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.

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.

FLIR Systems, Inc. delivered the first three Star SAFIRE® III stabilized multi-sensor systems to the U.S. Coast Guard to be used on the HC-144A “Ocean Sentry” aircraft. The third pallet was delivered in March.

Eurocopter Canada’s grand opening ceremony, on May 22, for its newly expanded headquarters and manufacturing facility, in Fort Erie, Ontario, was presided over by His Excellency Daniel Jouanneau, the French Ambassador to Canada.

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.

Presagis, a Montreal-based provider of simulation software, will be supporting General Dynamics Canada, in the training and testing component of the Aurora Incremental Modernization Project (AIMP).

Thales, listed as prime contractor on “Team Canoctua”, has dropped out of the running for DND’s Noctua Program, leaving partners L-3 MAS and Elbit Systems to compete alone for the contract to supply a leased UAV system to the Canadian Forces. The Israeli company, Elbit, will now take over as prime for the bid replacing Thales UK, the original prime for the team. Thales Systems Canada was very much involved in the program and expected to be supplying service and support as part of their contribution to the team’s proposal after contract award. With the bids due to be in by May 20, the timing could not be worse for Elbit who, together with L-3 MAS is proposing the Hermes 450 UAV platform for the Canadian Forces requirement through a program dubbed “Project Noctua”. Sources have told CDR that it was the French arm of Thales that nixed the company’s participation in the program at the last minute. 

Canada’s Air Force has approved a new policy that permits serving and potential aircrew to undergo certain types of Laser Refractive Surgery (LRS).

Viking, based in Victoria, B.C., signed an agreement on May 6 with Honeywell Aerospace of Tempe, AZ to furnish new Viking Twin Otter Series 400 airplanes with Apex Integrated Avionics package - an integrated suite of avionics.