After Army commander Lt. Gen. Leslie’s admission several months ago that he handed in $50 million which could not be spent, the Auditor General’s report has identified the lack of accurate and timely information for decision makers as the contributing factor in the lapsing of more than $300 million in funding that was available during the 2007–08 fiscal year. “The funding is now permanently unavailable to the Department to meet its ongoing requirements. This is a serious consequence for a department that has stated a need for additional funds to fulfill its mandate.”
NGRAIN announced it is opening an office in Ottawa which will accommodate a regional staff of business development, sales, project management, instructional design, 3D modeling and customer support professionals, expands NGRAIN’s reach across Canada. The Ottawa team will provide direct support to NGRAIN’s local and east coast customers and partners.
L-3 MAS, a division of L-3 Communications Integrated Systems Group, announced it has been awarded a contract, together with partner BAE Systems Australia, to provide long term maintenance and modification support to the Royal Australian Air Force’s F/A-18 aircraft fleet. The four-year contract has a potential total value of approximately AUD $150 million and includes extension options through 2018.
The Government of Canada has awarded Thales a $12.5 million Persistence Surveillance Towers System contract. The Thales Deployable Integrated Sensors for Compound Security (DISCUS) system, will provide the Canadian Army with the ability to protect personnel against improvised explosive devices through the use of persistent wide area observation, detection, identification and monitoring.
Retired Lt. Gen. Bill Leach, former Chief of Land Staff, received a US $10,000 check May 27 from Greg Bilhartz, BAE Systems FMTV Canada Program Manager, and Alan Garwood, BAE Systems Group Business development director. The check was donated to the Canadian Military Families Fund during the CANSEC trade show in Ottawa.
Atlantis Systems recently announced that it has been awarded a $1.9 million CDN contract by L-3 Communications MAPPS Inc. for the supply of courseware development and training for the Halifax Class Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS) Project, an upgrade project that will modernize the Canadian Navy's 12 Halifax Class frigates and improve their operational effectiveness.
The United Arab Emirates Armed Forces has announced that Provincial Aerospace Ltd., which is based in Newfoundland, has been awarded a contract valued at $1.071 Billion AED (CAN $370 Million) to supply modifications for two Maritime Patrol Aircraft. These Maritime Patrol Aircraft are specialized long-range aircraft that will be designed to patrol the United Arab Emirates territorial waters, monitor pollution and support search and rescue activities. According to Brian Chafe, Chief Operating Officer at Provincial Aerospace, “The competition for this contract was international in scope and included some of the world’s largest aerospace and defence companies. It’s a huge win!”
Lockheed Martin will create as many as 100 new jobs in Nova Scotia to handle the contract it received on the command and control upgrade for the Halifax-class frigates. Also, the province is kicking in some money to facilitate the augmentation of the work force.
CAE and Bell Aliant Regional Communications Income Fund ("Bell Aliant") have announced that CAE's acquisition of Bell Aliant's Defence, Security and Aerospace (DSA) business unit, operated by the xwave division of Bell Aliant Regional Communications, Limited Partnership, has been completed.
