by David Pugliese
GENERAL DYNAMICS LAND SYSTEMS-CANADA in London, ON can expect additional orders for armoured vehicles as Canada intends to replace the military equipment it is donating to Ukraine’s forces.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced June 30 that Canada was providing Ukraine with 39 Armoured Combat Support Vehicles. Those vehicles, being built by General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada, were originally for the Canadian Army. But instead they will be diverted to Ukraine. The specific variant will be the Troop Cargo Vehicle (TCV). Of the 360 ACSVs being built for the Canadian Army, 41 were TCVs.
Trudeau said equipment donated to Ukraine from Canadian Forces stocks will be replaced as quickly as possible.
“Any donated vehicles will be replaced with the schedule for delivery to be determined and negotiated with GDLS-C and the Canadian Army,” National Defence spokesman Dan Le Bouthillier told Esprit de Corps. “The decision to donate ACSV vehicles is expected to have a moderate impact on the program schedule and will change the fielding plan of the ACSV to the Canadian Army. We will work with GDLS-C and the Canadian Army to develop a revised program schedule.”
While the TCV variant was supposed to be the first ACSV variant to be fielded, the Canadian Army will look at moving to the ambulance variant first. Those vehicles will be delivered to the Canadian Army in the first half of 2023, Le Bouthillier said.
The vehicles donated to Ukraine will not include the command and control communications system specific to the Canadian Armed Forces. A different communications system will be installed in its place.
General Dynamics Land Systems – Canada in London, ON can expect additional orders for armoured vehicles as Canada intends to replace the military equipment it is donating to Ukraine’s forces. (DND PHOTO)
The donation of vehicles will be funded from the $500 million announced to sup- port Ukraine in the federal government’s 2022 budget.
Besides small arms, Carl Gustaf anti- tank systems, and ammunition, the Cana- dian Armed Forces has provided Ukraine with four M777 howitzers.
In 2008 Canada earmarked $114 million U.S. to purchase, through a U.S. Foreign Military Sale, 37 M777 howitzers, spare parts and associated equipment. The prime contractors were BAE Land Systems in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and Howmet Castings, Alcoa Business in Whitehall, Michigan. No timeline has been provided for the replacement of the M777 donation.
The Canadian government is also in the midst of discussions to purchase 100,000 artillery shells for Ukraine in a deal that could cost taxpayers several hundred mil- lion dollars. Canadian officials have been talking with their counterparts in South Korea to acquire the 100,000 rounds of 155-millimetre artillery ammunition, Esprit de Corps confirmed.
The Liberal government has already announced it is spending $98 million to buy 20,000 similar artillery rounds from the United States for Ukraine.
Meanwhile, a project to acquire robotic mine-hunting equipment for the Royal Canadian Navy is being delayed partly because the Canadian military and government procurement specialists are focused on getting equipment for Ukraine.
Two of the robotic systems to detect and dispose of sea mines and other underwater explosive devices were to be purchased for the RCN and delivered by the end of this year as part of a $35 million project.
Department of National Defence officials confirmed that the project has been delayed. But in its statement, DND noted that the delays were prompted by the need for more discussions with industry and because of “the refocusing of internal resources on urgent priority equipment donations for Ukraine. DND leadership is taking all steps to carefully review this project as part of our normal project planning procedures, and all efforts are being made to complete this review prior to the end of this calendar year.”
DND officials said that no other projects are being delayed because of Ukraine equipment purchases. The department noted the mine-hunting equipment is still expected to be in use by the RCN by November 2024 as scheduled.
The addition discussions with industry were required to ensure the procurement is fair and transparent, the department added in its statement.
The Remote Mine-hunting and Disposal Systems or RMDS will be used mainly on the Royal Canadian Navy’s Kingston-class vessels. Work on the procurement started in 2017 when military officials went to industry with initial questions on what capabilities companies could provide. Bids were requested in June 2021 and have been submitted.
The Canadian Army is expected to soon ask industry for information on how to proceed with the acquisition of new mobility vehicles in the Arctic.
The Domestic Arctic Mobility Enhancement (DAME) Project would see the purchase of a medium-sized high mobility vehicle based on a common platform.
Canada has provided Ukraine with four M777s. (DND PHOTO)
The project intends to deliver a common vehicle platform in four variants; a command post, a troop carrier, a cargo and equipment carrying variant and an ambulance variant.
The project would also include a number of trailers, integrated logistics support, infrastructure and in-service support for the new vehicles.
The minimum number of vehicles needed is 126. The preferred number is 170.
Some of the vehicles would be acquired for the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Potential locations for the new vehicles would include Alert, Resolute Bay, Yellowknife and southern bases such as Petawawa, Valcartier, Edmonton, Shilo and Gagetown.
The new vehicles would be able to be air dropped and transport personnel and cargo for self-sustained operations for 72 hours. They would have the ability to deploy troops with a range of 300 kilometers. An request for information to industry would be released in the summer. Project approval is expected in the fall of 2023 with a request for proposals released in 2024. Initial operational capability would be for spring of 2028 and full operational capability the next year.
National Defence is asking Sikorsky to develop and implement enhancements to the Flight Control System on the CH-148 Cyclone helicopter. This is a result of recommendations made by Royal Canadian Air Force investigators looking into the crash of a Cyclone which killed six Canadian Forces personnel in 2020. “The cost is not yet known, as we are working with Sikorsky on a full implementation proposal,” National Defence noted in a statement.
Saab signed a contract with and received an order from the Swedish De- fence Materiel Administration (FMV) for the GlobalEye Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft. The order includes two GlobalEye aircraft with deliveries planned during 2027. Saab’s GlobalEye features the Erieye Extended Range radar, which has a range of more than 550 kilometres, as well as a suite of advanced sensors and a command and control system integrated into the Global 6000 aircraft which is built by Bombardier.
MDA Ltd. announced July 7 that Holly Johnson has been appointed as the company’s Vice President of Robotics and Space Operations, reporting to MDA Chief Executive Officer, Mike Greenley. Ms. Johnson stepped into the role in an acting capacity earlier this year.