Podcast

CDR Radio Episode 42 – Peter A. Kitchen

On the occasion of CDR’s 30th anniversary, we asked long time CDR team member and Senior Staff Writer, Joetey Attariwala, to sit down with Editor-in-Chief and magazine founder, Peter A. Kitchen, to get his views on the state of Canada’s defence and aerospace industry, how the publication has grown from its early days and what’s in the future.

CDR Radio Episode 41 - Bill Blair

CDR recently sat down with Canada’s Minister of National Defence, the Hon. Bill Blair, for an exclusive interview on the CDR Radio Podcast. Managing a $1 billion cut to the Department of National Defence’s budget, coping with readiness issues within the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), and improving the recruitment/retention of CAF members through better housing and childcare: These were some of the many concerns raised by DND Minister, Bill Blair, in CDR’s annual interview.

This episode is sponsored by CAE. Representing more than 75 years of industry firsts – CAE delivers the highest-fidelity flight, mission, and personalized training programs powered by innovation. With cutting-edge technology and world-class training centres, CAE develops and deploys advanced training, simulation, and critical operations capabilities to make the world safer. CAE is the largest Canadian-headquartered defence company, supporting training of all military pilots for the Canadian Armed Forces. At the forefront of sustainability, CAE became the first Canadian aerospace company to be carbon neutral. Visit CAE’s website www.cae.com/defense-security.

CDR Radio Episode 40 - RaceRocks

Bringing the Canadian Armed Forces’ training programs into the 21st century and harnessing all the possibilities offered by technology to make it more effective and personally targeted, is the mission of RaceRocks. This indigenous-owned, woman-led firm is spearheading the charge towards training modernization at a time when the CAF desperately needs such help to keep up with technological change. We speak with Christina Jones, Vice President of Operations and Sarah Drake, the company’s Director of Design. 

For more info on RaceRocks visit: https://racerocks3d.ca/

CDR Radio Episode 39 - Alex McPhail

On this episode of the CDR Radio podcast we are speaking with Alex McPhail, President & CEO of the EXA Consulting Group. Based in Ottawa EXA’s experts help their clients win complex Requests for Proposals (RFP). They support RFPs worth over $50M each, including multi-billion dollar contracts.

For more info on EXA visit: www.exa.group

CDR Radio Episode 38 - Colin Stephenson

In this episode of the CDR Radio podcast, we speak with Colin Stephenson, Executive Director of DEFSEC Atlantic, the annual defence & security trade show. DEFSEC is being held at the Halifax convention centre on October 3-5. Colin gives us a preview of what is planned for this year's show. 

For more info on DEFSEC visit: https://defsecatlantic.ca/

CDR Radio Episode 37 - Dr. George Palikaras

Lasers aimed at aircraft and AI-enabled fakes are just some of the threats facing the world these days. Meta Materials’ President and CEO, Dr. George Palikaras, explained how his company is making a real difference in these and other areas on CDR Radio podcast. 

For more info visit: www.metamaterial.com

CDR Radio Episode 36 - Melanie Nadeau

If you’re seeking cutting-edge marine technology, COVE will be number one on your list. Launched in 2018, the innovation centre and tech hub has propelled Nova Scotia and Canada as a global leader in marine technology. Canada’s defence sector, including founding investor Irving Shipbuilding Inc., has been vital in developing and supporting COVE, and the benefits are evident. CEO, Melanie Nadeau, outlined COVE’s latest initiatives on the CDR Radio Podcast in conversation with CDR’s Ottawa Bureau Chief, James Careless. 

For more info visit: www.coveocean.com

CDR Radio Episode 35 - Lorenzo Marandola

Based in Montreal, M1 Composites Technology provides a wide range of services for advanced composite and sheet metal aircraft structures, for all branches of the Canadian Armed Forces and our NATO allies. As M1 President, Lorenzo Marandola, told CDR’s Ottawa Bureau Chief, James Careless, in the latest episode of the CDR Radio Podcast, the company is on an astounding growth curve.

For more info visit: www.m1composites.com

CDR Radio Episode 34 - SkyAlyne

As we know, the qualified suppliers for the Future Aircrew Training (FAcT) program have submitted their proposals and we are expecting a contract award in 2024. CDR had the opportunity to speak with SkyAlyne’s Future Aircrew Training (FAcT) Program Manager, Stéphane Hébert, and Head of Operations, Peter Fedak, on the CDR Radio Podcast to learn more about their bid for the FAcT contract, and why SkyAlyne believes it is the best choice for the job. 

For more info on SkyAlyne, visit: https://skyalyne.ca/

CDR Radio Episode 33 - Christyn Cianfarani

CDR recently spoke with CADSI President and CEO, Christyn Cianfarani, to get the inside scoop on CANSEC 2023. After two years lost to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries’ (CADSI) annual CANSEC trade show roared back to life in 2022. This year’s edition, which will be held at Ottawa’s EY Centre May 31-June 1, looks to be even better! Our discussion covered the impact of Chinese balloons, questions about arming Ukraine and NATO's ability to re-arm itself, the recent focus on NORAD during Biden's visit to Canada and concerns about the Canadian Armed Forces’ readiness among other things. 

For more information about CANSEC visit: https://www.defenceandsecurity.ca/CANSEC/

CDR Radio Episode 32 - Anita Anand

CDR recently sat down with Canada’s Minister of National Defence, Anita Anand, for an exclusive interview on the CDR Radio Podcast. Canada’s continuing response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its impact on our military readiness, the need for the CAF to replace military equipment donated to Ukraine with new procurements, and the CAF’s challenges in recruiting and retaining troops, were some of the many topics raised in our year-end interview. 

This episode is sponsored by CAE. CAE represents 75 years of industry firsts—the highest-fidelity flight, mission, and personalized training programs powered by innovation and technology. CAE digitalizes the physical world, deploying simulation training and critical operations support solutions. As the only principal Canadian-owned defence contractor, CAE currently trains all military pilots for the Canadian Armed Forces. And in 2020, became the first Canadian aviation company to be carbon neutral. Visit CAE’s website www.cae.com/defense-security

CDR Radio Episode 31 - Jacques Comtois

For over 35 years, Calgary’s Arcfield Canada has been providing the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) with in-service and integrated logistics support. It has also been supporting the RCAF’s CF-18 fleet since 2010. Yet, as of October 2022, Arcfield is just one year old. The reason: Arcfield Canada is the rebranded name of Peraton’s systems engineering, integration and support services business, which the company sold in 2021. Since then, Arcfield Canada has been very busy. In April 2022, the company was awarded a $50 million two-year contract extension by the Department of National Defence (DND) for the CF-18 Avionics Optimized Weapon System Support program. This extension came after Arcfield received a two-year task order valued at $28 million. Jacques Comtois, Arcfield Canada’s Director of Canadian Operations, discussed these and other topics on the CDR Radio Podcast.