What’s Canada Buying? September 20, 2012
- F-35 Tug o’ War “Government records show Canadian CF-18 pilots shut down one of their aircraft’s two engines in midflight more than 200 times since 1988 because of safety concerns. The revelation highlights a key aspect of the debate over whether the single engine F-35 stealth jet is not only the right aircraft for Canada, but also the safest – or whether the air force would be better off with another dual-engine jet. Critics of the Harper government’s plan to purchase the F-35 stealth fighter have long maintained that a dualengine fighter is better suited and safer for Canada’s air force pilots – particularly so they will have a backup while patrolling the country’s vast north. That was one of the main reasons given by the federal government and military for choosing the twin-engined CF-18s as Canada’s main fighter jet in the 1980s. In a report filed in Parliament this week, National Defence says it does not officially know how many times CF-18 engines have failed since 1988 ….” Since Postmedia News isn’t sharing the report, here’s the REST of the story, shared for the purpose of viewing for research.
- MORE work at CFB Goose Bay “Dome Mountain PHC Soil Remediation, Goose Bay, NL. …. The work includes, but is not necessarily limited to, the supply of labour, material, and equipment necessary for the excavation and disposal of PHC impacted soil, re-instatement of site with clean material …. The estimated cost for this opportunity is in the order of $1,992,400.00 ….”
- “The Department of National Defence has a requirement for commercial off the shelf (COTS) Optical Sights (1-8X) …. (for delivery) Within 250 km of the National Capital Region ….” - a few more details here.
- “Defence Research and Development Canada – Suffield (DRDC S) has a requirement to detect and locate buried linear conductive objects such as wire, pipes, rods, geological formations, etc. ….”
- Wanted: Canadian companies interested in working on Kabul International Airport.
- Libya “When the Royal Canadian Air Force deployed over Libyan skies, its pilots bedded down safe and sound in hotels in Sicily. In fact, all Canadian troops there in support of the UN-backed mission in Libya were booked into hotels — an initially ad hoc solution that lasted for nearly nine months and cost taxpayers millions of dollars. CBC News has learned the Armed Forces likely spent about $11 million on hotel bills, which amounts to more than 10 per cent of the military’s $103 million total cost of the mission. One spreadsheet shows $7.7 million for accommodations for a few hundred troops in two or three locations on the island of Sicily. NDP Defence critic Jack Harris says that’s a hefty price. “It was a temporary mission, and as a result you are going to get a temporary cost,” he said. “But our understanding was — and the Canadian public was led to believe — that they had all the co-operation of the government of Italy, and the use of their base to run operations out of.” ….”
