21 Aug - Task Force Commander and Air Operations Officer for Operation Soprano provide cross mission support to United Nations peacekeeping operations in Africa.
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IN THE NEWS
Sep 20
Registration is now open for the Navy League of Canada's one-day conference entitled "Momentum" to discuss the importance of gender balance in all facets of the maritime defence sector. The event will feature thought-provoking panel discussions with prominent veterans and members from academia, industry, the Canadian Armed Forces, and government.
Sep 20
The U.S. National Security Agency is running an experiment designed to test whether the growing number of military and civilian satellites in lower earth orbit have been compromised. The focus, using artificial intelligence technology, is on trying to find out whether orbits have changed and what countermeasures are possible.
Sep 20
Legislation which frees Ukraine to spend $250 million in U.S. military aid has been passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and is expected to be endorsed by the Senate. The White House initially had delayed approval but bowed to congressional pressure.
Sep 20
The MQ-25 Stingray air-to-air refuelling drone developed by Boeing for the U.S. Navy has completed its maiden flight. Expected to be the first carrier-launched platform of its kind, the drone was remotely controlled by Boeing test pilots after an autonomous taxi and takeoff.
Sep 20
The prospect of remote military bases being able to manufacture spares on-site with 3D printer technology is being researched by the U.S. Air Force. An initial trial enabled one base on U.S. soil to print polymer toilet seats but planners are aiming higher.
Sep 20
The U.S. Senate’s latest military appropriations bill calls on the Department of Defense to study strategic port locations in the Arctic even as witnesses at House of Representatives’ hearings highlighted significant challenges.
Sep 20
Remotely-piloted and autonomous vehicles have just been put through their paces by the NATO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation. Dozens of submarine, surface and aerial platforms were tested off Portugal in the Sept. 11-19 exercise which involved the host country as well as Belgium, Britain, Italy, Poland and the U.S.
Sep 20
Saudi Arabia says it can prove Iran’s complicity in the recent drone attack on two major Saudi petroleum facilities. Even so, the kingdom is expected to wait until a UN inspection team completes its investigation.
Sep 20
The U.S. administration evidently is divided over whom to blame for the recent drone attck on Saudi Arabian petroleum installations. The Pentagon’s chief spokesman, Johnathan Hoffman, says that while there are indications that Iran was in “some way” responsible, he declined to definitively blame Iran. This was after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said it was “abundantly clear” that Iran was responsible.
Sep 20
The Stockholm International Peace and Security Institute says that although the security implications of climate change have increasingly been debated by the UN Security Council, there are growing concerns about the UN’s overall response. In a new policy brief, SIPRI looks at how the climate security debate has evolved and highlights three priorities for action.
Sep 19
Chris Krebs, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency ithin he U.S. Department of Homeland Security, says government and industry should not be “selling fear” if they want broader community engagement in fighting digital threats.
Sep 19
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main rival, Benny Gantz, are jostling over the prospect of a unity government after the second general election in five months failed to give either leader’s party enough seats to set up a coalition government.
Sep 19
U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper expects that “the first shots of the future” will be either in the cyber domain or space, with the latter the more probable scenario. He is urging the Pentagon to act quickly in standing up the U.S. Space Command announced three weeks ago.
Sep 19
The head of the U.S. Air Force mobility command, Gen. Maryanne Miller, says that an array of design and development problems means the USAF’s fleet of Boeing KC-46 tankers will not be combat-ready until at least 2022. That would be some 11 years after Boeing was chosen over Airbus to replace 1960s-era tankers.
Sep 18
The first of four KC-46A tankers ordered by Japan in a $1.9-billion deal which was initialized nearly three years ago has finally begun with the movement of a main wing spar into Boeing’s 767 production facility in Seattle
Sep 18
The U.S. Air Force has “indefinitely barred” passengers on its fleet of Boeing KC-46 Pegasus transports. The decision followed a recent incident in which cargo locks released in-inflight during a multi-stop deployment, albeit with no injuries or damages reported.
Sep 18
Saudi Arabia, which has small fleets of frigates, corvettes and patrol boats, is joining the western task force protecting commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and other potential chokepoints in the region. Several merchant vessels have been attacked this year and the U.S. has been blaming Iran.
Sep 18
The Department of Defense has until next January to submit final findings and recommendations on the proposed cleanup of carcinogenic fluoroalkyls which have been confirmed in the water supplies of at least 297 U.S. military bases. A task force set up by Defense Secretary Mark Esper in July has completed initial research.
Sep 18
Unofficial results of Israel’s second general election in five months are too close to call. The parties led by incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main challenger, Benny Gantz, each apparently have captured 32 seats in a Parliament where 61 are required for a majority.
Sep 18
National polling from the first week of Canada’s 43rdgeneral election indicate that the Liberals and Conservatives are in a virtue tie in terms of stated public support. The New Democratic Party and Greens evidently are running a distant third.
Sep 18
Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Canada, Raza Bashir Tarar, wants Canada to be “more forceful” with India to address what he says is a deteriorating humanitarian situation in the disputed Kashmir region on the two countries’ northern borders.
Sep 17
Kelvin Droegemeier, the new science advisor to President Donald Trump is moving to bolster U.S. policies on research security. Recent U.S.-China political has spilled into the research community which has been pushing back against federal agencies investigating foreign-born scientists.
Sep 17
China and the U.S. are deadlocked over a United Nations resolution which would extend the UN mission in Afghanistan. Diplomats say Beijing is expected to veto the German-Indonesian initiative because it doesn’t refer to China’s overland and marine infrastructure projects.
Sep 17
It has been disclosed that a retired member of the U.S. Marine Corps and now a security industry executive, has been detained in Russia on espionage charges since last December. The Kremlin has rebuffed diplomatic efforts to have a doctor see Paul Whelan and now members of Congress are demanding his release, saying there are no grounds for the charges.
Sep 17
Edward Snowden, the Central Intelligence Agency contractor who sought refuge in Moscow, says that while France and Germany are considering granting him asylum, he still hopes to return to the U.S. However, having leaked details of extensive internet and phone surveillance by U.S. intelligence agencies, he says he wouldn’t get a fair trial back home.
ISSUES & IDEAS
Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Canadian supply chain could factor into the replacemant of Canada's ageing fighter jets. The supply chain includes 71 first- and second-tier Canadian suppliers – a clear benefit of Canada’s long-term involvement in the multi-national JSF project.
With the looming threat of conventional wars between great and regional powers appearing increasingly likely, the U.S. should quickly shore up its strategic military alliances.
Called Voices of Liberation, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission has created its first online sound archive to capture the voices of veterans who served during the war – to record their stories and feelings related to the Second World War and its sites of remembrance.
FEATURED ARTICLES 2019 |
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BY SUNIL RAM
A look at the long journey of the Type 26 being chosen as Canada's new Surface Combatant design for the Royal Canadian Navy.
Keep track of career movement of key players in industry and government. This edition includes L3 WESCAM, L3 MAS, TOA Canada, RCMP, J.D. Irving Ltd, PWin Advantage, Seaspan, Lockheed Martin Canada, ADGA, Root9B, CDA Institute, and Dynamic Air Shelters.
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.
The Chief of the Defence Staff has officially announced the following changes to senior leadership following the recent decision by LGen Wynnyk to retire from the VCDS position.
BY BRIAN BERUBE
The Government of Canada has been steadily implementing a new approach to the development and procurement of in-service support programs and contracts for military equipment and fleets. What does this mean for industry stakeholders?
BY ZACHARY MYERS
The 2011 update of the CBRN Strategy was changed into more of a domestic emergency plan than a comprehensive strategy, with the pillar of response emphasized over prevention. The 5-year assessment is overdue.
Seniors are being tricked into smuggling drugs and other items for organized crime – and being charged. CBSA has been sounding the alarm on this increasing problem.
BY DOUG SMITH
Search and Rescue (SAR) has always been an emotional topic because it deals with lives hanging in the balance. Is a contracted service in the best interests of the SAR mandate?
BY CHRIS MACLEAN
Global interconnectivity and increasingly complex technologies seem to have seeded the relatively recent concept of Systems Thinking for problem solving. Telfer’s Complex Project Management course graduates learn to embrace complexity for ultimate success.
BY ROSE McINERNEY
A fundraising effort for True Patriot Love exposes a group of intrepid women to the stark beauty and rugged challenges of trekking through Canada's Arctic vistas.
BY BRETT BOUDREAU
The annual CADSI tradeshow CANSEC is set for May 29-30 at the EY Centre in Ottawa. A few months earlier, CADSI attended IDEX, one of the world’s largest military trade shows. But building a presence in the Middle East “is a long-game play,” says CADSI President, Christyn Cianfarani.