General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada has been awarded a delivery order by U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command (MCSC) to produce 773 RG-31 Mk5E Category I vehicles for its Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle program. The order has a total potential value of $552 million. General Dynamics Land Systems, the Canadian company’s parent corporation, is a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD).

Sources within DND have told CDR that the Heron UAV, proposed by a partnership of IAI of Israel and MDA of Vancouver, has been selected for the Noctua Program. While the selection has apparently been made it has not, to date, been formally announced by the program office.

L-3 WESCAM has been awarded a contract valued at approximately $25 million by the Canadian Department of National Defence to provide High Definition Imaging systems in support of the Interoperable Griffon Reconnaissance Escort Surveillance System (INGRESS) Project. System deliveries will begin in late 2008 and will be completed in the 2009 timeframe. Engineering, Installation and Airworthiness Certification support for the Canadian Forces Griffon Helicopter (CH-146) fleet will be completed by the CH-146 Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) Bell Helicopter Textron Canada Limited (BHTCL).

MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (TSX: MDA), announced that on June 10, 2008, it undertook the first Search and Rescue Mission involving both an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and manned aircraft in Canadian history. The Suffield, Alberta demonstration included participants from MDA, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association (CASARA), and Calgary Northeast Conservative MP Art Hanger, who volunteered his time to play the role of a plane crash survivor. The exercise was filmed by the Discovery Channel.

The Government of Canada has awarded a contract valued at $374 million (US $367 million) to General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada for a full range of lifecycle support services for the Canadian Forces fleet of Wheeled Light Armoured Vehicles. General Dynamics Land Systems, the Canadian company’s parent corporation, is a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD).

L-3 Communications MAS (Canada) Inc., based in Mirabel. Quebec, has been awarded a $106 million contract for the production phase of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) F/A-18 Centre Barrel Replacement (CBR) as part of the Structural Refurbishment Project Phase 2 (SRP2). This program extends the service life of the RAAF’s fleet of F/A-18 fighters to 100 percent of its fatigue life, essential to maintaining Australia’s air combat capability.

The Boards of Directors for the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International – Canada (AUVSI-Canada) and the Canadian Centre for Unmanned Vehicle Systems (CCUVS) have agreed to provide Canadian industry with a partnership of services that will facilitate the growth of the Canadian unmanned systems sector.

This partnership brings together two leading national non-profit organizations in the UVS sector and provides a full range of services with the common objective of fostering the growth, development and competitiveness of the Canadian unmanned systems sector.

Sources have confirmed to CDR that the General Dynamics/Thales team which was set up to bid on the Canadian Navy’s Halifax Class Modernization, Combat System Integration (CSI) program, have advised the Crown that they do not intend to bid on the program. A letter to the Crown confirming that the GD/Thales team would not be submitting a bid for the HCM/CSI contract was sent on Friday, May 30. The deadline for submission of bids for the program is June 9. This leaves Lockheed Martin, the original systems integrator on the CPF ships (when the company was known as Paramax), as the sole contender for the program currently. This marks the second time in as many weeks that Thales has dropped out of a major Canadian defence program.

Once again the Canadian Forces Small Arms Competition (CFSAC) will be held, in September, at Connaught Range and Primary Training Centre (CRPTC) in Ottawa. Participants will vie for the coveted Queen’s Medal for Champion Shot, awarded annually to the top CF Reserve and Regular Force shooters, and the chance to represent Canada in prestigious international competitions, such as Bisley in England, and at the UK, Australian and American Skill at Arms Meetings.

CAE ended fiscal 2008 (March 31, 2008) with strong order activity in all its segments, including CAE's military segments attaining total orders of over C$730 million. The new order intake in the military segments gives CAE a strong base for fiscal 2009.