By David Pugliese
The Royal Canadian Air Force is re-equipping with major projects about to deliver over the next two years. (CANADIAN FORCES PHOTO)
OVER THE NEXT two years announcements are expected to be made on signed contracts for new fighter jets, refueling aircraft and drones. In addition, a contract will be signed within that period for a new training provider for the RCAF.
Here is a rundown of what is soon to be acquired.
F35
A deal is expected by the end of this year or early 2023 for the acquisition of 88 F-35 aircraft. Negotiations are ongoing between Canada, the U.S. government and Lockheed Martin.
The Liberal government announced March 28 it was entering into the negotiations to buy the F-35, retreating on Justin Trudeau’s promise Canada would never acquire the aircraft he claimed didn’t work and wasn’t needed. Although federal govern- ment officials have recently claimed that this is not a done deal, essentially it is. There is no turning back now that the F-35 has been selected.
Defence Minister Anita Anand told analysts during a confer- ence May 10 that the U.S. government is more than happy with Canada’s selection of the Lockheed Martin stealth fighter. The F-35 acquisition by Canada guarantees more American jobs, and to a lesser extent domestic work. “(In) our discussions with the U.S., they are very pleased that we are going to be working on the same footing with regards to the future fighter capability,” Anand said.
In addition, the Liberal government has used the Russian invasion of Ukraine to justify its purchase of fighter.
But there could be problems on the horizon. Pentagon officials have raised concerns about the high cost to operate the F-35.
An April 28 U.S. Government Accountability Office report also warned about the aircraft’s reliability. “The F-35 continues to not meet its targets for mission capable rates—a measure of the readiness of an aircraft fleet—or its reliability and maintain- ability metrics,” the GOA reported.
The RCAF is planning for the eventual replacement for the CP-140 Aurora aircraft. Dubbed the Canadian Multi-Mission Aircraft (CMMA), a request for information was released to the aerospace industry in February. (CANADIAN FORCES PHOTO)
Dan Grazier, an F-35 critic at the Project on Government Oversight in the U.S., has written that neither the Russians or other adversaries need to be worried about from the stealth fighter. To make his point, Grazier cited an internal Pentagon report warn- ing about repeated F-35 breakdowns and a lack of spare parts. “Despite more than 20 years and approximately $62.5 billion spent so far on research and development alone, program officials still haven’t been able to deliver an aircraft that can fly as often as needed or to demonstrate its ability to perform in combat, which places military personnel in jeopardy,” Grazier wrote in a report for POGO last month.
RPAS
In February the Canadian government officially requested bids for its remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS) project.
Two firms have been approved to bid on the RPAS project.
Team Artemis, led by L3Harris Technologies, located in Mirabel, Quebec, and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), has a Canadian organization of four companies. Those firms include Airbus Defence and Space Canada, located in Ontario; ATCO Frontec, Canadian UAVs and Lockheed Martin CDL Systems, located in Alberta. Two key Canadian suppliers, L3Harris in Ontario and Pratt & Whitney Canada in Quebec will provide crucial components of the system.
The second bidder will be Team SkyGuardian. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. CAE, MDA, and L3 Harris are part of that team that is offering the MQ-9B SkyGuardian to fulfill Canada’s RPAS requirements.
RPAS will provide the Canadian Armed Forces with the ability to conduct long endurance surveillance missions over long dis- tances, using a variety of sensors. This will help support airborne intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, with near-real time information to inform senior leadership.
At home, the capability will help the military monitor Canada’s large territory and long coastline. It will also support special security events such as international summits like the G8 and Canadian Armed Forces operations in aid of civil authority, like responses to forest fires and floods.
In deployed operations, an RPAS will provide commanders an overview of operational situations with near-real time information, according to the CAF. The system will be capable of detect- ing, recognizing, identifying, and tracking targets of interest in complex environments.
While the RPAS will be a medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) system with a precision strike capability, it will only be armed when necessary for the assigned task, National Defence officials told Esprit de Corps. At all times, employment of precision strike capability will adhere to the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC), as well as any other applicable domestic or international laws. Use of force will be applied following rules of engagement (ROE) applicable to the CAF.
The number of RPAS will be based on the ability to support three simultaneous lines of tasking. Bidders are to propose how many air vehicles will be required to support the three lines of tasking.
The estimated RPAS procurement cost is $1 billion to $4.99 billion dollars. That includes RPAS acquisition, initial set-up of training and maintenance services, associated equipment, infra- structure, and set-up to enable the aircraft to enter into service.
Significant economic benefits for Canadian industry are a key element in this procurement and National Defence officials say the RPAS project presents a unique opportunity to ensure a high level of Canadian industrial participation and ensure support for the Canadian aerospace and defence sectors. Given the size and scope of the RPAS project, there are considerable leveraging opportunities to contribute to jobs, innovation and economic growth across the country, they added.
The aircraft will be stationed at 14 Wing Greenwood, NS, and 19 Wing Comox, BC. The aircraft will also be operated out of a Forward Operating Location at Yellowknife, NWT when supporting missions in northern Canada. The ground control centre, which will house the aircraft cockpits, will be located in the Ottawa area.
A formal request for proposal or RFP was issued Feb. 11, 2022.
These are expected timelines:
• Contract award: fiscal year 2023/24
• First delivery: fiscal year 2025/26 to 2026/27
• Initial operational capability: fiscal year 2027/28 to 2029/30 • Full operational capability: fiscal year 2030/31 to 2032/33
STRATEGIC TANKER TRANSPORT CAPABILITY
The Strategic Tanker Transport Capability is also critical to the RCAF. Interestingly, it is the highlighted in Defence Minister Anita Anand’s Mandate Letter from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Anand’s press secretary, Daniel Minden, said the project is about acquiring a new fleet of aircraft to replace the CC-150 Polaris. The new fleet will conduct multiple tasks, such as in- flight refuelling of other aircraft, military personnel and cargo airlift, medical evacuations, and strategic transport of Canadian government officials, Minden said.
In April 2021, Airbus emerged as the only qualified supplier for that new fleet of Canadian Forces refueling planes and VIP aircraft. The aircraft deemed to be qualified for the job is the Airbus A330 MRTT, which is a dual-role refueling and transport plane.
The A330 MRTT, a military variant of a civilian airliner, can carry up to 111 tonnes of fuel. Canada hopes to have a contract in place by before spring 2024, with the first A330 MRTT expected to be operational in 2028. RCAF officers remain confident that the Canadian military can, until then, rely on the existing fleet of CC-150 Polaris aircraft.
The Canadian Forces has been using the Polaris since 1994.
AIRCREW TRAINING
Bids are being prepared by companies for the Future Aircrew Training (FaCT) project. The request for proposals was released Feb. 11 and is set to close in October.
Two candidates are in the running for the contract: SkyAlyne, a partnership between Canadian companies KF Aerospace and CAE; and the Babcock Leonardo Canadian Aircrew Training team.
The government expects to award the multi-billion-dollar FAcT contract in 2023. Now that the RFP has been released, both bid- ders are hard at work crafting proposals that will meet the stated requirements and provide the next generation of RCAF aircrews with a solid foundation for their operational careers.
On December 16, 2020, the Canadian government released the draft Request to Proposals to the three qualified suppliers: Babcock Canada Inc., Leonardo Canada, and SkyAlyne Canada Limited Partnership. On Aug. 11, 2021, Babcock Canada Inc. and Leonardo Canada announced a new joint-venture called ‘Babcock Leonardo Canadian Aircrew Training’. They signed a Teaming Agreement that will see Babcock Canada and Leonardo Canada come together to be considered for Future Aircrew Training program.
FaCT will replace existing pilot training programs, as well as other RCAF programs for training Air Combat Systems Officers and Airborne Electronic Sensor Operators trades. This is being done in order to advance the effectiveness and efficiencies through what the RCAF calls “a common, more holistic approach to training aircrew.”
The RCAF has determined that the basing solution for the Future Aircrew Training program will remain status quo. Ab-initio pilot training will be delivered in Moose Jaw and Southport. Ab-initio training for Air Combat Systems Officers and Airborne Electronic Sensor Operators will be delivered in Winnipeg.
FWSAR
The Airbus C-295 was selected as the RCAF’s new fixed wing search and rescue aircraft. The RCAF will call the plane, the Kingfisher.
The Canadian Armed Forces has four Kingfisher aircraft in the country and another six aircraft have been accepted in Spain. These aircraft are not operationally ready upon acceptance as there remains outstanding certification and qualification work, followed by operational testing.
The existing Airbus C295 aircraft has been certified by civilian and military agencies for airworthiness. However, in order to meet the Canadian requirements for search and rescue and as part of their initial proposal, Airbus included over thirty design changes to the base model for the C-295 Kingfisher, according to National Defence officials. These changes have resulted in a requirement for additional certifications. Along with this, and challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the volume and sequencing of work by Airbus and by the Canadian Armed Forces requires more time, contributing to delays. Because of that, the initial operational capability for the C-295 has been delayed from this summer to 2025. Full operational capability will be reached in fiscal year 2029-30, according to the RCAF.
AURORA REPLACEMENT
Farther out is the acquisition of an eventual replacement for the CP-140 Aurora aircraft. Dubbed the Canadian Multi-Mission Aircraft (CMMA), a request for information was released to the aerospace industry in February.
The current Aurora fleet consists of 14 aircraft which have been in service since the 1980s. However, those planes have been over the years significantly upgraded.
The funding for the CMMA project is estimated at more than $5 billion. Options analysis for the CMMA will start this year, with the project in full swing in 2027. The initial delivery of the first aircraft is estimated to take place in 2032 and final delivery in 2037.
The request for information is intended to be a starting point for the project, according to federal government officials. Public Services and Procurement Canada, on behalf of the Department of National Defence, is seeking input from industry on the manda- tory requirements and capability requirements.
Minimum operational capabilities will include the following: Search and Rescue (SAR); Command, Control, Communications, Computers (C4), Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) (C4ISR); Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW); Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW); Communications Relay; Network Extension; and Overland Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance.
The CMMA options to be studied by the RCAF provide a wide range of possibilities. They are:
Buy Military Off The Shelf (MOTS) aircraft – A single new manned Military Off The Shelf (MOTS) aircraft fleet would be procured with minimal or no modification required.
Buy and Modify MOTS. A single new manned MOTS aircraft fleet would be procured that meets all high level requirements, with moderate change or modification required.
Buy Civilian Off the Shelf (COTS) and Develop into MOTS
– A single new manned Civilian off-the-Shelf (COTS) aircraft fleet would be procured, with the idea those planes could be developed into a military platform that meets all needed requirements.
Buy Two fleets of MOTS – Two fleets of new manned MOTS aircraft that share a common airframe but have different configurations would be procured.
Buy MOTS and UAS – A fleet of new manned MOTS aircraft and a fleet of new Unmanned Air Systems (UAS) would be purchased. Together this mixed fleet would meet all RCAF requirements.