Preserving capacity, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, Keys to Canadian SAR
Issue link: http://vanguardcanada.uberflip.com/i/122908
S sit rep More upgraded Auroras required The upgraded systems on Canada's CP-140 Aurora may make it one of the most capable multi-mission long range patrol aircraft currently in existence, but the Air Force Association of Canada warns there may not be enough of them to do the job. The CP-140 Aurora is the country's premier strategic C4ISR platform and is currently undergoing a three-phase modernization program to replace outdated navigation and communications systems and introduce new sensor systems for a range of tasks from electro-optical and infra-red (EO/IR) surveillance, electronic warfare support (ESM), radar imaging, magnetic anomaly detection and data management. The modernization project also includes a service life extension program. But the service-life upgrade applies to just 10 of the 18 aircraft currently in the fleet, and AFAC worries that without an Aurora replacement program in place Canada's C4ISR capabilities could be significantly degraded by the end of the decade. While there has been some discussion about replacing the CP-140 with a comparable multi-mission aircraft, AFAC says "it appears increasingly doubtful that the defence budget will allow acquisition of such an aircraft before non-ASLEP CP-140s run out of available service life." It adds that those same budget reductions could delay the introduction of other surveillance systems such as unmanned capability. Consequently, the association is calling on the government to "upgrade as many of the available CP-140s as possible" to ensure a sizeable fleet is able to operate through 2025 – 2030. "Canada has made a significant investment over the past decade to modernize the CP-140's avionics and sensor systems," their position paper states. "As a result, the aircraft has capabilities which now match or exceed those of the most technologically advanced ISR platforms available to Western military forces." Upgrading as many of the 18 as possible will ensure that technological edge. Reform recommendations received With one line in the 2013 Budget, the federal government signaled it is willing to rethink defence procurement. Pointing to a recent report led by Tom Jenkins, CEO of Open Text, the government said that, beginning this spring, it would "expedite the analysis of the recommendations ... with respect to selecting a series of interim key industrial capabilities to help guide immediately pending defence procurement projects." It would then "develop a refined set of key industrial capabilities for use over the long-term and examine how existing policies and programs can be tailored to support a government-wide strategy while remaining cognizant of Canada's international trade obligations." At the same time, "the government will reform the current procurement process to improve outcomes. This will include thorough and rigorous option analyses, a challenge function for military requirements, early and frequent industry engagement, and strengthened oversight with the use of third-party expertise." Procurement reform has long been a hotly debated topic and previous efforts have done little to reduce the heat. But new ingredients now in the mix – government-commissioned reports by Jenkins and former Cabinet minister David Emerson – would seem to suggest that might finally change. During a much anticipated appearance at the Conference of Defence Associations symposium in late February, Dan Ross, the former assistant deputy minister of Materiel, said that the $6 billion procurement system suffers from "too many cooks in the kitchen." Where projects were once driven by the necessity of troops in combat, that urgency has faded along with the political will to speed up delivery. Schedules, not budgets, are falling by the wayside, hampered by a risk-averse system. "There's too much confusion," he said. "Three departments and three central agencies must agree on every step of the process and often there is no agreement. The consequences are significant. It's not about budget, it's about schedule. Schedules are taking a beating and if schedules slip, the buying power is eroded, funding is unused and lapses, political risk goes up, communication risk goes up, existing equipment becomes more costly to maintain, and operational capability is at risk." To what extent and how quickly the government is able to make changes remains to be seen. Ross warned that the Materiel Group, once over 13,000 strong in the 1980s, now has just 4,600 personnel and is facing another cut of 400 people. Correction In the February/March issue ("Up in the Air"), Vanguard mistakenly reported that the C-27J Spartan and the C-130J Hercules both feature a Pratt and Whitney engine. All Alenia C-27J aircraft, including those being offered for the Canadian Fixed-Wing Search and Rescue program, have Rolls-Royce AE 2100 engines. Similarly, all Lockheed Martin C-130J aircraft have Rolls-Royce AE 2100 engines. Vanguard apologizes for the error. 6 APRIL/MAY 2013 www.vanguardcanada.com