22 July - RCAF Traffic Technicians load COVID-19 related humanitarian and medical supplies on a CC-177 Globemaster to be flown to Hounduras as part of Operation GLOBE 20-02.
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IN THE NEWS
Oct 21
According to local media in that country, Turkey has been testing its Russian-made S-400 air defense system in recent days, and ties between Turkey and Iran seem to be warming up. What does this mean to other NATO members?
Oct 21
RCAF veteran Karen McCrimmon, the first female navigator and first woman to command a squadron before a tour in Afghanistan and then a posting to NATO Air headquarters in Germany, has been re-elected chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on National Defence.
Oct 21
Shrinking sea ice in the Arctic, resulting in a longer navigable season, is accelerating a race among global powers for control over its waters and resources. China and Russia have been particularly assertive.
Oct 21
The National Security Agency has issued an advisory that Chinese-connected adversaries are targetting vulnerable U.S. systems. “It can be hard to prioritize patching and mitigation efforts,” says NSA Cybersecurity Director Anne Neuberger. “While these vulnerabilities are already public, they’re still being successfully leveraged by malicious cyber actors,” highlighting the need for action.
Oct 21
Adm Mike Gilday, the U.S. Navy chief of operations, says he and Adm Tony Radakin, Britain’s First Sea Lord, are to sign an “integrated warfighting statement of intent that sets a cooperative vision for interchangeability.” Specifics are unclear but the two navies have been increasingly collaborative in recent years.
Oct 21
Only days after each side had rejected the other’s latest nuclear Terrence offers, the concept of a mutual nuclear warhead freeze between the U.S. and Russia has been raised by the latter’s foreign ministry. The quid pro quo for Moscow would be an extension of their last treaty.
Oct 21
A request by the U.S. Navy to refuel its Boeing P-8 Poseidon surveillance aircraft in Indonesia reportedly has been rejected by Prime Minister Joko Widodo. U.S. officials “high-level” approaches this summer apparently surprised the country which has a long-standing policy of neutrality.
Oct 21
U.S. Marine MajGen. Stephen Neary, commander of USMC Forces Europe and Africa, has been dismissed due to “a loss of trust and confidence in his ability.” He is under investigation for allegedly asking junior personnel how they felt about the “N-word”.
Oct 20
Thales Canada has received a $4.6-million contract to provide in-service support for the company’s medium- to long-range air and surface 3D radars aboard the Royal Canadian Navy’s 12 Halifax-class frigates. Thales will provide critical engineering and repair and overhaul services.
Oct 20
The Azeri and Armenian foreign ministers are scheduled to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Washington this week in an attempt to quell the territorial dispute in Nagorno-Karabakh, part of Azerbaijan with a large Armenian population. It is not clear, however, whether the two ministers will themselves meet as well as independently with Pompeo.
Oct 20
The Greek defence minister is being given the opportunity to co-build three new frigates in an American-owned shipyard on Syros as an incentive to buy four new ships from the U.S. Geoffrey Pyatt, the U.S. ambassador in Athens, calls the proposal “unique” and “very competitive.”
Oct 20
Europe’s Border and Coast Guard Agency has awarded Airbus Defense & Space and Israel Aerospace Industries a contract to supply a long-range Remotely Piloted Aerial Surveillance system to be operated out of Greece or Malta. IAI’s maritime Heron RPAS can fly more than 24 hours at a time, providing real-time imagery.
Oct 19
Humanitarian relief workers with the UN and other organizations are increasingly at risk in many regions as state and non-state actors using violence to achieve their objectives. Their protection remains an ongoing and critical challenge.
Oct 19
Concerned about the environmental impact of growing use of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the pandemic, the Canadian government has challenged industry to come up with products that won't end up in landfills. A key challenge is transforming contaminated materials into “valuable materials that can further be used in manufactured products.”
Oct 19
The European Aviation Safety Agency has declared the Boeing 737 MAX “safe” and is predicting return to service in the European Union by year’s end. U.S. and Canadian regulators have yet to sign off on recertification after control issues resulted in two crashes in late 2018 and early 2019.
Oct 19
Minutes after a weekend ceasefire in the disputed region of Naforno-Karabakh ostensibly took effect, Armenia and Azerbaijan were accusing each of violations. A previous Russian-brokered ceasefire also saw each side violating it through the week.
Oct 19
Despite calls from French politicians for more government support their country’s defence industry, Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly is standing firm. She points out that the military had €18 billion more to spend in 2018 than in 2017 and that between 2019 and 2023, its investment budget will total €110 billion.
Oct 19
A new Dutch defence ministry “vision document” cautions that the country would need to nearly triple its annual military budget, currently some USD$13 billion, to achieve what is described as “a string of vague proposals” designed to yield a multi-use networked fighting force by 2035. Moreover, meeting a NATO target of two per cent of GDP would require an additional $8 billion hike from current spending.
Oct 19
The U.S. Army has stopped accepting Boeing AH-64E Apache attack helicopters after the company found that an employee had kept “improper” records. Boeing says it notified the customer immediately when the problem came to light at its Arizona factory.
Oct 19
Lockheed Martin and California-based Aerojet Rocketdyne plan to compete jointly for the next-generation U.S. missile defence interceptor. It would replace an earlier Redesigned Kill Vehicle program which was terminated by the Department of Defense last year due to technical challenges, but the goal now is to have a new system ready in 2028.
Oct 19
The U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale of surface-skimming coastal defence missiles and related gear to Romania, a deal worth some $300 million. Developed by Raytheon and Norway’s Kongsberg, the weapon already has been chosen by the U.S. Navy.
Oct 19
A compact EASA radar for small and medium-sized platforms has been shown off by Thales. Although still subject to further testing, the French military have already confirmed plans to procure it for their future light joint army helicopter. Some 30 per cent smaller than others in its class, the new unit is said to be easier to integrate and operate.
Oct 16
David Markowitz, former assistant deputy chief of staff at the U.S. Army’s G-8 office, which matches available resources to the overall Army plan, is the service’s new chief data officer. His promotion comes as the Army looks to enable multi-domain operations through massive data transfers.
Oct 16
Contrary to President Donald Trump’s social media messaging, U.S. troops will not be withdrawn from Afghanistan by Christmas. National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien says the drawdown will begin in early 2021.
Oct 16
Prototype light tanks developed by BAE Systems and General Dynamics Land Systems for integrated U.S. Army brigade combat teams are scheduled for several months of trials at Fort Bragg, NC, beginning in January.
ISSUES & IDEAS
Israel may ask Canada to extend its participation in the Multinational Force and Observers in the Sinai Peninsula beyond the current 2022 plan if the Pentagon eliminates or reduces American participation.
This year’s biennial two-week Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) has finished off with a bang. In fact, lots of bangs that resulted in the sinking of a ship.
Three bids for replacing Canada's ageing fighter aircraft were received before the 31 July deadline. In advance of that much-delayed decision, contracts for new fighter facilities at 4 Wing Cold Lake and 3 Wing Bagotville are moving forward.
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.
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.
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.
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.