16 Nov – Op Unifier Combat Service Support members prepare to demonstrate maintenance, supply and transport capacities to Ukrainian trainers at the Int'l Peacekeeping and Security Center.
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IN THE NEWS
Nov 27
The Canadian frigate HMCS Ottawa was able to transit strategically contentious waters between Taiwan and China in September 2019 but only after the plan had been discussed by senior officials at National Defence and Global Affairs. Officials had been told to keep quiet about the voyage three months after Chinese fighters buzzed two other Canadian ships transiting the Taiwan Strait.
Nov 27
Thirteen Australian special forces troops have been sent notices of likely dismissal in the wake of a recent report that 39 civilians and prisoners had been killed in Afghanistan. These are in addition to 19 other troops who could face prosecution. The Australian report blamed the killings between 2009 and 2013 on a “warrior culture” among some of its peacekeepers.
Nov 27
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his provincial counterparts held a virtual meeting Nov. 26 to discuss distribution of COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available. The premiers of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick say per capita distribution will be based on vulnerability. “We expect certain vaccines to become available in early 2021,” says Dr. Howard Njoo, Canada's deputy chief public health officer, meaning that six million Canadians could be vaccinated by March.
Nov 26
Construction has begun on a new $144-milliion Defence Research and Development Canada facility at CFB Valcartier, Que., the first phase of a $270-million upgrade. Eighty multi-disciplinary laboratories will consolidate nearly 500 scientists from various locations on the base.
Nov 26
Nearly 500 persons accused of participating in a 2016 attempted coup in Turkey, including 337 military officers, have been sentenced to life imprisonment. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government said the attempted overthrow directed from Akinci air base near Ankara resulted in 251 deaths and more than 2,000 injuries.
Nov 25
Michael Flynn, the retired U.S. Army General who pleaded guilty twice to lying to FBI investigators about interaction with Russian contacts during Donald Trump’s transition into power in 2016, has received a full presidential pardon. Flynn, who led the Defense Intelligence Agency from 2021 to 2014 and became Trump’s National Security Advisor, was fired in February 2017.
Nov 25
The U.S. Department of Defense’s contract management office says “recent negative trends” in mishaps at three Boeing facilities have resulted in damage to military aircraft. Saying that incidents “far exceeds historical rates” and are “not consistent with expected performance,” the office cites, among other things, damage due to disregard for overhead clearances when moving aircraft.
Nov 25
MilSOFT, a privately-owned Turkish company says it has developed an artificial intelligence-based software which enables swarms of fixed-wing or rotary drones. “They are quick, cost-effective and easy to operate,” a Turkish government official says. “Most importantly, they are assets designed to minimize human loss in asymmetrical warfare.”
Nov 25
The U.S. Government Accountability Office reports that various military aircraft have not been ready to fly when needed for years. “The average annual mission capable rate . . . decreased since fiscal year 2011,” it says. Of 41 aircraft reviewed, only the Bell UH-1N Huey utility helicopter had been consistently available.
Nov 25
An Individual Integrated Visual Augmentation System developed by Microsoft evidently improves combat marksmanship, the U.S. Army says. Scheduled to go into widespread use next year, the Bluetooth-enabled IVAS includes a head-up display of tactical maps as well as the reticle on their weapons’ scope.
Nov 25
New GPS receivers capable of using a more secure military signal, will be put into service next year. The U.S. Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center reports that Germany is the first of 58 countries authorized to acquire the technology.
Nov 25
Most Canadians can expect to receive an emergency public alert on their TVs, radios and mobile devices today in a national test of the system. The time, five minutes before the hour, varies by region.
Nov 24
An independent analysis of NATO says that while the alliance can expect to benefit from a new U.S. presidency, it must adapt a more comprehensive and resilient agenda to remain relevant globally. The analysis underscores the growing need to tackle “corrosive” cyber operations, disinformation campaigns and supply chain disruptions, among other things. In addition, “NATO’s core tasks of collective defense, crisis management and cooperative security must be expanded to include countering challenges that contribute to global instability.”
Nov 24
The F-35 Joint Program Office within the U.S. Department of Defense says that corrections to hardware problems that figured in the crash of a Lockheed Martin F-35 in Florida last May will remain secret. Explicit details “have the potential to compromise operational security,” a JPO official said 23 November without elaborating.
Nov 24
Even though it has never been a signatory to the 2002 Open Skies treaty through which 34 other countries agreed to let others conduct military overflights, China has criticized the U.S. withdrawal. “This move . . . undermines military mutual trust and transparency among relevant countries, is not conducive to maintaining security and stability in relevant regions and will also have a negative impact on the international arms control and disarmament process,” a foreign ministry spokesman says.
Nov 24
More than four decades after the U.S. and the Soviet Union brought back lunar material for analysis, China has launched its robotic Chang'e-5 spacecraft to the Moon on schedule. The goal is to return more and larger samples to Earth in mid-December.
Nov 23
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has announced that the federal government will Canadians a further update at the end of the month on the government’s fiscal situation. The government has yet to table a 2020-2021 budget, opting instead for an initial “fiscal snapshot” in July which projected a record $343.2 billion deficit.
Nov 23
A retired Chief of the Defence Staff, Gen Rick Hillier, will head a new Ontario government body tasked with distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. Announcing the “monumental” undertaking, Premier Doug Ford cited “early signs of success” on vaccine development and said the first doses should be available in early 2021.
Nov 23
President Donald Trump, despite continuing his unsubstantiated allegations about widespread voter fraud in the recent U.S. elections, has directed officials to prepare for a transition to President-elect Joe Biden. A key element is that Emily Murphy, who heads the General Services Administration, will begin freeing up funds so that the incoming Democrats team can begin coordinating with the outgoing Republicans well before January’s swearing-in ceremony.
Nov 23
A supposedly secure videoconference of European Union defence ministers recently had an unwelcome participant: a journalist in the Netherlands. Having managed to log in after Dutch Defence Minister Ank Bijleveld inadvertently posted some access details on Twitter, Daniel Verlaan apologized and logged out when challenged by Josep Borrell, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has directed his cabinet to improve their security practices.
Nov 23
The 305-metre Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico, one of the most scientifically productive facilities in astronomical history, is permanently out of commission. After the recent collapse of a second of its supporting cables, engineers say they are unable to repair the structure safely.
Nov 23
RAdm Rebecca Patterson, commander of Canadian Armed Forces health services, has confirmed plans for developing in-house COVID-19 testing. She points out that the CAF, which has had to rely mainly on public health system, has been working on ramping up its own capability to handle uniformed personnel.
Nov 23
Five NATO members are planning a joint approach to replacing the alliance’s multi-role helicopter fleets, beginning in 2035. Britain, France, Germany, Greece and Italy have signed non-binding letters of intent to participate in the Next-Generation Rotorcraft Capability program for “an entirely new helicopter capability.”
Nov 23
Six months after starting the legal process to leave the Treaty on Open Skies, the U.S. formally exited 22 November. The accord permitted the signatories’ air forces to conduct flyovers of the others’ territories but the U.S. claimed that Russia was not fulfilling its commitments.
Nov 23
Oversight of its missions in Eastern Europe is now in the hands of a new U.S. Army headquarters in Poland. Some 200 troops will initially be assigned to the forward position of the recently reactivated Fifth Corps but full rotations are expected to start in 2021.
ISSUES & IDEAS
Arab countries are uncertain about the new U.S administration attitude towards them, and are anxiously watching for the expected policy changes to come.
6 Nov 2020 – By banning the wearing of poppies by its employees, Whole Foods (owned by Amazon) had wandered onto a reputational minefield. It had to calculate its next move very carefully. (new update 7 Nov).
Everywhere we look within DND, we find delay. This ranges from replacing vital equipment to appointing a new leader – what does that say about how the government prioritizes its Armed Forces?
FEATURED ARTICLES 2020 |
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BY ROBBIN LAIRD
The Royal Australian Navy plays a big part in Australia’s extensive transformation process. The new procurement approach has been labelled a “continuous shipbuilding process,” and has the potential to impact defence procurement processes of its allies.
FrontLine has gathered the key industry leaders in the defence and national security sectors. These are the project primes and specialized subcontractors that provide Top Quality solutions for these critical sectors.
General Jonathan Vance, Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), announced, in March 2020, the list of Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) appointments, promotions, and retirements for 2020, and then announced his own retirement in July.
Personnel changes in your defence community include: Raytheon, DRS, ADGA, MDA, DND, Canadian Embassy in Washington, Cdn Forces College, and Climatopolis.
BY KEN POLE
Accurate plotting of a potential enemy's next moves has seen militaries worldwide rely increasingly on sophisticated technologies for strategic advantage, and that's where NATO's Airborne Early Warning & Control force comes in.
In naval warfare, one of the best tools for area denial is the anti-ship missile system. Iran is developing sophisticated anti-ship missile systems to counter any offensive advantage posed by its adversaries.
BY CHRIS MACLEAN
Will 2020 finally be the year in which listening turns to hearing, and then to action? Change has begun. Hopefully our leaders will embrace and assist this grassroots progress, but if not, to borrow from General Mattis, we can still do it together. What will you do?
BY KEN POLE
As 2020 rolled in, few could have guessed that members of the Canadian Armed Forces would soon be helping elderly Canadians battle an invisible enemy: the novel coronavirus that had emerged in China's Wuhan province in late 2019.
BY EUGENE GERDEN
Despite the pandemic, many European NATO members are considering raising their combat potential as one way to stimulate economies that were negatively affected by efforts to control and mitigate the effects of COVID-19.
BY JAMES FRYER
A clearer distinction between 'compulsory' and 'discretionary' missions will help ensure the military's relevance for the most important challenges facing Canadians.
BY ROSS FETTERLY
As COVID continues to force the federal government to implement measures that will inject liquidity into the economy, now is the time to reflect on annual defence budgets and the impact on capabilities from long-term funding shifts.