Vanguard Magazine

NAVAL 30 DECEMBER 2020/JANUARY 2021 www.vanguardcanada.com Canada Underwater domain Military and industry ExpErts talk By MArceLLo Sukhdeo O riginally planned as an in- person event, Deep Blue was moved to a virtual format due to the current restric- tions in place and to ensure the safety of event participants. By part- nering with vFairs, Vanguard was able to bring participants rich interactive tools, such as audio, video, text chat, and one- on-one online networking in an immersive environment to keep the conversation go- ing and to hear from speakers in a virtual setting. Day One Cmdre Christopher Robinson, Director General Naval Force Development, Royal Canadian Navy, set the scene for the day with his opening keynote message. He provided an update on the underwater domain, the need to use technologies to combat the emerging threats, and where they are looking to go in the future. On the first panel – Submarine Technol- ogy & Automation for the Arctic – Capt(N) Jean Stéphane Ouellet, Commander, Ca- nadian Submarine Force moderated a dis- cussion with panelists Adam Gray, Senior Program Manager, IR&D, Ultra Electron- ics Maritime Systems; Dr. Ian Church, As- sociate Professor, Ocean Mapping Group, University of New Brunswick; and Eric Jackson, President, Cellula Robotics. This is a complex area that provided much to think about as it was illustrated during the discussion, that there is so much that we don't know, in particular, about hydrogra- phy and mapping in the Arctic. But there is flexibility as it relates to technologies like sonar and UUVs operating in the Arctic. The panel Air Independent Power, looked at the future of non-nuclear pro- pulsion to increase endurance and effi- ciencies in generating and storing power. Robert Dunlop, Business Development Manager, BAE Systems Canada, was the moderator of this panel that included Stephan Meunier, Marketing Director, Naval Group; Dr. Roger Berg, Head of Technology Management, SAAB Kock- ums; and Philipp Schön, Head of Product Sales Submarines, Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems GmbH. The group discussed the different types of power that are be- ing used in submarines and how to drive innovations for better performance in the underwater domain. Eric Fournier, Director General, Inno- vation, Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS), provided an update on the program and how it supports inno- vation by providing creative thinkers with the structure and support to encourage solutions to some of Canada's toughest defence and security challenges. He talked about the developments of solutions for maritime challenges and what's next. The final presentation of the first day was by Anthony March, Vice President Engineering Service, Babcock Canada. He talked about looking beyond the tradition- al third-line maintenance in the Canadian Submarine Enterprise and how it's about working together with both the govern- ment and industry to understand the tech- nical capabilities needed and what can be explored in the future. Day Two The second day of Deep Blue Forum start- ed with an Australian perspective. RAdm Peter D Briggs (Ret'd), delivered the key- note message based on his 40-year career in the Royal Australia Navy about lessons learned that can be used in discussions for the replacement of Canada's Victoria-class submarines. His presentation highlighted the simi- larities between Canada and Australia's Navies as it pertains to submarine capabili- ties. He referenced a quote from Austra- lia's Defence Minister, Lynda Reynolds, who said, "Submarines are fundamentally important to our defence strategy. They are a unique – and powerful deterrent to any adversary, and they are critical to pro- tecting our national security interests…our submarine capability – underpins Austra- lia's credibility and influence as a modern military power." Canada shares similar conclusions about the strategic relevance of submarines. VAdm Art McDonald was quoted as say- Deep Blue Forum, a new two-day conference on canada's underwater domain took place on october 29-30, 2020, virtually. F O R U M 2 0 2 0 F O R U M 2 0 2 0 DEEPBLUE

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