What's Canada Buying? October 31, 2012

• F-35 Tug o’ War (1)  “…. the opposition and a leading critic of the plan say the government …. intends to rewrite Auditor General Michael Ferguson’s scathing report on the planned acquisition with an independent review that MPs say is designed to contradict the findings Mr. Ferguson tabled in Parliament last April ….”
  
• F-35 Tug o’ War (2)  “Canada’s newly appointed top military officer says it’s important to get it right when it comes to replacing the Canadian Forces’ aging fleet of CF-18 fighter jets — equipment he said the military will rely on for decades ….”
  
• F-35 Tug o’ War (3)  Mark Collins on “Why the Canadian F-35 acquisition was rushed in 2010″
  
• F-35 Tug o’ War (4)  Think tankers on how to look at the purchase  ” “If you went out and bought yourself a new minivan and you wanted to drive it off the lot, you wouldn’t calculate the gas, the washer fluid, the oil and give yourself a salary to drive it for the next 15 or 20 years.”  That was Defence Minister Peter MacKay’s response to Michael Ferguson in April, after the Auditor-General used “life-cycle costs” to calculate the full impact that buying F-35 stealth fighter jets would have on the federal treasury.  But buying an F-35 is nothing like buying a minivan. Nobody buys a new car in the expectation that key components — engine, windshield, electronics — will need to be replaced or upgraded within a few years, while still perfectly functional ….”
  
• F-35 Tug o’ War (5)  Dutch, Italians sharing Canada’s alleged misgivings?
• Quebec-based company gets a piece of the Tactical Armoured Vehicle Program pie  “The Honourable Bernard Valcourt, Associate Minister of National Defence, Minister of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency) (La Francophonie) and Member of Parliament for Madawaska-Restigouche, today announced that Rheinmetall Canada has been awarded an important contract by Textron Systems Canada Inc. to provide the Canadian Army with new and improved Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicles …. This $205 million subcontract is a result of the Government of Canada’s $708.7 million contract award to Textron Systems Canada Inc. and is a prime example of the high quality work Canadian industry is carrying out as a result of the Government of Canada’s Industrial and Regional Benefits policy. When Textron Systems Canada Inc. was awarded the contract for the Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicles, it committed to ensure that 100 per cent of the contract’s value would be directed to activities of benefit to Canada.  The subcontract award announced today is expected to sustain and create dozens of high quality, skilled jobs in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Québec ….” - more from the corporate info-machine here.
• Wanted:  Something to help measure noise from CF vehicles to see how easy they are to detect  “…. DRDC has a requirement to develop a software program to calculate the noise propagation of various CF vehicles. The program is intended be used in the field by members of the CF to estimate the acoustic “footprint” of their vehicles during the planning or execution of missions. It should also provide a measure of their “detectability” to hostile entities during the course of their mission ….”
• Wanted:  Someone to take apart the dry-cold/wet-cold chambers at DRDC Toronto for ~$537K.
• Wanted:  Someone to supply “Munition Scrap plywood crates for the Department of National DEFENCE and the British Army Training Unit (BATUS) located at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Suffield …”

About these ads