Defense Procurement News » Canada

Australia To Buy New CH-47 Chinooks

Matthew Potter — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 10:00:14 +0000

The Australian government has signed a contract with Boeing to provide seven new CH-47 Chinook cargo helicopters. These will replace existing CH-47D aircraft.

The Chinook due to its size and power has proved instrumental in Afghanistan due to the high-and-hot environment. The United States, Canada and Great Britain have invested in more and better versions of Boeing’s venerable helicopter. Now Australia joins them in using the new CH-47F version. The aircraft are basically similar to those being made for the U.S. Army with some user modifications.

The demand for lift in Afghanistan has seen heavy use of Russian helicopters being operated by civilian companies. These provide logistical support for the allied units operating in that country.

Canada Finds War Expensive

Matthew Potter — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 10:55:51 +0000

Canada's defense budget has been growing due to its support of operations in Afghanistan. At the same time the country is investing money in...

Pomerleau To Build New Facility For C-130 Training

Matthew Potter — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:00:42 +0000

The Canadian government has invested in several C-130J transports from Lockheed Martin. These are to improve their tactical and operational mobility. The aircraft are to be built in the United States but the contract has significant offset requirements so that Lockheed will have to spend money in Canada. As part of their plans to stimulate the economy due to the global recession Canada also planned to invest in defense infrastructure and this kind of project is the kind of thing that they proposed doing.

The Ontario based company Pomerleau, Inc received a contract worth about $40 million Canadian to build the facilities to support C-130J aircrew and maintenance training at the Trenton. The hanger based facility will be completed in 2012.

The U.S. military has been able to utilize some of the stimulus bill money from Congress to build or rehabilitate facilities. These seem to be the kind of project that will generate jobs and investment in the local economy. At the same time like Canada they are getting an enhanced capability.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/httpblogsinacomcnhomeofbeijingpeople/ / CC BY-ND 2.0

Fast-insertion ops use bullet-proof fiber

admin — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:57:49 +0000

MORRIS TOWNSHIP, N.J., Sept. 25 (UPI) -- Honeywell and Canada's Novatec Braids Ltd. announced the U.S. military picked its super-strength polyethylene fiber rope for fast-insertion operations.

Boeing firms up Canadian presence with aircraft deals

admin — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 22:30:17 +0000

OTTAWA, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- Boeing is consolidating its presence in Canada with two major aircraft deals that guarantee long-term in-service support operations in the country alongside assembly and manufacturing activities.

Canada weighs defense options, buys Chinooks

admin — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:25:23 +0000

OTTAWA, Sept. 17 (UPI) -- Canada is buying 15 Chinook military helicopters as it weighs its defense options amid a welter of events that have highlighted its vulnerabilities in the Western Hemisphere.

Reports Are That Canada Not Happy With C-130J Maintenance Costs

Matthew Potter — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 09:41:31 +0000

Canada is having a hard time negotiating a support contract with Lockheed Martin for the new C-130J transports it has agreed to purchase.

Canada Buys CH-47 Helicopters

Matthew Potter — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 10:00:24 +0000

Canada awarded Boeing a contact for fifteen CH-47 helicopters. The contract has a value of over $1 billion and requires and equivalent amount of offsets in the Canadian economy. Boeing already is selling the latest version of the heavy lift helicopter so valuable in Afghanistan to the U.S. and Great Britain. Canada being the third most heavily involved country in that war will certainly be able to use them.

The aircraft will be delivered in either late 2013 or early 2014 as they fit in to the current production. Canada has been requiring significant offsets in their latest round of contracts and this favor many U.S. companies as they have either Canadian subsidiaries or already buy parts and support from that nation.

So far the Obama Administration has made little changes to the existing plans for U.S. Army aviation modernization with the UH-60M, UH-72A and CH-47F. The replacement of the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) original canceled contract is also on current path for continuation at this time.

Budget Woes Affecting Key Canadian Modernization Program

Matthew Potter — Thu, 21 May 2009 10:27:12 +0000

Canada has suffered from a shortage of internal lift capability both strategic and tactical. The government had decided to purchase sixteen CH-47F Chinook helicopters to provide the tactical lift capability needed in Afghanistan. Operations there require substantial helicopter forces and the high and hot conditions need big, powerful aircraft.

Now there is a report that Canada may look at reducing the number of aircraft procured due to the budget problems facing all of the world’s governments. The contract with Boeing is still in negotiation so a change like this of cutting two aircraft bringing the total to fourteen is certainly easier then after the award. The total cost savings though may not be that much unless other customers can be found for the two aircraft. The more you buy of something the cheaper they are so reducing the buy to save money may cause a slight cost increase in the ones remaining.

Unfortunately Canada is now joining Britain with its Typhoon problems were the lack of money available is starting to affect military procurement programs. Discretionary spending in budgets is limited and weapons spending is one area that may be cut. If the world’s economy doesn’t turn around soon we will see more of these program changes. The start will be nibbling around the edges and then whole programs finally being ended.

Canadian Government Fights Back on Foriegn Contracts

Matthew Potter — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 11:00:24 +0000

The Canadian government of Mr. Harper has received criticism from the domestic defense industry and legislators that it has not been awarding enough contracts to Canadian companies. Part of the issue is that the last two major contracts for C-17 and C-130 aircraft had to go to American companies who are the producers of those aircraft. A more recent award for trucks though went to an American company Navistar when the product was available in Canada. The Vancouver Sun is reporting that the administration is trying to mollify its critics by awarding tow major contracts to Canadian companies. The two new contracts are for upgrades to command and control systems and will be awarded to Canadian subsidiaries of Thales and General Dynamics. Even so the work will be done in Canada and employ Canadians. One of the problems that affects defense contracting, especially for smaller countries, is that it may be hard to do the work domestically. India for example has invested billions into its industry but still has to turn to foreign suppliers for large, complicated programs.

U.S Air Force Buys 15 C-17 Aircraft from Boeing

Matthew Potter — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 16:23:48 +0000

The BBC News reports that the U.S. Air Force awarded Boeing a contract to build 15 C-17 transport aircraft. The contract is worth almost $3 billion. The Air Force had been debating whether to buy any more C-17 but Congress provided the funds for these aircraft. The C-17 and C-5 fleet has been used a great deal supporting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The C-17 line was building some FMS aircraft for Qatar, UK and Canada but could see an end to production in the near future. This lot will continue the production for several more months.

Canada Buys American Trucks from Navistar

Matthew Potter — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 01:16:55 +0000

Canada’s Government announced that they had placed a $274 million Canadian order with Navistar for 1,300 trucks to support operations in Canada. The Commercial Off-the-shelf (COTS) order was to replace aging trucks currently in use. The Gazette reports that there has been some criticism of the Government for buying American over vehicles made in Canada. The U.S. buys a great deal of equipment made in Canada, and many U.S. companies like Bell Helicopter and the “Big 3″ automakers have plants in Canada. The contract also requires Navistar to purchase $274 million in offsets which for a start will include the tires the trucks roll on. The U.S. and Canadian economies in many ways are integrated, so Canada turning to a U.S. company is not necessarily like buying from Europe or Asia.

Canadian Greens question procurement decisions

Matthew Potter — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:26:52 +0000

In a rather bizarre demonstration that all politics is local, the Head of the Canadian Green Party, most likely not a friend of the military-industrial complex, asked why a non-Canadian company was chosen as the provider of knives to Canadian paratroopers. It was recently decided to start buying Chinese knives over the Grohman Knives made in Canada. Grohman has been a supplier for years to the Canadian military. Most likely the cash strapped forces chose the new supplier based on “best value”.

See the Nova Scotia News for the story.

Canada starts over on Coast Guard upgrade program

Matthew Potter — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 13:29:52 +0000

The Canadian Federal Government had to reject both proposals for a mammoth contract to upgrade their surface fleet. Canada had planned to build a new fleet of patrol vessels and support ships, but both proposals were considered too expensive. This means that the Government will either have to scale back their requirements or increase the planned budget. Give them credit, as usually an attempt to award a contract like this with a plan to get costs lower or under control would probably not work.

For more see GlobeandMail.com.

The UK buys refit on their C-130s

Matthew Potter — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:23:49 +0000

L3 was awarded a contract by the UK’s Ministry of Defence to perform replacement of the outer wings of three C-130 aircraft. The contract is worth over $18 M. The actual work will be done in Canada. Like many European companies expanding in the US market; it also behooves US ones to work there. Especially with so much originally American equipment being used by the UK, Germany and other NATO countries.

For the actual press release see MarketWatch at the Wall Street Journal Digital Network.

US buys more artillery

Matthew Potter — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:35:50 +0000

BAE Systems received a contract for M777 howitzers. See a story here. The M777 is a light weight towed piece that is used by the US, England and Canada. These countries have ordered 700 of the weapon. The contract is worth over $80 M.

Canada looks at new armored vehicles

Matthew Potter — Tue, 27 May 2008 23:22:04 +0000

This story says that GD is pitching upgraded Light Armored Vehicles (LAV) used by the US to the Canadian Defense Department. Because the US chose a variant of a Canadian assembled vehicle originally designed in Europe the GD proposal is actually made in Canada. Kind of a win-win for the Government there. Canada is not necessarily looking for a new vehicle, but due to operational experience in Afghanistan a heavier, more armored vehicle is attractive. More to come, I am sure, on this issue.

SAC sliding Canadian contract

Matthew Potter — Thu, 01 May 2008 02:19:50 +0000

The story out of Canada is that the contract to buy 28 H-92 aircraft from SAC is sliding to the right. There are also rumors of cost increases. The Canadian government is threatening to cancel the contract if delays and cost increases are true. Normally for a contract like this to buy an established system starts experiencing slips or cost growth there are usually requirement changes or the contractor didn’t really provide what the customer desired. There is no word yet on what has happened. It may be that Sikorsky was just a little aggressive in their schedule.

Fear of US export control laws lead Canada to deny sale of company

Matthew Potter — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:07:19 +0000

According to this article the Canadian government denied the sale of MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd.’s satellite business to Alliant Techsystems Inc. See a previous post about the planned sale here. Canada cited the fact that if the company became American the laws protecting US technology exports would deny Canada access to the company’s satellite that focuses on the Canadian Arctic. Due to several scandals in the Nineties the US ramped up the laws governing technology transfer and export and make it very difficult to do this. Even though Canada is one of our oldest allies and had pretty much been exempt from previous laws does not help anymore.

Canada requests old US helicopters for Aghanistan

Matthew Potter — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 02:00:46 +0000

According to this story in The Canadian Press, Canada is requesting from the US older CH-47D aircraft to support their efforts in Afghanistan. Canada is planning on buying some CH-47F, but until those are available they are trying to get some refurbished US Army aircraft. Heavy lift aircraft are key in Afghanistan due to the high, hot conditions. This means that the smaller aircraft, like the UH-60 or the Puma, are severely limited in what they can do. The Chinooks have been key to Allied successes.

Universal Detection Technology Working with U.S. Department of Commerce to Market Anthrax Detection Equipment in Canada

Business Wire Defense: Contracts News — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Universal Detection Technology Working with U.S. Department of Commerce to Market Anthrax Detection Equipment in Canada.

Rolls-Royce signe un contrat de services de soutien moteur de 70 millions USD pour la flotte de CC-130J de la Force aérienne du Canada

Business Wire Defense: Contracts News — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

INDIANAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rolls-Royce, leader mondial des systèmes propulseurs, a été choisie par Lockheed Martin pour offrir des services de soutien moteur aux avions de transport militaire CC-130J opérés par la Force aérienne du Canada. Le contrat de base, évalué à plus de 70 millions USD, permettra à Lockheed Martin de bénéficier du soutien logistique pour ses moteurs AE 2100D3 pendant les six prochaines années. Le contrat a une valeur potentielle de plus de 260 millions USD sur la durée