Preserving capacity, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, Keys to Canadian SAR
Issue link: http://vanguardcanada.uberflip.com/i/103039
S Search and rescue file. That's the change we made. Through tragedy you can see where maybe, collectively, the ground SAR organization could do some things better. When it's critical and people are going to die, we will always respond. And the provinces know that. Not every case is critical, so this is where the relationships come in, where trust and understanding are key. We're getting better at it. It's a constant process." Adds Laaouan: "We deal with five provinces and one territory within our SAR region and we work with them on a daily basis, on a weekly basis to ensure that we are all on the same page and that the protocols are understood. We care about the people and we don't want any politics to hinder our efforts. So the more we communicate, the more we work together, the better our protocols are going to be. And as long as the folks doing the job understand the protocols in place, we can work like a well oiled machine. That case reinforced the importance of doing that. Everything was in place already but it reinforced that we need to do this on a regular basis." Being on the same page took on even greater significance in May 2011 when Canada signed on to an Arctic Council agreement to cooperate on aeronautical and maritime SAR in the Arctic, a binding agreement that divides the entire Arctic Ocean and land masses into zones of responsibility. Though the agreement does not change Canada's three AORs at present – under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea member countries are still working out their Arctic territorial claims – it does call for SAR assets to be positioned to provide rapid assistance and encourages each member country to maintain "an adequate and effective search and rescue capability." At present, Canada does not have a dedicated Arctic JRCC. All three centres share a piece of Canada's North, with Trenton responsible for the High Arctic. In fact, all aircraft but four CC138 Twin Otters based in Yellowknife are located in southern Canada. Gardam acknowledges that might have to change one day, though he believes the status quo will work well for the time being. "Right now I'm very happy with the basing of the SAR assets we have. I think we are among the best in the world in our response times and our ability to do our job, which is to save lives. That's now, but in 10-15 years we may be saying as a country we need more capability up there." Would recent calls to consider alternative service delivery of search and rescue, including outsourcing aspects of SAR, affect those critical partnerships? Most outsourcing suggestions have advocated that the Canadian Forces maintain authority over performance and safety standards, which could include it's well-oiled coordination role. Gardam is pragmatic about the idea, though proud and protective of what his people do. "We have a phenomenal system, I would argue the best in the world. If Canadians are willing to accept something less than that, outsource it. But that's a decision for the government of Canada to make. Canadians look at certain things we do as an institution and say, they do it right. But it costs money. It's all about cost and reward." SAR sensor suite If every Royal Canadian Air Force platform is a sensor, then the integrated sensor suite will be a key component of the next FWSAR aircraft. In October, industry was informed that the "aircraft must incorporate an integrated sensor suite including radar and multi-spectral electro-optical/ infra-red (EO/IR) permitting all-weather day/ night detection, classification and identification for all targets of interest." Specifically, the mandatory requirements include: • an EO/IR system with the ability to detect, classify and identify various SAR targets of 32 DECEMBER 2012/JANUARY 2013 interest, day and night, with enhanced capability during low thermal contrast conditions through cloud, fog, smoke, haze and precipitation, and the ability to read aircraft and vessel registration under the same conditions; • a radar capable of over-water searching, detection and classification of surface targets in various sea states and target density conditions, and able to manually and automatically track surface targets, up to 50 simultaneously, and display that data in multiple colours with a contouring feature; www.vanguardcanada.com • Automatic Identification System (AIS) for identifying and locating surface vessels and displaying such information to the Sens O sensor station; • a moving map for situational awareness; and • a sensor station for the Sens O with the capability to record full motion video (FMV) and single frame images with meta data as deemed appropriate by the Sens O and allow real-time use and review, and receive and display the sensor information (including weather information) in a format suitable for directing the aircraft to the target of interest.