Vanguard Magazine

8 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019 www.vanguardcanada.com S Sit REp On January 16, the first call for proposals (CFP) for Competitive Proj- ects under the Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security Program (IDEaS) program successfully concluded. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan in making the announcement said: "The success of the IDEaS' first call for proposals is a testament to the importance of investing in Canadian innovation to support the future of our Canadian Armed Forces (CAF)." Since its launch in April 2018, the Government of Canada through the program has invested $26.8 million for 160 contracts. IDEaS is about bringing innovators to the table to support defence and security. For this first call, "over 600 proposals were received from innovators across Can- ada, including academia, small & medium companies, large industries, Government of Canada invests $26.8 million in IDEaS' first call for proposals non-governmental organizations and individuals," according to a press re- lease. The first CFP was administered by Public Services and Procurement Canada and focused on surveillance, cyber, space, artificial intelligence, remote-pilot systems, data analytics, and human performance. "These new collaborations will facilitate the flow of innovative ideas and concepts to help deliver the capabilities needed for a strong and ag- ile military," said Minister Sajjan. The second CFP was launched on October 2018, and the first contract awards from this call will be made in February 2019. The Department of National Defence (DND) through IDEaS is conduct- ing this program to ensure that "the CAF have the tools and knowledge needed to mitigate new threats, stay ahead of potential adversaries, and meet evolving defence and security needs." According to the press release, through the program, DND is forming networks of innovators to administer leading-edge research and devel- opment in areas critical to future defence and security needs, holding competitions and inviting innovators to present viable solutions to spe- cific defence and security challenges, and implementing new procure- ment mechanisms that allow DND to develop and test concepts and to follow through on the most promising ideas. "These contracts not only support our brave members, but they also engage Canada's best and brightest innovative minds to address key de- fence and security challenges," said Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Public Services and Procurement Canada. Through the IDEaS program, the Government of Canada will invest $1.6 billion into Canada's defence and security innovation community over a period of 20 years. Air Task Force-Romania. "We were able to share some best practices with our Romanian Allies and to train for potential future operations together." NATO's enhanced Air Policing is a peacetime collective defence mission as part of NATO assurance and deterrence measures introduced in 2014. CAF completes third deployment with NATO enhanced Air Policing in Romania Over 130 Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel and five CF-18 Hornets returned home in early January after completing a four-month deploy- ment with NATO's enhanced Air Policing in Romania. As part of Canada's Air Task Force (ATF)-Romania, the team contributed to the air component of Operation REASSURANCE, Canada's contribution to NATO's assurance and deterrence measures in Central and Eastern Europe. "As a member of NATO, Canada contributes in keeping the Alliance's air- space safe and secure, and once again fulfilled its commitment to the NATO Air Policing mission through the hard work of Air Task Force Roma- nia members," said LGen Michael Rouleau, Commander Canadian Joint Operations Command. The Air Task Force also conducted regular training – flight operations, medical support, flight safety, aircraft maintenance, command and con- trol, and military policing – with their Romanian counterparts. This was Canada's third ATF deployment to Romania on Operation RE- ASSURANCE and included members mainly from 425 Tactical Fighter Squadron, 2 Air Expeditionary Wing and 3 Wing Bagotville. "The region around the Black Sea is very active for Air Defence, and our Air Task Force was proud to assist the Romanian Air Force and NATO with Air Policing in this busy region," said LCol Tim Woods, Commander

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