Preserving capacity, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, Keys to Canadian SAR
Issue link: http://vanguardcanada.uberflip.com/i/337874
10 JUNE/JULY 2014 www.vanguardcanada.com BRIEF IN OSI MARITIME SYSTEMS will provide the Royal Australian Navy with its Ship Helicopter Operating Limits (SHOL) software module, which automates a laborious and manual process that is critical to safe helicopter takeoffs and landings. The SHOL module will be added to OSI's ECPINS-W software, which is deployed across the RAN fleet of warships. The Royal New Zealand Navy has already deployed the capability. ING ROBOTIC AVIATION and partner company CENTRE DE GÉOMATIQUE DU QUÉBEC received the Célébrons le Partenariat award in May in recognition of their collaboration to develop robotic aircraft solu- tions for the commercial market. Currently, the Responder aircraft system that CGQ purchased from ING is being used to collect aerial imagery for scientific research in geomatic activities. AIRBUS HELICOPTERS CANADA has donated an AS350 helicopter to the British Columbia Institute of Technology to help train the next generation of aircraft maintenance engineers. The AS350 makes up 76 percent of the Airbus helicopters flying in Canada. Locally, the AS350 is central to fire-fighting, heli-skiing, tourism, forestry, mining and many other industries across British Columbia. Defence and aerospace companies seeking to track and manage offset credits for investment in Canada's green energy sector will have a new mechanism. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT TECHNOLOGY CANADA (SDTC) and OMX signed a memorandum of understanding that will see SDTC use OMX software as the primary database for its Aerospace, Defence and Security (ADS) Cleantech Program. Since 2010 SDTC has facilitated 19 transactions worth more than $300 million through the program. Montreal-based CAE has been selected by the Swedish navy to pro- vide a comprehensive naval warfare training system (NWTS). The system, to be delivered to the Swedish Naval Warfare Centre late next year, allows the navy to train for operations in anti-air war- fare, anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, mine warfare and search and rescue. ALENIA AERMACCHI has selected Montreal-based ESTERLINE CMC ELECTRONICS (CMC) to provide the flight management system for its global C-27J Spartan fleet. The decision also means that CMC, which last fall joined the team bidding the C-27J for Canada's fixed- wing search and rescue program, will provide the FMS for a Cana- dian version. L-3 WESCAM marked a milestone in April, delivering its 100th MX- 15 electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) imaging turret as part of the U.S. Army National Guard's UH-72A Security and Support Mission Equipment Package. Awarded the contract in 2009 as a sub- contractor to Airbus Helicopters, L-3 WESCAM delivered the first system in March 2011. At the same time, the company confirmed successful ground and flight demonstrations of its MX-25D at the U.S. Army's Redstone Test Center in Alabama in April. The Canadian Army will rely on ROCKWELL COLLINS' SWE-DISH CCT120 suitcase satellite terminal for its Land Forces Portable Satellite Ter- minal program. The terminal in a suitcase, which is airline-check- able, is based on modular architecture. The antenna system, trans- ceiver and modem cartridge can be easily changed in the field by an operator to fit mission requirements. AIRBUS DEFENCE AND SPACE and PROVINCIAL AEROSPACE of St. John's have signed a memorandum of understanding to bid for the fixed- wing search and rescue (FWSAR) project under which the latter will provide in-service support and other expertise for the fleet of C295 aircraft being offered to replace the CC-115 Buffalo. Last fall, Patrick Boissier, chairman and CEO of DCNS, announced the intention to establish a long-term strategic partnership with Canada, including the creation of a naval systems integration center. In May, the French company took the first step by incor- porating a wholly-owned Canadian subsidiary. DCNS TECHNOLOGIES CANADA, headquartered in Ottawa, will lead the design of a Cana- dian version of the FREMM frigate as the government continues to explore options for the Canadian Surface Combatant. GENERAL DYNAMICS CANADA has struck a teaming agreement with ULTRA ELECTRONICS MARITIME SYSTEMS and RAY THEON CANADA to pursue the RCN's Underwater Warfare Suite upgrade, a project to improve the performance of the suite currently installed in a minimum of six of the Halifax-class frigates. The project as cur- rently outlined by Director of Naval Requirements calls for a new passive array, a new sonobuoy processing system, an upgrade to the hull-mounted sonar and a new active intercept, as well as a minimum of four towed low frequency active sonars. The re- quest for proposal on the UWSU project is anticipated in 2015. LOCKHEED MARTIN will provide both the U.S. Navy and RCAF with its Enhanced Laser Guided Training Rounds (ELGTR). The company recently signed contracts with both forces totalling $34.3 million. The RCAF has signed a four-year, $12.5 million deal that includes options to extend production deliveries into 2020. The $21.8 million USN deal is a follow-on contract. GENERAL DYNAMICS CANADA has been contracted by the Portuguese Navy to install its Eclipse processing system to enhance submarine and torpedo detection. The work is part of an effort to modernize the AN/SQS-510 hull-mounted medium-range sonar system on three MEKO 200PN Vasco de Gama-class frigates. 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