What's Canada Buying? October 23, 2012

• F-35 Tug o’ War (1)  “More than six months after the auditor general delivered his scathing critique of the F-35 program, the Harper government has yet to direct the air force to look at aircraft other than the contentious stealth fighter.  And the Public Works secretariat overseeing the troubled replacement for the existing CF-18 jet fighter fleet is still attempting to define what the government means when it promised to look at “other options.”  The newly appointed commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force said in an interview with The Canadian Press that he’s assigned a staff officer to work with the secretariat, but a thorough examination of other possible aircraft would require a more detailed study by military planners.  That order has not been given.  “So, I’m waiting to see exactly what is going to be required and we’re going to be supporting whatever kind of information they’d like to have,” said Lt.-Gen. Yvan Blondin.  The promise to look at “other options” was paramount to the government’s response to auditor general Michael Ferguson, who last spring accused National Defence and Public Works of publicly low-balling the cost of the multibillion-dollar program and not following proper procedures ….”
• F-35 Tug o’ War (2)  RCAF Info-machine responds:  “…. Information shared with a reporter is incorrect. Work continues on the evaluation of options to sustain a fighter jet capability well into the 21st century.  The options analysis is a full evaluation of choices, not simply a refresh of the work that was done before.  This detailed evaluation will provide the best available information about the range of choices that could do the job required.  The work is being led by National Defence and facilitated by the National Fighter Procurement Secretariat.  Senior departmental officials meet regularly with the secretariat to update on progress made and the Department of National Defence and the Royal Canadian Air Force work on options analysis.”
  
• Remember the call for someone to make new combat uniforms for the CF?  We have a winner!  More from the DND Info-machine  “The Honourable Bernard Valcourt, Associate Minister of National Defence and Minister of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency) (La Francophonie) and the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women, today announced that the Government of Canada awarded a contract valued at $8.5 million to Peerless Garments, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, for the procurement of enhanced combat uniforms for the Canadian Forces (CF) …. The contract was awarded following a competitive procurement process and requires the supplier to use Canadian-made textiles and to manufacture the uniforms in Canada. The contract is expected to create 15 jobs in Winnipeg, Manitoba …. The CF are fitted with the highly sophisticated Canadian Disruptive Pattern uniform which is scientifically designed and specifically adapted to the field environment. This uniform continues to serve CF members well in the conduct of their missions at home and abroad ….”
• Big Honkin’ Ships  “The president of Irving Shipbuilding Inc. is applying pressure on Ottawa to sign a contract on design work for eight new Arctic patrol ships.  Steve Durrell said Friday unless the contract is signed and engineering work begins by January, the company’s Halifax Shipyard will have a tough time meeting its goal of cutting the first steel for the project in 2015.  “We’ll be looking at this day by day,” he said. “If it gets delayed a month, it will delay the program a month.”  Durrell set the deadline during a briefing that marked one year since the federal government awarded the shipyard a $25-billion contract to build 21 combat vessels over 30 years.  “We are definitely not waiting to get started,” he said. “We are doing everything we can to advance the timetables and begin building vessels for Canada as quickly as possible.”  The company is still negotiating two contracts with Ottawa — one for design work and the other for the actual construction of the patrol ships.  Durrell repeated his company’s promise to have the first patrol vessel built by 2018, which is already three years behind the original schedule ….”
• Wanted:  someone to supply “labour, material, supervision and equipment necessary for the construction of an office building of 328m ² on one floor including, among others, offices, a waiting room, a conference room, a janitor room, a dining area, parking lots as well as other related work. This building is part of IPSC – Integrated Personnel Support Centres – and is intended to military personnel and clientele (veterans) who require some assistance….” at 3 Wing Bagotville for around $675,000.
• “…. TITLE: OPERATIONAL TRAINING SYSTEM PROVIDER (OTSP) PROJECT – The Department of National Defence has a requirement for one (1) Senior engineer for support services that are required on an “as and when requested” basis in Modeling & Simulation (M&S) including, but not necessarily limited to, technical document generation and review, participation in technical meetings and test and evaluation activities, provision of advice and participation in project-related working groups ….”.  Translation, from part of the Statement of Work:  “…. The OTSP project, which includes the synthetic training component of both the ACP-T (Airlift Capability Project – Tactical – the CC130J Hercules) and MHLH (Medium Heavy Lift Helicopter – the CH147 F Chinook) acquisition projects, requires the support of specialists with in-depth expertise in the Modelling & Simulation domain ….”
  
• Wanted:  Groceries for Wolseley Barracks, London, Ontario – more details (like how much of what is needed and when) here.
  

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