Vanguard Magazine

TargeTs rPAs to detect, identify And trAck an interView with MAJOR JASON FuRLONG, Project director, rPaS Project 16 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 www.vanguardcanada.com BY MARCELLO SuKHDEO interview T hrough Initiatives 50 and 91 of Strong, Secure, Engaged, Canada is look- ing at acquiring Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) capability to perform precision strikes to support Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) do- mestic and international operations. In May this year, Canada invited potential suppliers to submit their proposals. Team SkyGuardian (General Atomics Aeronautical, CAE, MDA, L3Har- ris) and Team Artemis (L3 MAS and Israel Aerospace Industries) are the two quali- fied suppliers who will go on to the next phase of the procurement process and be invited to submit bids for this project. A contract is expected to be awarded in 2022/23 with the first delivery slated for 2024/25. Vanguard recently spoke with Major Jason Furlong, Project Director for the RPAS Project. Maj Furlong is a CP-140 Aurora Air Combat Systems Officer with the Royal Canadian Air Force. A graduate of the Royal Military College of Canada, his 27 years of service have seen him serve all over Canada, and exchange tours with the Royal Air Force and the US Navy where he flew the Nimrod and P-8A Poseidon respectively. Q Maj Furlong, it's no secret that it has taken the Canadian Armed Forces a long time – over a decade – to convince the Government of Canada to acquire armed drones. Attempts were made starting back in 2006, which finally bore fruit in 2017 by being included in Strong, Secure, Engaged. Can you shed some light as to this delay and what has changed to cause a push for RPAS now? Canada's defence policy, Strong, Secure, Engaged (SSE), set an objective to re- inforce relations with key partners and respond to conflicts and crises abroad, including support for peace and stability operations. Based on SSE direction, as noted in initiatives 50 and 91, the release for the request for proposal (RFP) for a remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS) is planned for the 2020-2021 fiscal year. In order to meet this timeline, an invitation to qualify was published and resulted in a list of qualified suppliers in May 2019. It is important to note, however, that while RPAS procurement efforts have progressed through the years, the Cana- dian Armed Forces continue to utilize unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) to ad- dress specific and urgent requirements. Currently, the Canadian Army operates a

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