Beare, Col Guy Parisien, Director Air Domain Development RCAF, Derek Dobson of Microsoft and Keith Pringnitz of MDA, moderated by John de Boer of Blackberry Canada.

General Dynamics Land Systems generously sponsored the end-of-day reception.
Once again, a Best Defence highlight was the Tech Showcase Presentations segment in which company spokespersons were allowed just five minutes each to describe their innovative products and services.

This year was the best-formatted and slickest organized Best Defence event yet. Everything from the graphics, the event schedule and even the handy large font nametags worked well.

Kudos once again to Heather Pilot and her team, Esprit de Corps is already look forward to seeing how Heather’s team makes Best Defence even better in 2024.  

CLOTHE THE SOLDIER, Logistik Unicorp Secured as Future CAF Supplier

Minister of National Defence of Canada Anita Anand announces contract for Logistik Unicorp.

by Vanessa Chiasson

THE CANADIAN ARMED Forces uniforms are about to get a lot more high-tech... and homegrown. Logistik Unicorp, a world leader in supplying military-grade uniforms and equipment, has signed a $3.7 billion, 20-year contract with the Government of Canada and the Department of National Defence. The deal will provide the Canadian Armed Forces with a turnkey solution for operational clothing and footwear and help support 3000 Canadian jobs.

The Canadian company boasts more than 2,000 employees and more than 600,000 workers outfitted worldwide (including some 320,000 Canadians). Founded as a tie maker under former diplomat Louis Bibeau in 1992, Logistik Unicorp has provided recognized expertise in managed clothing solutions since 1993. Their client roster includes none other than the Australian and New Zealand Defence Forces. Following a worldwide tender process, Australian Defence Apparel (ADA) (a subsidiary of the global Logistik Group) was awarded a contract to equip more than 15,000 members of the New Zealand Defence Forcefor 16 years.

Within Canada, Logistik provides uniforms and outerwear for Canada Post mail carriers; as well as clothing for Parks Canada employees; as well as myriad first responders, and transit work- ers. But Logistik particularly stands out for its global expertise in military uniform requirements That’s in large part because, in 2020, the company was awarded a contract to provide non-operational clothing and footwear to the Canadian Armed Forces. Under that six-year, $415 million contract (with options valued at up to $2.7 billion over 20 years), more than 1,500 items of clothing will be supplied for approximately 160,000 people, including regular and reserve force, military police, Canadian Rangers, Junior Rangers, and the Cadets.

Clothing System designed by Logistik Unicorp.

Despite this extensive experience, Logistik won’t be resting on its laurels when it comes to executing its newest agreement with the Canadian Armed Forces. They’re transitioning far away from the days in which uniform makers received specifications from their clients and had no input in the process, let alone interaction with the end-user. Now the experience is much more collaborative and creative. As Karine Bibeau, Vice President of Client Experience, describes it, “Previously we were designing based on specifications that were given to us by the Canadian Armed Forces”. Now, she notes, under the 2020 non-operational contract, the process has begun to differ. Logistik’s staff are now in a position where they can design a product line when they see a need in the market and then propose it to the Canadian Armed Forces. She goes on to say: “We work in collaboration with the Canadian Armed Forces, who indicate their needs of the clothing in what environment, who’s going to wear it, what kind of mission will they use that clothing for, what are the technicalities that they need for that uniform to have. We look at options for fabric and clothing and textile and design and then go back with a full proposition.”

Karine Bibeau, Vice President of Client Experience.

Retired BGen Dave Quinn, now an employee with Logistik, has seen firsthand how the evolution in uniform procurement has affected members of the Canadian Armed Forces. He describes the process of providing uniforms to military members as one that has evolved from: “A very prescriptive level where the idea has been to tell us exactly what they want including fabric and design to a much more collaborative process. And I think right now, the important part is that this will allow us to bring full collaboration forward, including not just collaboration with the buyers, but... with the soldiers, sailors, and aviators.”

Logistik’s operational uniform expert, Manuel Duran-Murray, explains that the most rewarding aspect of transitioning the uni- form production process from the prescriptive to collaborative is the opportunity to work with members of the Canadian Armed Forces themselves. He states that products are tested with a group of soldiers in the field over long periods of time, a community he describes as being representative of the Armed Forces themselves, a cross-section of different genders, body sizes, shapes, and ages. These field tests are much more involved than simply handing over a new jacket and asking members to fill out a survey. Duran-Murray states that the team uses technology to gain real-time data immediately, making adjustments as needed to the product without having to wait until the end of the trial.

Defence Minister Anita Anand and Logistik’s Operational Uniform expert Manuel Duran-Murray.

Duran-Murray also notes that Logistik provides training to members of the Armed Forces on how to use their clothing system: “We have to train the soldiers in how to work it correctly, by taking into consideration that every person is different. So by making users understand what is comfort, that’s how far we go.” Quinn further describes the process of creating operational and non-operational clothing and footwear for the Canadian Armed Forces as developing an “Integrated system of systems which are built to be optimized. They’re not just a piece of clothing”.

One of the most important factors of uniform and equipment design that Logistik takes into account is the need to operate in extreme climate conditions. Logistik recognizes that climate change is powerful, it can even impact the way that members of the Canadian Armed Forces are deployed. Bibeau points to the recent hurricane damage in the Maritimes as an example of how military members are sent to areas experiencing extreme climate conditions with very little notice – and they need their equipment to go the distance, saying: “Climate change will affect the type of missions our military members will need to participate in.” This challenge is at the forefront in the minds of the design teams and, as Duran-Murray says, “As a company, we are constantly searching, to integrate better fabrics, better fibres into our products..” In many ways, climate considerations are the new geography when it comes to developing uniforms. The question is no longer where our troops going but what environmental conditions will they face. As Duran-Murray puts it, “We develop garments to operate in countries and all geographical terrains on this planet,” adding “Rain is rain anywhere in the world.”

One particular enterprise that Duran-Murray is particularly excited by is creating uniforms appropriate for use in extreme cold weather conditions such as those found in the Arctic, something he describes as “an incredible opportunity.” The clothing system was fully designed by Logistik and is currently under trial in Arctic conditions and in time; Antarctic. He points to the importance of making sure soldiers using the gear can modulate it for their needs, to accommodate conditions where temperatures can fluctuate from 5°C to -50°C.

CAF Members will be able to order operational items on Clothing Online starting in 2023

Going forward, Logistik hopes that getting the right gear into soldiers’ hands will be just as efficient as making it. Members will eventually interact with Logistik directly, using online ac- counts that allow them to submit their measurements and order everything from everyday shirts to state-of-the-art parkas. An online ordering system offers the chance for people to request the component they need online and have it shipped to their door, which means a quicker turnaround time for product improvements and a reduced risk of running out of stock. Over the next 18 months, the deliberate transfer process will move material from the Canadian Forces Supply Depots to Logistik Unicorp in order to ensure a smooth transition to online ordering.

Developing such sophisticated products and systems starts with some business basics, like securing a reliable supply chain. Logistik’s methodology is driven by a supply chain system that is proactive, not reactive, in its design. That means keeping things local. More than 96% of all items supplied in Logistik’s current contract with the Department of National Defence are produced in Canada.

Milkweed plant used as insulation in their product line.

It also means looking to the past to gain inspiration for future designs. Some old-fashioned materials are mounting a comeback, including hemp (which Bibeau notes was used in rope manufacturing in World War I) and milkweed. The use of milkweed is an interesting development. This soft, silky, fluffy material was once used in flotation devices for World War II pilots. Now Logistik has had very successful trials utilizing milkweed as insulation in their Canada Post product line. Testers preferred it to synthetic alternatives and milkweed-based products were measured to be warmer than the alternative, and they were also 30% lighter. As Retired BGen Dave Quinn observes: “When the clothing is lighter and higher performing it means that the soldier, is actually carrying more water and/or more ammunition without gaining more weight, the bread and butter of... destroying the enemy”.

TEAM VICTORIA-CLASS: A Long-Standing Partner in Canada’s Submarine Sustainment Enterprise

Babcock has over 22 years of Submarine design experience

by Newell Durnbrooke

FOR MORE THAN 14 years, TeamVictoria-Class, a team comprised of Babcock Canada, Seaspan Victoria Shipyards, and BMT, has been along-standing partner to Canada in delivering submarine maintenance and sustainment support, under theVictoria In-Service Support Contract(VISSC).

VISSC is one of the largest naval in-service support contracts in Canada and includes project management, technology integration, logistics, configuration, and safety records management, engineering support, capability upgrades, and refit to support Canada’s fleet of four Victoria-Class submarines (VCS).

We spoke with Team Victoria-Class leaders about the future of the submarine enterprise and the evolution of the team.

EVOLUTION OF TEAM VICTORIA-CLASS

The team is comprised of global industry leaders, who all have unique knowledge and expertise to support Canada’s Submarine Sustainment Enterprise. Seaspan Victoria Ship yards has more than 15 years of experience providing submarine refit production management, expertise, and labour. Babcock Canada has been leading TeamVictoria-Class for over a decade as Canada’s partner in theVCS Sustainment Enterprise.

BMT has over 25 years of experience delivering submarine design and engineering services and is one of Canada’s largest teams of submarine engineers, technologists, and program managers.

“It has been a privilege for BMT to be a part of the team sup-porting the sustainment of Canada’s Victoria class submarine capability for the last 14 years. The relationships we have established and the lessons the team have learned has allowed TeamVictoria-Class to adapt to changes in the program and develop a strategic partnership with the expertise and experience required to maintain the operational capability of this key strategic asset for the Royal Canadian Navy. BMT Canada, Babcock Canada,and Seaspan Victoria Shipyards continue as allies with Canada, in our commitment to the Victoria-Class Submarine sustainment enterprise supporting the Royal Canadian Navy,” says Darcy Byrtus, President, BMT.

Together, over the life of the VISSC, Team Victoria-Class has leveraged both its Canadian expertise and global experience in submarine sustainment to develop distinct Victoria-Class Sub-marine platform knowledge and a strong Canadian supply chain.

In 2022, the Government of Canada announced that theVISSC would be extended to 2025 with a further two one-year extension options.

COMMITMENT TO STRENGTHEN CANADA’SSUBMARINE ENTERPRISE

Team Victoria-Class continues to invest in Canada’s strategic submarine capability, and through the VISSC, has helped generate more than 2 billion dollars in GDP impact. Since 2008, TeamVictoria-Class has helped to create and maintain upwards of 2,000 jobs, both directly and through the establishment of a supply chain of 450 Canadian businesses across the country.

“The submarine refit activities conducted at the Esquimalt Graving Dock in Victoria, British Columbia employs upwards of 500 trades personnel, engineers, program managers, and support specialists. This work is helping to build a broad industrial marine complex repair and overhaul capability, which not only benefits Canada’s submarine program, but all of theRoyal Canadian Navy and commercial projects undertaken at Seaspan’s Victoria Shipyards,” says Chris Earl, Vice President,Project Delivery, Seaspan Victoria Shipyards.

THE FUTURE OF CANADA’S SUBMARINES

VISSC is central in supporting Canada’s strategic submarine capability, including the enhancements necessary to ensure Canada’s submarines are equipped to deal with the constantly changing environment. Required upgrades identified by theVictoria-Class Modernization program will be developed, planned, and executed by Team Victoria-Class as prioritized and approved by the Royal Canadian Navy.

“Babcock and our Team Victoria-Class partners are looking forward to continuing to build expertise and advance relationships to support Canada in the delivery of safe, reliable, and highly capable Royal Canadian Navy submarines,” says Keith Cunnane, VP Marine, Babcock.

The team is proud to be a partner of the Royal Canadian Navy, the Canadian government, industry, and they look forward to continuing to support Canada now and into the future

THE EVOLUTION OF THE DEFENCE SUPPLY CHAIN

by Newell Durnbrooke

FOR OVER 35 years Arcfield Canada has supported Canada’s CF-18 fighter aircraft. And for the past 20 years, Arcfield has been Canada’s only prime contractor for fighter platform avionics in-service and integrated logistics support. Its success to-date has been predicated on specialization and expertise in three (3) core capability areas:

• Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO)

• Engineering Solutions (ES)

• Supply Chain Management (SCM)

Arcfield’s MRO capability has led to over 70,000 CF-18 avionics repairs to-date. Its ES capability continues to support not only Canada’s CF-18 fleet, but all worldwide operators of F/A-18 aircraft. This capability is critical to the continued management and operation of F/A-18 Automatic Test Equipment necessary for avionics repair, the majority for which Arcfield is the Original Equipment Manufacturer.

But its SCM capability is particularly impressive.

Arcfield has operations in support of Canada’s fighters at both CF-18 main operating bases providing support 24/7/365. Arcfield was the first company in Canada to achieve accreditation as an Acceptable Materiel Support Organization by Canada’s Technical Airworthiness Authority. Today, Arcfield is a trusted partner to the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) for the management of the CF- 18 fleet supply chain. As such, it holds Canada’s largest allocation of Government Furnished Equipment at its four (4) warehouses across the country. Its inventory represents more than 54,000 unique line items, for which Arcfield reports an enviable inventory error rate of only 0.00015%. Arcfield’s advanced SCM capability and enterprise systems’ integration with the Department of National Defence (DND), allows the RCAF CF-18 program office real time access to its inventory within Arcfield’s supply chain.

Now Arcfield is taking the next step in its evolution of the CF-18 supply chain: Cyber Materiel Assurance.

Supply Chain security and resilience is at the heart of equipment availability, fleet readiness, and critical mission assurance. It is a recurring theme in the growing need to shore-up supply chains in cyber contested environments. Cyber Materiel Assurance detects supply chain attacks, identifies counterfeit parts, and protects against “Trojans”. These can come in many forms through recycled e-waste sold as new; counterfeit chips and parts undermining system integrity; and, hardware implants, alterations, and weaknesses maliciously inserted into firmware, or unknown functionality additions through hardware tampering.

Arcfield has partnered exclusively with Palitronica, a Canadian company formed in 2019 with origin in the University of Waterloo to develop a Cyber Materiel Assurance capability for the CF-18 fleet. Palitronica’s mission is to protect critical infrastructure and key resources from cyber threats. To address this clear and present national security imperative, Palitronica has pioneered cyber protection powered by physics.

Arcfield will participate in Palitronica’s JETGUARD project designed to safeguard mission-critical LRUs from their integration through operation until decommissioning. The technology provides holistic cyber mission assurance through cyber-protection capabilities that cover the supply chain, maintenance, pre-flight checks, and operation of air programs.

The softer attack vectors of supply chains make them also vulnerable to transportation security threats. This extends to all movements of materiel throughout the supply chain and can affect deployments and remote support. Supply chain cybersecurity best practices are being considered and developed to mitigate these potential risks.

Together, Arcfield and Palitronica are ensuring that Canada’s fighter fleet is resilient to future complex supply chain attacks and that cyber materiel assurance is achieved.

DIVERSIFYING ITS PORTFOLIO ONE SERVICE AT A TIME, RHEINMETALL CANADA ZEROES IN ON INTERNATIONAL OUTREACH

RHEINMETALL CANADA HAS put into gear yet another exciting and innovative initiative that falls under its five-pillar mandate. The company has joined forces with Rheinmetall Project Solutions and Calian Group Ltd. to provide comprehensive and rapid healthcare services to deployed military operations. This Expeditionary Healthcare Program will not only change the game in providing a temporary infrastructure, advanced medical equipment and healthcare professionals to military camps, but it will also be able to serve up to 15 000 inhabitants of vulnerable communities subject to the woes of manmade disasters.

A DISTINCTIVE OFFERING

Established in 1986 and previously known as a Swiss-owned air defence company named Oerlikon Aerospace, Rheinmetall Canada set out to blaze the trail of a solution and user-centric approach to defence systems technology. Fast forward to 35 years after its inception, the company has now diversified its portfolio to include all services related to ground control, surveillance and target acquisition, weapon systems, vehicle repair, ground support equipment, and robotics.

INNOVATING INTERNATIONALLY

While Rheinmetall Canada’s business continues to be challenged by the global impact of the Ukraine crisis, the company remains agile and adapts its approach to the ever-evolving priorities called upon by the industry. “The key to continued success is striking the right balance between contracts with the international and domestic markets,” explains Alain Tremblay, Vice President, Business Development and Innovation, Rhein- metall Canada. “We want to be able to maintain a big focus on the international scene without neglecting our domestic market. Canada remains our priority,” says Mr. Tremblay.

The company is currently working in accordance with its second five-year international outreach strategy to diversify service offerings in both Europe and the Asia-Pacific regions. Rheinmetall Canada prides itself on the successes it has secured internationally and looks forward to entering other international markets by 2024/2025, including more saturated markets that require cautious navigation and focused services. Today, the company’s clientele sits at about 50 per cent domestic and 50 per cent international – Mr. Tremblay projects that this ratio will rise to approximately 40 per cent and 60 per cent by 2025.

EXPANDING BEYOND THE BORDERS OF DEFENCE

Research and development is at the core of everything Rheinmetall Canada accomplishes, which has rendered them a top player in the field of robotics and autonomous systems in the United Kingdom. The company hopes to bring this expertise to other Western countries that are exploring autonomous capabilities like unmanned ground vehicles to help shape a defence technology environment driven by innovation and security excellence.

One silver lining that came from the pandemic for Rheinmetall Canada was a window of opportunity to realign and adapt to new demands from clients. Although business has slowed down in some regards, innovation has picked up, and the company is now exploring the possibility of tailoring autonomous capabilities to both underground mining and airport ground support vehicles.

Rheinmetall Canada remains a top player in defence technology, both domestically and internationally by being client-centric and solution-oriented, which work hand-in-hand.

“When we need to readjust, we readjust,” says Mr. Tremblay. “Clients are leading the charge and fixing their priorities as needed, moving forward or delaying programs and acquisitions from time to time, so we need to constantly remain agile and adaptive with our clients.”

CISA, FBI WARN OF INCREASED MALWARE ATTACKS, URGE CAUTION

by Chris Bartlett

THE U.S. CYBERSECURITY and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are warning all IT users to boost their cybersecurity in the face of increased malware attacks. On February 26, 2002, these agen- cies issued a joint Cybersecurity Advisory detailing destructive malware that has been used to target organisations in Eastern Europe, along with guidance on how organisations can detect and protect their networks.

While conventional warfare remains a reality, the future battlefield is to be fought in cyberspace.

The joint Advisory (Alert AA22-057A), “Destructive Malware Targeting Organisations in Ukraine,” provides information on the types of malware currently being deployed in this conflict.

“On January 15, 2022, the Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC) disclosed that malware, known as WhisperGate, was being used to target organisations in Ukraine,” said the Advisory. “According to Microsoft, WhisperGate is intended to be destructive and is designed to render targeted devices inoperable. On February 23, 2022, several cybersecurity researchers disclosed that malware known as HermeticWiper was being used against organisations in Ukraine. According to SentinelLabs, the malware targets Windows devices, manipulating the master boot record, which results in subsequent boot failure.”

In a bid to strengthen cyber defences, the Advisory provides detailed advice on how organisations should enhance their cybersecurity. The “Best Practices and Planning Strategies’’ covered include proper network structuring and communication flow management, effective network access control, monitoring aimed at detecting unauthorised access attempts, safe file distribution management, system and application hardening to resist tampering, ‘recovery and restitution planning’ to assess possible impacts from hacking attacks and how to mitigate them, and incident response to contain malware attacks should they occur.

While this is going on, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency has issued a Safety Information Bulletin (SIB) that reports instances of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) being jammed or ‘spoofed’ (having their data replaced by false data) in four areas of Eastern Europe and the Middle East. “The effects of GNSS jamming and/or possible spoofing were observed by aircraft in various phases of their flights, in certain cases leading to re-routing or even to change the destination due to the inability to perform a safe landing procedure,” said the SIB.

Clearly, it is more important now than ever to protect military platforms (aircraft, land vehicles, and ships) from cyber attacks, such as the ones outlined by CISA/FBI and EASA.

This is where CCX Technologies can help. This Ottawa- based cybersecurity company designs and develops innovative products and custom-engineered solutions for government and military clients, so that they can keep their Air, Land, and Sea platform assets safe from malware and other cyber threats.

The core of this protection comes from SystemX, CCX Tech- nologies’ cyber defence and security software platform. SystemX Aviation protects platform networks.

“SystemX provides the defensive protection needed to defend and protect vulnerable platform networks,” said Chris Bartlett, President of CCX Technologies.

To learn more, go to ccxtechnologies.com.

THE FUTURE OF CANADA'S AIR FORCE: WHY CANADA NEEDS TO LOOK BEYOND -AND WITHIN- ITS OWN BORDERS

by Newell Durnbrooke

The Babcock Leonardo Canadian Aircrew Training team is led by global leaders, Babcock and Leonardo, who have over 100 years of military aviation experience.

THE RAPIDLY CHANGING global geopolitical landscape, evolving security threats, and conflicts, such as the ongoing Ukraine and Russia war, have forced many countries to examine their own defence and security capabilities. In Canada, the recently announced increase in defence spending is an early signal of the government’s commitment to investing in its defence and security programs to not only protect its own borders, but also its allies. Through the Future Aircrew Training (FAcT) pro- gram, Canada is taking another important step forward to strengthen and enhance the abilities of the Royal Canadian Air Force by focusing on a critical element: the recruitment and training of Canada’s future pilots and military aircrew.

The Royal Canadian Air Force is undergoing a significant transformation that will see
it modernize its aircrew training capabilities in order to maintain a multipurpose and combat-capable force. The FAcT program will renew the existing aircrew training services, which include the delivery of pilot training as well as aircrew training for air combat systems officers and airborne electronic sensor operators.

Recently, Esprit de Corps sat down with Jana Lee Murray, FAcT Program Director for Babcock Leonardo Canadian Aircrew Training, to discuss Canada’s requirements for the FAcT program. She shared how the Babcock Leonardo Canadian Aircrew Train- ing team plans to leverage their extensive global experience and capabilities to deliver a best-in-class solution for the program.

L3Harris Technologies are strategic partners of the Babcock Leonardo Canadian Aircrew Training team, who have over 35 years of experience providing premier in-service support to the Royal Canadian Air Force.

“We are committed to ensuring that Canada’s military aircrew recruits receive the world’s best aircrew training,” says Jana Lee. “Together, we will leverage our global expertise to deliver a customized end-to-end military training solution that provides lasting benefits to the Royal Canadian Air Force.”

WORLD-CLASS EXPERIENCE WITH A STUDENT-CENTRIC APPROACH

The Babcock Leonardo Canadian Aircrew Training team has over 70 years of global aircrew training experience and over 100 years in military aviation. “Drawing upon decades of unparalleled international experience, in-depth knowledge, and a proven track record of building and supporting aircrew training solutions, Babcock Leonardo Canadian Aircrew Training is committed to eading the development of a modern Canadian military training infrastructure, centered on supporting students and instructors and involving local partners, while aligning with Canada’s strategic and economic priorities,” said Jana Lee.

he Babcock Leonardo Canadian Aircrew Training team has over 70 years of delivering military aircrew training.

“We will ensure that the next generation of Canadian Air Force recruits are supported by a military training infrastructure, focused on their growth and progress over their entire career, while training to ensure Canada’s Air Force excels at home and abroad,” Jana Lee explained. “Through the FAcT program, Canada will require renewed aircrew training services to help maintain a multi-purpose and combat capable Air Force.”

Babcock Leonardo Canadian Aircrew Training partners, Top Aces, have an industry leading +95,000 hours of operations training worldwide.

WORKING WITH STRATEGIC PARTNERS

Babcock Leonardo Canadian Aircrew Training is working closely with strategic partners, selected for their history of supporting Can- adian aviation and their internationally recognized expertise to support the requirements of Canada’s FAcT program. The strategic partners include: Athabasca Catering Limited Partnership, Bird Construction, Dexterra Group, Executive Flight Centre, The Loomex Group, FlightSafety International, L3Harris Technologies, and Top Aces.

“I am thrilled that we have built an extremely strong team, consisting of strategic partners that are recognized leaders in their fields of expertise. We know that together we can deliver added value to Canada now and into the future and we are ready to provide the best solution for the Royal Canadian Air Force,” said Jana Lee. “We are excited to announce more partners in the near future and will continue to expand our domestic supply chain by engaging with small, medium-sized, and Indigenous businesses from coast-to-coast.”

Delivering world-class training and value to Canada is at the core of every decision for the Babcock Leonardo Canadian Air- crew Training team. “We are working with local communities and are investing in the development of Canada’s future workforce,” Jana Lee continued. “Canada has an opportunity through FAcT to strengthen the capabilities of the Royal Canadian Air Force and to ensure that it is able to respond to the rapidly changing geopolitical landscape. With our world-class experience and expertise, we have a very deep understanding of military aircrew training and the requirements outlined by Canada.”

“We are looking forward to continuing the dialogue on the exist- ing opportunities that our FAcT program solution will offer Canada and Canadians from coast-to-coast,” Jana Lee concluded.

The Babcock Leonardo Canadian Aircrew Training team is excited for the year ahead as they continue to engage with communities and stakeholder groups to add value to Canada

BABCOCK: A Trusted Partner in Canada’s Marine Sector

by Newell Durnbrooke

WITH A KEY focus on critical mis- sions and operations, complex asset management, technology integration and specialist training, Babcock has supported their clients for over 14 years in Canada and over 125 years around the world. Babcock is trusted to improve the capability, reliability and availability of their clients’ most critical assets within the marine, land, aviation and nuclear sectors.

Operating in Canada since 2008, Babcock has experts who design, manage, operate, and maintain assets that are vital to the delivery of critical services.

Matthew Crawley, Babcock’s Vice President - Corporate Development and Strategy.

Esprit de Corps sat down with Matthew Crawley, Babcock Canada’s Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategy, this month to give us an update on Babcock’s progams over the last few months and to share what’s in store for the organization this upcoming year.

Babcock certainly has an exciting year ahead! With people at the core of their business, Babcock was proud to have been selected as one of the top employers in the National Capital Region for the fourth consecutive year.

“Babcock remains committed to continuing to support our employees and ensuring that we create a safe and secure world, together,” says Matthew Crawley.

At the onset of the pandemic, Babcock was quick to imple- ment numerous proactive and precautionary steps to protect their frontline support teams. The company worked tirelessly to monitor the changing environment and ensure compliance with local public health guidance. Work was shifted to remote work while implementing safety measures at waterfront, aircraft maintenance, and operations and logisctics hubs across its Canadian operations.

BABCOCK CONTINUES TO BE A TRUSTED PARTNER OF THE ROYAL CANADIAN NAVY

Babcock is honoured to be a trusted industrial partner of the Royal Canadian Navy. The company is a leading provider of naval in-service support and has been providing platform design, integration, configuration, management services, and maintenance and waterfront sup- port, ensuring complete lifecycle engineering support for Canada’s fleet of Victoria Class submarines.

HMCS Corner Brook, one of Canada’s four Victoria-Class submarines.

“2022 is going to be an extremely busy year for Babcock with many concurrent activities underway,” says Matthew Crawley, “HMCS Corner Brook has successfully completed the docked portion of her Extended Docking Work Period (EDWP) as part of the Victoria Class In-Service Support Contract (VISSC), and will be returned to the Royal Canadian Navy later this year following sea trials. HMCS Chicoutimi is currently undergoing her Transition Docking Work Period and preparations are underway for the commencement of HMCS Victoria’s EDWP, and we are continuing to introduce process improvements in order to improve delivery efficiency for the Royal Canadian Navy.”

Babcock is continuing to improve their value-added services to help deliver efficiency to the Royal Canadian Navy.

“The essense of what we are delivering for Canada is a submarine capability that did not exist 15 years ago. We are completing major system upgrades and integrating today’s technology with existing systems. Leveraging our experience on the platform and data collected from the new technology, we are able to make informed decisions as a submarine enterprise,” says Crawley.

Babcock continues to find efficiencies and learning from experience from working on these complex platforms. They have recently adopted lean production practices to increase the dependability of execution against schedule and improve their waterfront maintenance delivery.

“We continue to collaborate with the Department of National Defence and have recently made recommendations to 154 maintenance routines in the interest of reducing both the potential for scope growth, and reducing the amount of time a submarine spends in maintenance,” says Matthew Crawley.

Babcock has also recently been awarded a contract to work with Seaspan Vancouver Shipyards Co. Ltd to deliver magazine ammunition storage solution for the Joint Support Ship (JSS) project for the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN).

The JSS project will procure two ships that are purpose-built to provide the RCN with a critical sustainment and re-supply capability. Additionally, the ships will provide a sealift capability, support helicopter maintenance and operations, and will be equipped with modern medical and dental care facilities, including an operating room.

INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY: AT THE CORE OF BABCOCK

Last fall, the Department of National Defence’s Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) program issued a competitive project challenge titled, Wireless is Where It’s At: Secure and Seamless Wireless Network Onboard Ships.

HMCS Windsor, one of Canada’s four Victoria-Class submarines.

“Through this competitive process, Babcock’s proposal has successfully won the opportunity to develop and innovative solution to enable robust and secure digital communication with the large and increasing number of wireless sensors and systems throughout Royal Canadian Navy warships,” says Matthew Crawley, “this allows for assured tracking, monitor- ing, updating, automation and operation in a wide variety of operational scenarios.”

“We will leverage our global capability along with Canadian technology and talent to develop a solution to meet the RCN’s requirements,” Matthew Crawley continued. Babcock will begin developing this solution for the RCN in May 2022.

Babcock is also a founding contributor to the Centre for Ocean Applied Sustainable Technologies (COAST), an innovation of the South Island Prosperity Partnership to promote a more robust “blue economy” on Canada’s pacific coast.

Babcock is leading a consortium of organizations in a collaborative project to develop a means to quickly and accurately identify corrosion by applying artificial intelligence (AI) in the examination of undersea video surveillance from remotely operated vehicles.

“The consortium will involve stakeholders from across industry, academia, non-profit organizations, and indigenous communities over several phases of the project,” says Matthew Crawley.

Outcomes from this project are expected to enhance Babcock’s support to the RCN’s fleet of Victoria class submarines through AI-enabled corrosion detection.

“This first phase will include an opportunity for introductory training in the operation of remotely piloted vehicles for peoples of the T’Souke First Nation on Vancouver Island,” says Matthew. “This will provide an opportunity to begin capacity building in a technology area that has many applications on the west coast.”

LOOKING AHEAD

It’s evident that for Babcock, 2022 continues to be a busy and exciting year. With Babcock’s significant expertise in developing and applying new techniques and technologies in support of their clients, the company is looking forward to the year ahead, and is committed to continuing to provide innovative technological solutions for their clients across various sectors in Canada.

It’s All Systems Go! for Gastops’ Innovation in Oil Condition and Contamination Monitoring

By Brett McAteer

Ottawa company invents breakthrough device that uses fluorescence spectroscopy to change how equipment maintenance is done.

Gastops is the world’s leading provider of intelligent condition monitoring solutions. The company’s technology is used in Aerospace, Defence, Energy, and Industrial applications around the world to drive maintenance strategies that optimize the availability, performance, and safety of critical assets.

The company has been working with the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces for more than 40 years, developing and commercializing condition sensors and data analysis solutions for some of the most sophisticated, complex aviation and naval platforms in the world including the Eurofighter Typhoon, F22, F35, A320. So, when DND issued the All Systems Go! Challenge—one of many challenges that make up the IDEaS program launched in 2019—Gastops was ready.

The Best IDEaS

IDEaS is an acronym for Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security. The program provides funding to accelerate the development of concepts and solutions, and build a defence innovation ecosystem.

Within this program, “All Systems Go!” is a broad solicitation for innovations in the areas of equipment performance prediction and platform maintenance optimization. Specifically, DND challenged industry to leverage new Health and Usage Maintenance System (HUMS) technologies to facilitate a move away from the schedule-based maintenance of critical assets and toward condition-based maintenance (CBM) and, ultimately, true predictive maintenance. The objectives of the move to HUMS are to optimize scarce maintenance resources, reduce the cost of ownership and improve the availability and readiness of military platforms.

From Schedule-Based to Condition-Based Maintenance

Currently, DND’s maintenance strategy tends to rely heavily on schedule-based, preventative maintenance activities like lubricant changes, lubricant top ups, filter changes, visual inspections, and functional inspections at set intervals. It is common for equipment to be subject to an overhaul following a predetermined number of preventative maintenance events. The purpose of an overhaul is to bring equipment to a condition allowing operation for another overhaul period. And the time between overhauls is typically based on either calendar time or operation cycles.

This schedule-based approach works well in that it tends to avoid failures and the very costly and even irreparable damage failures can cause. However, when the scheduled maintenance is actually unnecessary, this approach can still lead to spending that could have been avoided and reduces operational capability while equipment is “in the shop”. 

The preferred approach is Condition-Based Maintenance that is performed only when the objectively observed condition of the equipment indicates that a maintenance event is required to ensure continued operational capability. This approach also avoids spending on unnecessary maintenance and because what’s going on inside a piece of equipment is not easily observed, CBM tends to take advantage of the objectively observed condition of equipment lubricants. Oil carries the signs and symptoms of compromised equipment and deep analysis of oil condition and contamination can even predict equipment condition in the future.

But here again, the traditional approach to oil condition monitoring involves taking the equipment out of service, extracting oil samples, sending them off to a lab for analysis, and waiting for the results. While the traditional approach to CBM does help prevent major problems by assessing the condition of the oil for indications of the health of critical components, there are serious drawbacks: it still takes the equipment off-line for some period of time, and it cannot provide oil condition information between oil tests (and, needless to say, equipment failures don’t happen according to schedule).

And that’s where Gastops’ Oil Condition and Contamination Monitor (OCCM) comes in. 

Oil Condition and Contamination Monitor by Gastops

Even before the All Systems Go! challenge, Gastops had been engaged in research into and development of an OCCM solution that could be installed on operational equipment to provide real-time insights into critical oil condition properties that can indicate equipment condition issues. The company envisaged OCCM as a stand-alone HUMS and as a “plug and play” addition to existing Equipment Control Module (ECM) solutions.

A proposal to move that R&D effort forward and prove that OCCM was both technically and commercially viable was submitted and funding was awarded to help take OCCM from engineering concept to functional prototype and, in doing so, to demonstrate Gastops vision of a diesel engine HUMS solution.

The project focused on identifying equipment conditions related to failure, sensing (in the lubricating oil) the presence and measuring the severity of those conditions while the equipment is in operation, and using advanced data analysis and Machine Learning (ML) technologies to generate actionable inputs to CBM planning activities.

With Gastops’ decades of experience and a full portfolio of oil condition monitoring products and services already in the market, knowing what to measure and why was the easy part. The true challenge lay in engineering a sensor technology that could sense and measure three key critically important oil properties: antioxidant depletion, fuel dilution, and coolant/water contamination, and to do it in real-time, while the diesel engine was running, a status known as on-condition.

Putting Oil Condition in a New Light

Fortunately, Gastops’ research team had already identified the best candidate for that sensor technology: fluorescence spectroscopy.

The company had previously shown that fluorescence spectroscopy can be used to analyze complex mixtures of oil, antioxidants, fuel, coolant and water, each of which “glows” a different colour when exposed to ultra-violet (UV) light. 

With the IDEaS/All Systems Go! OCCM project, Gastops packaged fluorescent spectroscopy conducted through an optical fibre probe in a small on-condition OCCM hardware package to detect diesel lubricant antioxidant depletion, quantify fuel dilution in diesel lubricants, and quantify water content in diesel lubricants. Gastops has created an industry first; a state-of-the-art on-condition sensor and analytics prototype product for evaluating oil condition and oil contamination.

A HUMS Solution by Gastops

The success of the OCCM project points to the real potential of a stand-alone or ECM-compatible solution that can monitor oil condition continuously without reducing operational readiness and help equipment owners and operators avoid unnecessary spending on scheduled maintenance. Such a HUMS solution has the potential of shifting oil change activities to an on-condition basis, generating significant cost savings and creating opportunities to optimize maintenance programs—a critical step toward the true predictive maintenance capability envisioned by the DND’s IDEaS program.

“OCCM will build on Gastops advanced monitoring technology coupled with data fusion and modeling techniques to provide new intelligent engine condition insights to operators and maintainers of diesel engines, said Greg Horwich, Gastops’ Product Manager for Condition Monitoring Services. “We’re excited to be on the leading edge in HUMS solution development and pushing beyond the limits of the current industry capability!” 

Operator’s Expo 2021: Inaugural Tactical Exhibition Shows Promise

By Newell Durnbrooke

On September 29th and 30th, Ottawa’s swanky Infinity Convention centre hosted the first ever Operator’s Expo (aka Op Ex). The two day show featured several dozen exhibitors displaying wares which cover the entire tactical spectrum: From sleeping bags to assault rifles. Attendance was restricted to Canadian military personnel, Law enforcement and Corrections officers. Admission and registration were free to anyone with the proper I.D.. To keep this event from attracting any negative public reaction there was no formal signage announcing the show. However the sea of pick-up trucks in the Infinity parking lot plus the streams of short haired individuals in black clothing and tactical footwear would have been a tip off for any passers by. “One of the primary objectives of organizing this show was to give operators a chance to bring their requirements directly to the manufacturer.” said Patrick Goodbody, Op Ex’s founder. “Another opportunity our show provides is the the ability for attendees to network with their fellow industry professionals.” Due to COVID-19 restrictions at the time, it looked doubtful that an in-person trade show would be allowed to proceed. However, it thankfully got the green light at the last minute and to ensure success, the organizers had a strict enforcement policy for being double-vaccinated (with proof) and a mask mandatory policy when not in your booth. Both days Infinity caterers laid on a decent lunch for the exhibitors. Despite this being the inaugural edition, taking place in the midst of a pandemic, and the first day (29 September) co-inciding with the new federal holiday for Truth & Reconciliation, attendance was better than expected. One of the most popular of the booths was that of the Arrowhead Coffee Company. While one might question how coffee could be tactical, Arrowhead is in fact a veteran-owned enterprise and their dark roast would ensure you never fall asleep while on watch. Esprit de Corps Magazine was proud to be among those exhibitors present at the premier Op Ex. Already the dates are booked for next year – 1–2 June, 2022. “We are looking to add training opportunities from some of the top tactical brands in the country.” said Goodbody. “Stand by for details.” Op Ex 2022 is definitely part of Esprit de Corps’ planning schedule for next year. Bravo Zulu to the organizers for a job well done.

Brulotte Foundation Donates $150K To Governor General Foot Guards

ON NOVEMBER 7TH during the annual Remembrance church service, the Brulotte Foundation, donated $150,000 to commemorate the upcoming 150th anniversary of the Governor General’s Foot Guards (GGFG), and the Guards Chapel (St. Bartholomew’s Anglican Church). Bryan Brulotte has been the Honorary Colonel of the Regiment since 2013, and has been kindly supported by his wife Kaitlin in this endeavor. This donation is a sincere expression of thanks to those steadfast Foot Guard soldiers who preceded us since 1872, and whose contribution created a great nation. By every measure, past-present-future, Canada is an extraordinary democracy. It has been forged by committed citizens demonstrating that merit, hard work, moral fortitude, cooperation, and personal sacrifices can build a better tomorrow “They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them.” Up the Guards!

Airbus launching new satellite system

By Vincent J. Curtis

When you think of Airbus, most people think of it as an aircraft manufacture famous for its A300 and A200 series commercial aircraft, fighters like the Eurofighter and multipurpose military aircraft such as the C295 and MRTT.  But Airbus is more than that.  It is also a world leader in satellite systems and geointelligence data and products. 

Airbus advanced its space system capabilities on April 29, 2021, when an Arianespace Vega rocket launched from French Guiana, arced over the Atlantic Ocean and delivered into earth orbit the first of four new satellites which together will form the Pléiades Neo constellation. The new optical satellite constellation will enable Airbus to provide a second-generation of geo-intelligence data services.  The second satellite of the Pléiades Neo series is expected to be launched this summer.

The Pléiades Neo imagery is very high resolution - 30 cm - with a geomatic accuracy of less than 5 meters.  The new satellites deliver 6 multispectral channels.  The constellation has a nominal lifespan of ten years.

The Pléiades Neo constellation was entirely funded, designed, manufactured, and is owned, and operated by Airbus. It is intended to provide commercial and institutional customers with high-resolution imagery that can be combined with Airbus’ proprietary analytics.  Each of the four satellite can cover up to 500,000 sq. km per day, for a total of 2 million sq. km per day coverage.  The images will be made available on Airbus’ OneAtlas digital platform, which will allow Airbus’ customers immediate access to both freshly acquired and archived data, combined with Airbus’ extensive analytics.  The analytics include object identification, change detection, and activity monitoring.

The Pléiades Neo constellation will work in conjunction with Airbus’ existing fleet of Earth observation satellites that includes the TerraSAR-X, TanDEM-X, and NovaSAR radar satellites; and optical satellites that include the original Pléiades series (2 satellites), SPOT (2 satellites), DMC constellation (4 satellites), and Vision 1 (1 satellite) 

The Pléiades Neo constellation incorporates laser inter-satellite links (ISL) that provides connectivity to the SpaceDataHighway (EDRS) geostationary satellites. The use of ISLs accelerates the tasking process enabling urgent image acquisition within 30 to 40 minutes of a tasking request.  The combination of both high resolution and fast reactivity provide fast tempo, actionable intelligence.

“The Pléiades Neo constellation will definitively boost the 30 cm imagery market, bringing a lot of innovation and coverage capacity to the commercial and government end uses” said François Lombard, Head of Intelligence at Airbus Defense and Space.

Airbus lists the key features of the Pléiades Neo system as: provides the highest commercial resolution combined with accurate geolocation; reactive tasking and rapid delivery; up to 2 million sq km coverage per day; mono, stereo, and tri-stereo acquisition capability; and 100 percent commercial resource availability.  The benefits of these features include: information delivery in a drastically reduced timeframe; rapid coverage at a regional scale; extensive monitoring; and a leveraging with Airbus’ suite of analytics for automatic detection and object identification.  According to Airbus, the user benefits from immediate access to Pléiades Neo and the entire Airbus constellation, either straight from the users Direct Receiving Station or through the Airbus digital platform OneAtlas.

The potential applications of the imagery and analytics include: defense and intelligence, law enforcement, maritime; oil, gas, mining, and energy sectors; agriculture, forestry and environment, land use administration, mapping, transportation and engineering; 3-D modelling, and aviation.

Because the data is commercial and unclassified, users such as the CAF could share it with allied powers during its international operations, according to Airbus.  The imagery is complementary to space-based radars presently used by the CAF.  Airbus says it can bring space based optical and radar surveillance capabilities to the CAF’s space based surveillance project called DESSP. It is actively engaged in the development of solution concepts that address the future Earth observation  requirements of DND and the Canadian Space Agency.

TEAM ARTEMIS: PROVEN SYSTEM. UNMATCHED SUPPORT.

EdC: Tell me about your RPAS team?

L3Harris: L3Harris has teamed with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to offer a modified Heron TP Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS), which we have named the ‘Artemis UAS’, to specifically meet and exceed the requirements of Canada’s RPAS program. L3Harris is the prime contractor for this team and one of the two bidders down selected by the Canadian government. Over the next couple of months we will be announcing other Tier 1 members of our Team Artemis, so stay tuned.

EdC: What are the unique capabilities that the Artemis solution brings to the table?

L3Harris: Team Artemis offers several advantages to our customer, beyond the impressive operational capabilities of the Heron TP. First and foremost, we are proposing a solution that is free from the influence of non-Canadian governments, both in terms of operational use and sustainment. We believe this to have been an influence in Germany’s selection of the Heron TP for its expeditionary operations. Secondly, we are tailoring the mission system to meet Canada’s specific mission and security needs. But perhaps most importantly, we will be creating high-value jobs in Canada for manufacture and assembly of the aircraft and for the development of the mission system. 

EdC: How will Team Artemis meet Canadian government industrial requirements in terms of value and producing high-tech jobs?

L3Harris: By simply doing as much work as we can in Canada. As we approach the mission system, for example, we constantly challenge ourselves to find Canadian solutions for the design choices we make. Team Artemis has already done a cross-Canada tour to seek out the best companies, from Tier 1 partners to subcontractors and suppliers, from coast-to-coast-to-coast. We are committed to building a formidable pan-Canadian team, with small, medium and large businesses, to maximize the Canadian content of our solution. In fact, Team Artemis is exclusively positioned to maximize high-value Canadian jobs and technology transfer.

EdC: What other benefits to Canada does the Artemis solution provide?

L3Harris: In the defence world, we know that acquiring a capability is only the beginning. Complex defence equipment needs specialized care from companies that know the support business. As the RCAF’s premier In-Service Support provider, we at L3Harris have been supporting RCAF aircraft fleets for more than 40 years, including the CF-18, CC-150 Polaris, CP-140 Aurora, CT-114 Tutor and the CH-148 Cyclone. We understand Canadian airworthiness, both military and civil, maintenance, logistics, engineering, obsolescence, supply chain, and overall fleet management. With the long-term support of the OEM, IAI, as a key member of Team Artemis, we offer this proven Canadian support throughout the entire lifecycle of RPAS.

Doing the Honours: Bryan Brulotte is a man on a mission

By Scott Taylor

In 2022, the Governor General’s Foot Guards (GGFG) will commemorate their 150th anniversary. This is a proud occasion for the regiment and Honorary Colonel Bryan Brulotte is intent on making sure this momentous milestone is celebrated in fine fashion.

At first glance, the projected plans for recognizing the GGFG’s 150 years of service to Canada is staggeringly ambitious. There will be a Freedom of the City parade through the streets of Ottawa, celebratory mess dinners, commemorative coins and a rededication of the regimental colours.

Currently at City Hall, there is a commemorative plaque and the GGFG colours are displayed from the rafters above the main hall of Ottawa’s city hall building. However, a new structure has been commissioned to refurbish the monument and co-locate it with a glass casing for the rededicated colours. This will ensure that visitors will see these storied colours, but also understand the significance of them to both the GGFG regiment and the city of Ottawa. 

Other signature projects commissioned to capture the GGFG’s glorious history include an illustrated, glossy coffee table book, an original illustrated artwork montage by artist-illustrator Katherine Taylor and a short video history.

The regiment’s military legacy is certainly an impressive one. On 7 June, 1872 Queen Victoria authorized the raising of a battalion of Foot Guards in the Dominion of Canada’s new capital. This new regiment was to hold the same precedence as that of the Foot Guards in the British Imperial Army. As such, to this day the GGFG remain the senior infantry regiment in the Canadian Reserves. 

Since 1879 the regiment has been housed at the landmark Cartier Square Drill Hall adjacent to the Rideau canal. Tourists and residents of Ottawa are familiar with the scarlet uniforms of the GGFG performing the ceremonial changing of the guard during the summer months on the grounds of Parliament Hill and at Rideau Hall.

However, most spectators watching the precise drill moves made to the rhythmic beat of martial music are unaware that the GGFG is first and foremost a combat infantry regiment, and it always was.In 1884 members of the GGFG accompanied the British-led Nile military expedition into the Sudan. The following year the GGFG provided a company of sharp-shooters to accompany the field force dispatched to quell the North West rebellion. Elements of the regiments served in South Africa andthe entire regiment deployed in both World Wars. During the Great War three GGFG soldiers – Major O’Kill Massey Learmonth, Sgt Phlip Konowal and Cpl Leo Clark – were awarded the Victoria Cross. More recent campaigns include the deployment of GGFG members to augment peace keeping forces in the former Yugoslavia and as members of the battle groups dispatched to fight the war in Afghanistan.

Closer to home, the regiment sent troops to assist with the flood disaster relief in Manitoba in 1997. During the ice storm in the Ottawa valley in 1998, the GGFG mobilized an entire company to aid the civil powers. The regiment was called upon again to assist the Ottawa floods of 2018 as part of Op LENTUS. More recently, the GGFG soldiers have assisted with Op LASER, the military support for long term care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Somewhat fitting for their 150th anniversary, the GGFG will be adding a unique chapter to their regimental history in 2022. It is planned for the GGFG to assume the ceremonial guard duty at Buckingham Palace in London, England for a three week period in November, 2022. This will mark the first time the GGFG have performed these prestigious duties. For a reserve unit to recruit and train the necessary contingent of about 150 personnel would be a daunting task even without the lingering restrictions of COVID-19. However for Bryan Brulotte, the primary sponsor behind many of these elaborate 150th anniversary celebration plans, this project is a “no fail mission. And we have an outstanding team to pull it off.” 

For those individuals who are familiar with the career path and Brulotte’s personal dedication to the Canadian military, will know that such a declaration is not simply hollow bravado. Brulotte was born the son of an enlisted soldier in the Canadian Armed Forces who retired as a Chief Warrant Officer. In 1978 at the age of thirteen Brulotte joined the Army Cadets. Four years later,he enrolled in the regular force and began his officer training at the College Militaire Royal in Quebec. He excelled within this structured military-academic environment, topping his phase three infantry training component and graduating as the Cadet Wing Commander.

As an officer with the Royal 22nd (Vandoos) Regiment, Brulotte was stationed in West Germany where he successfully completed the challenging French Army Commando course. During his posting to Europe, Brulotte also qualified for Parachute wings from both the British and German armies.From 1990-1992 Brulotte served as an aide-de-camp for the Governor General at Rideau Hall. During this stint, Brulotte had the opportunity to interact with world leaders and heads of state both at home and abroad.

In 1993, Brulotte resigned his commission with the Regular Force but remained on the Supplementary Reserve list. Through hard work, dedication, discipline and his “no fail mission” attitude Brulotte started a modest placement agency which he soon built into a human resources empire.

What began as a one-man operation powered by shoe leather, MaxSys has grown into a corporation with annual sales over $100 million, generated by fourteen regional offices nationwide.While Brulotte was in the process of becoming a captain of industry, in 2007 at the age of 43 he rejoined the militia to become a captain with the Governor General’s Foot Guards. Retiring from the Primary Reserve six years later, it was a natural choice that he be appointed Honorary Colonel of this same regiment. Although that term as Honorary was to expire, the regiment elected to extend Brulotte’s engagement until after the 150th anniversary celebrations.

To help bring his grandiose 2022 commemorative plans to fruition, Brulotte has enlisted the able assistance of LCol Fran Chilton-Mackay. Herself being a member of the GGFG regiment, Chilton-Mackay has long been the directing dynamo responsible for staging the hugely successful annual Army Balls. On a daily basis, she will be the executive director of the 150th Committee, that is composed of volunteers.

In addition to supporting the GGFG regiment, it must be noted that Brulotte has always been incredibly supportive of the Canadian military as a whole. For instance, of the 14,000 personnel that MaxSys places per year, approximately 1,000 of those are ex-military veterans.As a corporation, MaxSys contributes roughly $450,000 annually back into the military community as charitable donations. For instance MaxSys contributes over $200,000 a year towards military community advocacy. This effort aims at raising awareness of veterans’ skill sets to potential employers nationwide. Event sponsorships to which MaxSys contributes includes the annual legacy RMC dinner, the Toronto Garrison Dinner, True Patriot Love Dinner, the Vimy Dinner, Army Ball and Victory Ball. To assist homeless veterans, MaxSys makes an annual donation of $20,000 to the Shepherds of Good Hope in both Toronto and Ottawa. On the scholastic side, MaxSys also funds seven academic bursaries which are available to deserving reservists who are seeking to enhance their employability through advanced studies.

From commemorating the 150 year history of a proud regiment to investing in the future of young soldiers, Honorary Colonel Bryan Brulotte is clearly a man on a “no fail mission.” 

Saab Offer Includes Jobs Boost to Quebec

By Vincent J. Curtis

At the Aero Montreal Innovation Forum 2020 conference, Saab AB revealed part of its proposal for Canada’s Future Fighter Capability Project.  Saab’s proposal will include the creation of two new innovation centres to be located somewhere in the greater Montreal area.

One center will be called the Gripen Center, while the second will be named the Aerospace Research and Development Center.  The proposed Gripen Center will be devoted to the support, sustainment, and upgrade management of the 88 Gripen E fighter aircraft that Saab hopes to sell to Canada to replace the aging CF-18 Hornets. The work of the Aerospace R&D Center will be directed towards the development, testing, and production of Next Generation (NG) aerospace systems and components that may include: UAV’s, artificial intelligence (AI), and “environmentally friendly aviation technologies.”

Several thousand long term jobs in high technology were promised in SAAB’s proposal.

For this project, Saab will partner with CAE, Peraton, GE, and IMP Aerospace and Defence.

In making the announcement, Saab President and CEO Micael Johansson, noted that Saab has been invested in Canada for nearly thirty years, and those three decades of cooperation includes such projects as the combat management system for the Halifax-class frigates of the Royal Canadian Navy.  Johansson also pledged that the future fleet of Canadian Gripen E fighters would be “built, supported, sustained, enhanced, and upgraded in Canada by Canadians.”

Johansson described Saab as a Defence and Security company which focusses on innovated affordable military capability.  With security threats growing rapidly around the world, Saab commits twenty-five percent of its annual revenue to R&D.

Saab was tight-lipped about much of the rest of their overall Future Fighter proposal to the Canadian government.  They did not specify exactly where in the Montreal area the closely related innovation centers would be located.  Saab was also not willing to reveal the estimated cost of their fighter jet replacement proposal, (neither the per-unit cost nor the overall project cost).  If acquired by Canada, the Gripens would be assembled by IMP Aerospace and Defence at their facility near Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Open sources indicate that the Gripen E would be powered by the same GE F414G engine that motivates the Super Hornet.

While several hundred Gripens have been produced since the JAS-39 was introduced in 1993, Saab admitted that fewer than ten of the E model have actually been produced anywhere in the world. The Saab plant in Brazil began building Gripen E and double seat F models in the summer of 2020. They are to build 36 Gripens for the Brazilian Airforce.

 Indicating that it well knows the politics of Canadian defence procurement, Saab is offering lucrative incentives for the Montreal, Quebec based aviation sector should Saab be selected to supply the 88 replacement fighters for the CF-18 fleet.

Looking Ahead: Babcock positions themselves for a strong future in Canada

By Newell Durnbrooke

For over a decade, Babcock has been committed to developing innovative and effective solutions across all of the sectors they support in Canada, including vital programs such as the Victoria-Class In-Service Support Contract (VISSC), and through their work in civil aviation and civil nuclear energy. As a recognized leader in engineering support solutions in Canada and around the globe, Babcock continues to introduce new technologies and methodologies to the market. 

In an interview with Matthew Crawley, Vice President Commercial for Babcock, Esprit de Corps delves into how the business continues to support their customers and partners, now and into the future.

Ongoing Support to the Victoria-Class Submarines 

For the past 12 years, Babcock has been working alongside the Royal Canadian Navy, Federal Government, and their industry partners to sustain Canada’s fleet of Victoria-Class submarines. Over the lifetime of the VISSC program, Babcock has demonstrated their considerable expertise and global experience, while delivering outstanding economic benefits to Canada. 

According to Mr. Crawley, “often we talk in terms of technical capability and status of vessel refits, but it is interesting when we talk about the contribution of the program to the Canadian economy. To understand the impact, we commissioned an independent study which found that over 2,000 Canadian jobs are maintained annually through our team and our many supply chain partners working on VISSC across Canada.” The study also found that the VISSC program has contributed over $2 billion in GDP impact since 2008, and is now supported by over 450 domestic supply chain partners. This Canadian supply chain capability is so important for programs such as VISSC, and Canada, to have a domestic capability to support the Royal Canadian Navy. Babcock has worked hard since the contract’s inception to develop the in-country capability to deliver on the contract and to provide and maintain quality jobs for Canadians. 

Mr. Crawley also mentioned that it has taken over a decade for Babcock and the program to get to where they are today, which has been an investment by Canada and Babcock to establish and grow the Victoria-Class Canadian support capability. He believes that the substantial experience and expertise Babcock brings to the table will help the Canadian Government be successful in their continued sustainment efforts.

Introducing Team Victoria-Class 

Since 2008, Babcock has been partnering with Seaspan Victoria Shipyards and BMT, who have played essential roles in supporting the submarine sustainment capability the team currently delivers. Recently, Babcock announced that moving forward this Canadian partnership would be referred to as ‘Team Victoria-Class’.

Doubling down on their winning strategy, this team is now also a qualified bidder for the follow-on contract, VISSC II. This program will provide Canada with an opportunity to further enhance its established submarine sustainment expertise and ensure the Royal Canadian Navy’s fleet of Victoria-Class submarines receives world-class support through to end-of-life. 

“Babcock is proud of its collaborative relationship with its partners, as well as with the Canadian Government, in establishing an exceptional domestic submarine sustainment capability,” Mr. Crawley noted, “no one else has the same breadth and depth of Canadian submarine sustainment experience as Team-Victoria Class. The team is committed to providing the lowest risk solution that will build on the investments and learning that have been established over the last decade.” 

He also observed that it takes an abundance of experience to support the submarines, there is a lot of effort and expertise that goes in to understanding this niche area of the industry. Providing in-service support to these assets requires collaboration, and a team that’s committed to growing and building the industry as a whole. 

Babcock is also bringing new, innovative technology solutions to VISSC II, including the digitally enabled asset management approaches they are developing and deploying into the current VISSC Mr. Crawley highlighted Babcock’s iSupport360 approach to complex asset management, which couples the expertise of Babcock with an innovative suite of digital applications to support better decision making, increasing asset availability and decreasing the total cost of ownership. The current suite of tools, developed specifically for the Victoria class submarines, provide important insights to the submarine program in an interactive and visual format. For example, the tools provide for program planning across the class, integrated with individual platform material state, system margin analysis and supply chain information. These tools are available through a secure access environment to its Canadian government customers. More enhancements to the suite of iSupport360 offerings are in the planning.   

Upcoming Opportunities

Babcock’s international marine portfolio also includes support to surface ships around the world, and they hope to bring this experience to the Minor Warships and Auxiliary Vessels Support Contract IV (MWAV IV). MWAV IV will provide a range of In-Service Support capabilities including program management, service delivery, LCMM, Logistics, Information and Data Management, Quality and Engineering Services for 70+ vessels and auxiliaries in Canada and deployed. Babcock is a prequalified bidder in a Joint Venture with Babcock Marine Rosyth Limited (BMRL), which brings a great deal of global experience with a focus on local delivery.

Babcock continues to pursue opportunities to support Canadian defence programs in areas outside of the marine sector. On the horizon is the Future Aircrew Training program (FAcT), which will provide military flying training and support to the Royal Canadian Air Force. Babcock’s aviation experience spans 14 different countries globally, and Mr. Crawley believes that what has been learned in these other jurisdictions can be directly applied within Canada’s borders. Their solution will incorporate a truly agnostic approach to procurement with global expertise and proven delivery capability to deliver a customized, Canadian solution.

Focus on Collaborative Relationships

Working safely within the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, Babcock is committed to delivering on both its military and civil contracts. According to Mr. Crawley, one of the company’s core values is the positive, collaborative relationships it fosters with its customers. This is reflected through Babcock’s relationship with the Canadian Government, and the way in which the company provides service and engages in industry consultations to strengthen relationships and meet the needs of its clients. Babcock continues to work through COVID-19 restrictions, but their teams remain committed to delivering reliably and safely for their partners, customers, and the communities where they operate.