Drones

by **Spider** Wed 06 Feb 2019, 7:52 am

Air Force aiming to have armed drones in the air in next six years: commander

A Heron pilotless spy drone, operated by the Canadian military, sits in a hangar at Kandahar Airfield on July 5, 2010. The Royal Canadian Air Force is hoping to pull the trigger on the purchase of new drones within the next five or six years after spending nearly two decades weighing different options. Bill Graveland / THE CANADIAN PRESS

Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press
Published Wednesday, February 6, 2019

OTTAWA -- The Royal Canadian Air Force is hoping to pull the trigger on the purchase of new armed drones within six years after spending nearly two decades weighing different options.

The Canadian Forces has been working since the early 2000s to identify and buy a fleet of UAVs that can conduct surveillance over Canada's vast territory as well as support military missions abroad.

Yet aside from purchasing a small number of temporary, unarmed drones for the war in Afghanistan -- all of which have since been retired -- the military has never been able to make much progress on a permanent fleet.

In an interview with The Canadian Press, air force commander Lt.-Gen. Al Meinzinger said he is confident that is about to change after the Trudeau government officially approved the purchase of a fleet of armed UAVs through its defence policy.

That decision was one of the most notable shifts in the new policy, released in June 2017, which included a promise to spend an extra $62 billion over the next 20 years to expand and strengthen the military.

No previous federal government had authorized adding drones -- armed or not -- as a permanent fixture within the Canadian Forces in the same vein as fighter-jet or helicopter squadrons.

"We say we've got policy top-cover, which means we can see that program clearly in our defence policy," Meinzinger said. "So we're moving that project forward. ... That will be a capability we will see in the next five to six years."

The Royal Canadian Air Force has been quietly evaluating options and will soon present its ideas to procurement officials, he added. The plan is to buy one type of medium-altitude, long-endurance UAV for the military.

Drones have taken on an increasingly important role in militaries around the world; a report in the Royal Canadian Air Force Journal in late 2015 said 76 foreign militaries were using them and another 50 were developing them.

The unmanned aircraft are often used for surveillance and intelligence gathering as well as delivering pinpoint strikes from the air on enemy forces, in places where the use of force has been approved.

Yet the government's decision to acquire armed drones has prompted questions from some arms-control and human-rights groups that have raised concerns about the legal grey zone around such weapons.

While Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the government considered the drone decision carefully, critics have noted that there are very few rules around their acquisition and use -- including in assassinations.

Meinzinger said drones proved their worth to the Canadian Forces during the war in Afghanistan, where he personally commanded a UAV squadron tasked with monitoring the surrounding countryside.

As for the government's decision to approve armed drones, "certainly the employment of those weapons will be within the bounds of the law of armed conflict and regulated very clearly," he said.

Defence chief Gen. Jonathan Vance has previously said the Canadian military plans to use armed drones in much the same way as other conventional weapons, such as fighter jets and artillery.

While he acknowledged the long road the military has followed in trying to get drones, Meinzinger said: "We have the support of the leadership and the department to continue to move that forward. So I don't see that being a problem at all."

https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/air-force-aiming-to-have-armed-drones-in-the-air-in-next-six-years-commander-1.4284571

by **SniperGod** Fri 22 Feb 2019, 1:34 pm

22 FEBRUARY 2019

Canada proposes to buy Euro Hawk surveillance drone from Germany

By Hemanth

Drones 800px-MQ-4C_Triton_flight_testing

Canada has reportedly made a formal proposal to purchase a ‘mothballed’ high-altitude Euro Hawk surveillance drone from Germany.

Reuters reported citing a German Defence Ministry spokesperson that the Northrop Grumman-built aircraft was stripped of key equipment and demilitarised by the US in 2017.

The ministry is currently evaluating the bid. The report added that Nato is also likely to submit a bid for the drone.

Nato may use the drone to complement the fleet of five high-altitude unmanned Global Hawk planes for the Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) programme.

The $1.7bn deal for the five Global Hawk planes was signed with Northrop in 2012.

EuroHawk GmbH, Northrop Grumman and Airbus (formerly EADS) said in joint statement in 2013: “EuroHawk GmbH, Northrop Grumman and EADS remain fully committed to the Euro Hawk programme of record, and the critical capabilities the system will provide the German armed forces and its allies. The full Euro Hawk system, including the mission control system and the sensor, has performed flawlessly and safely throughout the entire flight test programme.

“Media reports that indicate there are challenges with the aircraft’s flight control system, as well as excessive costs associated with completing airworthiness certification, are inaccurate.”

However, the prototype aircraft has been parked at a German air base following the cancellation of the Euro Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle programme that same year due to price escalation and airworthiness issues.

Canadian media reported that the drone could be deployed by the government to monitor oil spills, ice levels and marine habitats in the remote Arctic region.

In 2000, Germany unveiled plans to procure five Euro Hawk drones in a deal worth €1.2bn. The country acquired only one prototype aircraft from Northrop Grumman.

The German Government reportedly spent around €700m on the Euro Hawk surveillance drone prototype and the Airbus-developed integrated signal intelligence surveillance system.

In April, the US State Department cleared a potential $2.5bn deal to sell MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) to Germany under a foreign military sale.

Northrop Grumman is the prime contractor for the deal, responsible for integration, installation and functional platform compatibility testing of the payload.

https://www.airforce-technology.com/news/canada-euro-hawk-surveillance-drone/

by Stanleyz Thu 18 Apr 2019, 5:02 pm

Lack of expert procurement staff could hinder Canadian Forces drone purchase

DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN April 18, 2019

The Department of National Defence has updated details about its key ongoing defence procurements.

I have written an article on that update which can be viewed at the National Post website: https://nationalpost.com/news/government-expects-to-award-contract-for-new-fighter-jet-fleet-in-2022-but-admits-it-could-face-delays

The article notes the DND warning about issues that could affect the proposed purchase of a fleet of uninhabited aerial vehicles, commonly referred to as drones.

The DND update warned that there might not be enough procurement staff with the required expertise to move that program forward on schedule. The department hopes to deal with the problem by hiring contractors. A draft invitation to qualify for that project was released April 5 and a contact is expected to be awarded in 2022, the update pointed out.

The lack of staff has been an ongoing issue for the UAV program but in other ways. In May 2010 I reported The Canadian Force’s plan to buy pilotless aircraft to conduct surveillance off the country’s coasts, in the Arctic and on overseas missions had fallen behind schedule because the military doesn’t have enough people to fly the drones.

While the UAVs don’t carry pilots, they still require an operator on the ground to fly the craft. Staff are also needed to maintain the equipment and to prepare them for flight.

But at the time the air force was having difficulty finding enough people for a new unit that would be needed to operate the UAVs.

Then called the Joint UAV Surveillance and Target Acquisition System or JUSTAS, there had been a number of plans for the acquisition. One of the earlier ones involved a request for proposals from industry to be issued by the end of 2009 and a contract signed in 2010. The first of the UAVs would have arrived by February 2012.

That obviously didn’t happen.

A reworked plan called for the delivery of the UAVs in 2014, with full operating capability in 2017.

That didn’t happen.

The project is now named, RPAS, for Remotely Piloted Aircraft System. The latest plan calls for a contract to be awarded in 2022-2023 with full capability – an armed drone fleet – in place by 2029-2030.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/lack-of-expert-procurement-staff-could-hinder-canadian-forces-drone-purchase

by Rekert Wed 29 May 2019, 3:59 pm

CANSEC 2019 news - Canadian military drones to be outfitted with new radar

DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN May 29, 2019

Drones Skeldar-screen-shot-2019-05-29-at-5.40.05-am

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/canadian-military-drones-to-be-outfitted-with-new-radar

by **Zoneforce** Thu 17 Oct 2019, 2:45 pm

Heron and MQ-9 drones approved for Canadian military program

10.17.2019

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/heron-and-mq-9-drones-approved-for-canadian-military-program

by **OutlawSoldier** Thu 06 May 2021, 8:49 am

Canadian military makes preparations for long-delayed arrival of armed drone fleet

May 05, 2021

https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-military-laying-groundwork-for-arrival-of-armed-drones

by **Spider** Sat 12 Feb 2022, 9:52 am

Ottawa launches long-awaited competition for armed military drones

Published Friday, February 11, 2022

Drones

by **Accer** Tue 22 Mar 2022, 2:08 pm

Canadian drone cameras purchased for Ukraine but no word on shipments

David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Mar 22, 2022

High-tech Canadian drone cameras have been acquired for Ukraine but the Canadian government is being tight-lipped about when that war-torn nation will receive the gear.

National Defence is financing the $50-million purchase of the Wescam surveillance cameras and is expected to be involved in shipping the equipment to a location in Europe.

The Canadian Commercial Corporation released a statement Monday that it was working with National Defence and Global Affairs Canada “to provide timely and effective sourcing of military equipment for the Ukrainian government.”

Some of that gear includes night vision goggles, helmets and bullet-proof vests. Canadian firms that handle such equipment said there has been initial interest from the Canadian government but no contracts so far.

The office of Defence Minister Anita Anand referred all other questions to the office of Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly. Joly’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

The acquisition of the cameras for Ukraine’s Bayraktar TB2 armed drones comes as Russia announced March 17 that it had downed one of the aircraft in the Kiev region. Russia’s defence ministry tweeted photos of the wreckage of the drone.

Canada hopes to supply between 30 and 40 of the cameras built by L3 Harris Wescam, headquartered in Hamilton, Ont.

Sources tell this newspaper the cameras have been purchased.

But the Liberal government has sent mixed messages on the acquisition. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told journalists March 9 that the cameras had already been acquired and “we will be able to start sending towards Ukraine in the coming days.”

But in a March 17 interview with journalist Christiane Amanpour, Defence Minister Anand noted that “we are now moving to speak with suppliers who can assist us with additional useful procurements such as cameras for drones, which we are supplying directly to Ukraine.”

The Bayraktar TB2 is built by Turkey and has been sold to Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Poland and a number of other nations.

Ukraine is believed to have between 20 and 50 of the drones, which it first bought in 2019. Ukraine’s defence minister Oleksii Reznikov announced on Facebook March 1 that additional Bayraktars arrived in Ukraine and were ready for combat. He did not provide further details.

The relatively low-cost Bayraktar drones have been successful in targeting tanks and other armoured vehicles during various conflicts. Ukraine has posted video of one of the aircraft attacking a Russian military column.

Last April, then Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau put a halt to exports of the L3Harris Wescam cameras to Turkey for use in the Bayraktar TB2. The ban on exporting the sensors to Turkey came after the Canadian government determined the Bayraktar drones were used by Azeri forces fighting Armenia in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. “This use was not consistent with Canadian foreign policy, nor end-use assurances given by Turkey,” Garneau stated.

The ban on exporting the cameras to Turkey will still remain in place.

Turkey, a NATO ally, reacted angrily to Canada’s decision last year on the export ban. Officials there warned that the Canadian response could cause serious problems to Turkey and its drone clients. Turkish officials also accused Canada of holding a double standard since the Liberal government has continued to allow military exports to Saudi Arabia. That nation has a poor human rights record and has played a key role in the war in Yemen, a conflict that has resulted in the deaths of 100,000 people.

In November, L3Harris announced the opening of a new facility in the Hamilton area to increase production of its Wescam sensors and cameras.

The Wescam equipment is also installed on U.S. Predator drones that have been used in what the Americans call “targeted killings” involving terrorist targets. But it has also been estimated that between 10,000 and 20,000 innocent civilians have been killed in those drone attacks in Afghanistan, Somalia, Pakistan and Yemen.

Defence Watch

by **Rockarm** Tue 23 May 2023, 9:01 am

Use reservists to operate new fleet of drones, RCAF leaders told

The RCAF is dealing with significant challenges bringing in new recruits and retaining its existing staff, raising concerns it won’t have enough personnel to operate and maintain a host of new aircraft the Canadian government is acquiring.

David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen

Published May 23, 2023

Canada’s air force, faced with shortages of full-time personnel, needs to rely more heavily on its reservists to operate the new fleet of drones it will soon receive, senior military leaders have been told.

A multi-billion dollar contract for drones is expected to be signed next year with first deliveries to the Royal Canadian Air Force by 2026.

But the RCAF is dealing with significant challenges bringing in new recruits and retaining its existing staff, raising concerns it won’t have enough personnel to operate and maintain a host of new aircraft the Canadian government is acquiring. That includes the fleet of drones that could cost up to $5 billion.

One solution that senior RCAF leaders need to examine is to rely more heavily on reserve personnel for the drone fleet, according to a Nov. 15, 2022, briefing package for senior air force leaders.

In an email to this newspaper, the RCAF noted that bids for the new drones are still being examined. “While discussions are ongoing in terms of the organizational composition of personnel for the future fleet, no decisions have yet been made,” the statement added.

The drones will be used for intelligence gathering and surveillance, and will be equipped with the capability of attacking ground targets.

The drones are expected to be initially operating in 2026, with the fleet fully operational by 2030, according to an April 5, 2023, RCAF briefing on equipment. Both the November and April briefings were obtained by this newspaper.

But the RCAF confirmed it has rejected two other recommendations from the November meeting of senior leaders; the proposed reduction of personnel involved in weather observation duties and the phasing out of the C-130 Hercules that are capable of air-to-air refuelling.

In addition, no decision has been taken on another proposal presented to the RCAF leadership that would have seen changes at Canadian Forces Ammunition Depot Dundurn, located near the town of Dundurn, Sask. “Command and Control of CFAD Dundurn remains a RCAF responsibility,” the RCAF noted. “No decision has been taken in any other regard.”

No further details were provided by the RCAF.

The RCAF is dealing with a high number of inexperienced personnel, as well as shortages of staff in key jobs, while at the same time trying to bring in new-generation stealth fighter jets and drones, senior air force officers were told at the November meeting.

The introduction of the F-35 jet, the purchase of a drone fleet and the modernization of fleets of other existing aircraft will transform the RCAF, the generals were told.

But those initiatives will also create an unprecedented challenge and a “significant internal demand for talented and experienced people.”

The result is going to be “significant disruption to the RCAF” and an unsustainable situation for the future, according to the briefing package.

“The RCAF is under-resourced with a high inexperience burden resulting in an unsustainable model to deliver expected outcomes and capabilities for current and future demands,” leaders were told.

The ongoing sexual misconduct crisis, concerns about toxic leadership and a lack of interest in the military among young people has hindered recruitment, according to various Canadian Forces reports. At the same time, skilled personnel are leaving, fed up by a lack of affordable housing near their military posts as well as with inadequate pay and benefits. In addition, there is a lack of work for spouses of military personnel in some locations.

The ongoing issues are compounded by the fact the RCAF is competing with the commercial aviation sector, which also needs skilled personnel, according to the Nov. 15 briefings.

RCAF commander Lt.-Gen. Eric Kenny talked about challenges the service faces with the introduction of new aircraft during an interview published Feb. 13, 2023, by The Canadian Press.

But the November 2022 briefing package was more blunt in its assessment: There is “insufficient intake (of personnel) to address traditional attrition and growth,” the briefing package noted.

David Pugliese is an award-winning journalist covering Canadian Forces and military issues in Canada. To support his work, including exclusive content for subscribers only, sign up here: ottawacitizen.com/subscribe

Defence Watch

by **Accer** Tue 24 Oct 2023, 2:03 pm

Air force will have to wait even longer to get armed drones, Defence Department says

DND says it still needs to adapt the drones to fly in harsh Arctic conditions

Murray Brewster - Oct 24, 2023

Canada's air force will have to wait a few extra years to get the armed drones it has been promised for more than a decade — because, among other things, the pilotless aircraft require special modifications to fly in the Far North.

The federal government had planned to acquire by 2025 a fleet of MQ-9 Reaper drones, built by U.S. defence contractor General Atomics.

But the Department of National Defence (DND) acknowledged recently that the acquisition date has been pushed to 2028 — more than 11 years after drones were identified in the Liberal government's defence policy as an important priority for modernizing the country's air force to meet modern threats.

That delivery date is also more than two decades after the previous Conservative government weighed the idea of acquiring an earlier version of the Reaper, the MQ-1, known as the Predator.

The U.S., the U.K., Italy, France and Spain have all acquired the MQ-9 Reaper, but DND says it has its own important considerations.

"The Canadian RPAS [Remotely Piloted Aircraft System] configuration will require significant development work in order to address RCAF requirements which differ from our Allies' requirements," DND spokesperson Andrew McKelvey told CBC News in a written statement.

"For example, the need to operate at high Northern latitudes, including in the Arctic, requires the use of satellites and aircraft antennas and communication components not previously integrated on the MQ-9."

The manufacturer insists the aircraft has proved itself in the High Arctic.

In an online promotional pitch, General Atomics said the MQ-9B "operates well in cold weather conditions" and the airframe has a state-of-the-art anti-ice/de-icing system. In September 2021, the company conducted a demonstration flight to the 78th parallel in Canada's Far North.

DND plans to add Canadian tech

Despite that achievement, DND remains cautious about the drone's ability to withstand the harsh environment.

"Additional testing and qualification work will be required to ensure the RPAS can be operated and maintained in Canadian climatic conditions," McKelvey said.

Beyond the concern about the MQ-9's ability to perform Arctic surveillance and strike missions, McKelvey said the department also intends to incorporate Canadian technology in the aircraft.

"There is also some developmental effort required to integrate the Canadian-made WESCAM MX-20 EO/IR sensor onto the platform," he said, adding that drone operators also need to be trained and the aircraft certified for operations in Canadian airspace.

Over the past two decades, DND has not had a stellar record when it comes to taking development programs and turning them into useable military equipment delivered on time. The CH-148 Cyclone maritime helicopter and the C-295 Kingfisher are just two examples.

The troubled procurement programs involving existing military hardware — in use by one of the country's allies — being adapted for Canadian purposes are equally notorious.

They include the navy's Victoria-class submarines and the air force's CH-147F Chinook helicopters — which were intended for the Afghan war but were delivered well over a year after major combat ended.

The words "developmental" and "Canadianization" are red flags for anyone who follows the glacial defence procurement process in this country, said Dave Perry, president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, an Ottawa-based organization that occasionally has hosted conferences partly sponsored by major defence contractors.

The good news, he said, is that defence planners have actually acknowledged — and have perhaps even accounted for — the additional engineering development that will be needed for the drones, instead of providing overly optimistic or unrealistic delivery forecasts.

But Perry pointed out that the original iteration of the drones project leaned heavily on the notion of a sole-source contract — something the Liberals, when they came to power, said they were determined to avoid by going out for bids.

So a competition was launched, which identified two manufacturers. One dropped out, leaving the San Diego-based General Atomics, one of the dominant players in the drone market, as the only bidder.

"I think that the pursuit of the competition here ... certainly added a significant amount of time," said Perry, one of the leading defence procurement experts in the country.

He said the federal government should have recognized from the start that "it was going to be very difficult to have a circumstance to get a non-American platform" to fit with what Canada wanted — especially since the Reaper and the Predator are surveillance systems that both plug into the highly classified U.S. intelligence system.

And since most of the developmental concerns relate to adapting the MQ-9B for the Arctic, Perry said he wonders why the air force can't proceed with a limited purchase of Reapers that could operate over Canada's more temperate coastlines and on expeditionary operations overseas.

Appearing last month before a House of Commons committee, former national security and intelligence adviser Richard Fadden, who also served at one point as deputy defence minister, said the federal government needs to show more flexibility in acquiring military equipment, especially with the world in such a volatile state.

He said he'd be in favour of suspending normal procurement procedures — in limited circumstances — to move projects along more quickly.

"The military should be able to advise the government on those acquisitions that are critical now," Fadden testified on Sept. 26. "And they should waive procurement rules. They should accelerate the processes whenever necessary."

Last month, the U.S. State Department approved the sale of $313 million US in munitions to Canada — including 219 Hellfire missiles and laser guided bombs — to strap on to the Reapers Ottawa intends to buy. The approval came through even though the contract with General Atomics has not been finalized.

CBC News

by Armoured Tue 19 Dec 2023, 4:47 pm

Canadian military to spend $2.5 billion on armed drones

Todd Coyne . Published Dec. 19, 2023

Drones Canadian-military-drone-1-6693911-1703009478626

CTV News

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