Vanguard Magazine

afford any delays. It is also sustaining sys- tems that are becoming more expensive due to the same inflationary pressures. Sta- ble, predictable funding moving forward will be as important to planners in DND as it will be to the defence industry. The rate of technological change and lead times for some military capabilities, such as air to air weapons, make the introduction of con- tinuous capability sustainment a necessity. It is likely that RCAF readiness, regardless of how much is spent on capital acquisi- tion, will continue to erode without pre- dictable increases in sustainment funding. Conclusion The history of warfare tells us that the ad- vantage goes to those who hold the high ground. The unique ability of air and space power to dominate that high ground has transformed warfare over the last century. The emergence of disruptive technolo- gies like AI, ML, Sensor Fusion, Quantum and Cloud Computing, and the enhance- ments they deliver to C2, are once again transforming warfare. The capabilities the RCAF is taking delivery of, and those it will develop as it transitions to a data-en- abled digital force, will ensure it remains relevant to Canadians and the defence of this nation for the foreseeable future. Yet modernization is not without its challenges and the two identified here, people and funding, are not in the exclu- sive control of the RCAF. Ensuring mod- ernization happens will require the delib- erate and focused support of the broader CAF / DND enterprise, as well as a long- term commitment by the Government of Canada. The changing character of conflict in an increasingly interdependent and interconnected world means that the RCAF needs sustained investment in both people and funding if it is going to contin- ue to deter, detect and, if required, defeat any threats to Canada at home and abroad in close partnership with allies. The RCAF now has the ways to ensure its motto "Sic Ictur Ad Astra" (Such is the Pathway to the Stars), is as relevant tomorrow as it was in 1924. What remains to be seen is what the pathway looks like. References: 1. https://www.canada.ca/en/department- national-defence/corporate/policies-standards/ canada-defence-policy.html 2. https://www.canada.ca/en/department-nation- al-defence/services/operations/allies-partners/ norad/facesheet-funding-norad-modernization. html 3. https://www.canada.ca/en/department-na- tional-defence/corporate/reports-publications/ north-strong-free-2024.html 4. https://skiesmag.com/features/rcaf-eric- kenny-challenging-transition-gain-operational- advantage/#:~:text=Kenny%20can%20see,it%20 if%20required. 5. https://www.canada.ca/en/air-force/corpo- rate/reports-publications/royal-canadian-air- force-strategy.html#toc1 6. https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/ mckinsey-explainers/what-are-industry-4-0-the- fourth-industrial-revolution-and-4ir 7. https://www.canada.ca/en/air-force/corpo- rate/reports-publications/royal-canadian-air- force-strategy.html#toc1 8. https://www.canada.ca/en/department-na- tional-defence/corporate/reports-publications/ canadian-armed-forces-digital-campaign-plan. html 9. https://www.doctrine.af.mil/Portals/61/docu- ments/AFDP_3-85/AFDP%203-85%20Electro- magnetic%20Spectrum%20Ops.pdf 10. NATO - Topic: Electromagnetic warfare 11. https://balloonstodrones.com/2018/07/18/ the-downfall-of-the-red-baron-lessons-learned- from-the-first-world-war-ace-of-aces/ 12. https://skiesmag.com/features/rcaf-eric- kenny-challenging-transition-gain-operational- advantage/#:~:text=At%20present%2C%20 however%2C%20it%E2%80%99s%20about%20 2%2C000%20short%2C 13. https://warontherocks.com/2022/05/digital- transformation-is-a-cultural-problem-not-a- technological-one/ 14. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/liberal- defence-spending-pbo-1.7128115 15. https://www.gg.ca/en/heraldry/public-regis- ter/project/2397 Aer an almost 34-year career, Colin Keiver retired as the Deputy Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force in 2023. He is currently an Associate with CFN Consultants, based in Ottawa, special- izing in the air and space domains of the defence and security sectors. pabilities will mandate enhanced or new skill sets that have yet to be identified and imple- mented to ensure the data is processed, ana- lyzed, and distributed to deliver operational advantage while adopting to societal change and ensuring an inclusive culture. Space, and its growing importance, is a growth in- dustry that requires skill sets not delivered in current RCAF training establishments. RCAF establishments will need to embrace advanced synthetic capabilities that enable both development and testing as well as training in the digital age. Some, such as the Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Tech- nology and Engineering (CFSATE), rely on retired analog aircraft to teach RCAF tech- nicians how to maintain what will be a digi- tal air force. Even professional development schools, such as the Air Command Acade- my, will need to implement and teach digital literacy as a key competency of the modern profession of arms. The key challenge in de- livering digital transformation lies in culture and people, not in technology. 13 If the people issues represent a challenge for the RCAF, the consequences of not delivering on the program of record rep- resent both a challenge and a risk. First, there is the issue of decreasing operational relevance that these new capabilities are es- sential to address. In many areas, the RCAF is failing to keep pace with allies and poten- tial adversaries and as it modernizes, it will need to do so in such a way that ensures continuous modernization. This is not a one-time event. Cooperative development programs with industry and allies, as well as increased and predictable R&D funding in areas such as semi-autonomous and auton- omous systems, hypersonic and cruise mis- sile defence within a modernized IAMD framework and alternate power sources for Canada's remote areas, such as Small Modular Reactors (SMR), are some of the ways and means by which the RCAF must continue to modernize. It can and must be a goal to leverage the investment in the RCAF and CAF to deepen relations with the U.S. and to seek partnership in AUKUS Pillar 2. Those efforts should directly shape the defence policy review in four years, and every four years thereafter as stated in ONSF, to ensure the RCAF remains opera- tionally relevant. Secondly, and equally important, is the issue of defence inflation. Global instabil- ity and insecurity have created supply and demand pressures that have pushed infla- tion to 17 per cent or higher across the de- fence sector. 14 That means a four-year delay could double the cost; the RCAF cannot R C A F M O D E R N I Z AT I O N Modern RCAF badge 15 www.vanguardcanada.com JUNE/JULY 2024 15

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