Vanguard Magazine

P PROCUREMENT 30 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 www.vanguardcanada.com Modernization Project (AIMP), the Land Force Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (LF IS- TAR) and the Halifax Class Moderniza- tion (HCM). Each of these projects has both renovation and insertion elements, and all are far more complex than buying an off-the-shelf platform. Each has some unique Crown-Prime relationship aspects. AIMP The AIMP project started in 1998 when it was apparent that a replacement long range patrol aircraft would not be afford- able. Strategically, the long range and high endurance of this potent aircraft aligned strongly with Canada's three ocean geog- raphy and global interests. This capability had to be preserved, and indeed extended, to include land operations. The chosen way forward was a set of four block upgrades incorporating some 23 projects, sequenced in terms of rela- tive urgency, and organized to allow for incremental decisions based on progress and affordability. The four blocks engaged a "Who's Who" of Canadian industry including General Dynamics Canada (now General Dynamics Mission Systems – Canada), MacDonald Dettweiler and Associates, L3 Wescam via Lockheed Martin Canada, CAE and IMP Aerospace and Defence. In parallel with the avionics upgrade was the Aurora Structural Life Extension Project, also man- aged by IMP. The incremental nature of the project allowed for optimal use of scarce requirements and project management staff, and also permit- ted companies to position themselves where they were best suited. The Crown retained overall configuration and interface control as well as the ability to sequence aircraft in and out of successive in- stallation cycles. The project enjoyed a sig- nificant degree of collaboration from operational users through to system suppliers, and among system suppliers as well. All of this has occurred in a context of Optimized Weapon System Management assuring performance-based industry life-cycle support. The CP-140M aircraft, with its world-class sensor capabili- ties, performed well in the Libya campaign in 2011 and has been deployed to Iraq under Operation IMPACT in 2014. The strategic imperative was therefore achieved. Canadian industry Aviation Systems technicians remove the propeller o a CP-140 Aurora as part of maintenance during Operation IMPACT on February 21, 2015. One of the factors that contributed to the success of the Aurora Incremental Modernization Project was maintaining continuity through the use of a single project manager. Credit: OP Impact, DND Under ISTAR, UAV options were considered, including a variant of the one shown here, manufactured by AeroVi- ronment. Credit: Sgt. 1st Class Michael Guillory Each of these projects has both renovation and insertion elements, and all are far more complex than buying an o-the-shelf platform and deploy as a capability."

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