Preserving capacity, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, Keys to Canadian SAR
Issue link: http://vanguardcanada.uberflip.com/i/111458
e eXecUTive InTeRVIeW Photo: Cpl Chris Ringius be up to, Fisheries and Oceans, etc. One of our goals is working collaboratively within the Lockheed Martin team. We have one division in the U.S., Integrated Services and Government Systems, and I think if IS&GS had some turnkey or modified solutions, we would look to partner with them where it makes sense. As a company, do you aim to do more of your business through partnership or acquisition? It's going to be a mix. As a corporation, we have roles as both a prime contractor or subcontractor – we really have the breadth. So I think it depends on the opportunity and where our strengths and our partner's strengths lie. Acquisition is one area of expansion that is always under consideration. C There has been a lot more emphasis recently on the need for innovation. Where does R&D fit within your Canadian strategy? As part of our standard business model, we do investments in R&D and we do it annually. I don't have the specifics on our R&D plan for next year. We're able to exploit much of the R&D we do in the U.S. We've also invested in Dalhousie, the University of New Brunswick and other schools across the country in a variety of disciplines from aerospace engineering to systems engineering and biomass. We also set up a research chair at the University of Cape Breton in 2011 looking at renewable energies. Is green technology a key part of that plan? We are actively looking to extend markets, particularly in the North with communities that may want to go off the grid. We'd probably seek to do it in partnership with a company that provides smart grid services. It's certainly an adjacent market for us. Speaking of technology, will there come a point when you are able to leverage the information integration or data fusion experience you are gaining on the F-35 program and apply it to your naval programs? We are leveraging the programs we have been doing historically like the air force command and control information system, the joint forces system, that sort of thing, to other incremental programs. Bridging it to a program like the F-35 may be an ideal, but it is not in the immediate plans. Given the importance of modelling and simulation in training, are you building those training systems into your programs from the start? 34 FeBRUARy/MARch 2013 www.vanguardcanada.com M Absolutely. The training systems are a large component of the Halifax-class modernization program. Our building in Halifax is primarily an integrated classroom. It is a land-based test site where all the systems are integrated and groomed prior to going down to the ship. But it also has two or three large synthetic training environments where we can bring entire crews or individuals. We can replicate all kinds of weird and wonderful scenarios. We can set a lot of the parameters – location such as the South China Sea at noon on a Saturday in January, for example – or replicate sea states. It's great training and obviously cost-effective. The way the training system is set up is also quite modular, so if you put in new upgrades to a ship it is pretty easy to do the training system upgrade almost in parallel to the actual delivery of the product – you don't have to wait six months to train the crew on a new capability. I think with what we are doing in Halifax, it is definitely an area for potential expansion. Is there one major trend you'll be monitoring in 2013? For us it's the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy and continued progress and execution on Halifax-class modernization. The government announced the NSPS about 14 months ago and we have not seen much as of yet. They do seem to have some momentum in terms of engaging industry and setting in place the frameworks for contractual arrangements, so 2013 we would expect to be getting down to writing documents in support of the Canadian Surface Combatant and hopefully moving toward a contract on the Arctic Offshore Patrol. Unlike some markets we look at internationally, Canada seems to have a fair bit of momentum and hopefully in 2013 we move toward the contracts. Y CM MY CY CMY K