Noah's Week in Defence (5/5/12): SPIKE, RCMP, and new lobbying updates

Happy Monday everyone. Life is pain, my head hurts, but im not going to let that stop me! As a makeup for.my lack of posting, ive decided to officially add a new category to the newsletter- Lobbying Updates.

This is something ive debated for a while, as ive always found them fun and interesting. I also believe that people should know what companies are doing, and who theyre hunting in regards to governemnt lobbying.

I am open to if people enjoy this new addition. Consider this a test run! If its liked, ill make sure to keep it from now on. Unlike project updates there tends to always be new lobbying records during the week. It helps pad out the weeks where project news is dry.

Anyways enough jabber!

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News

• Griffons in Latvia: Canada’s tactical aviation joins NATO brigade

• Ribbit’s plan to bring pilotless cargo flights to Canada’s North

• Bell Textron Canada Celebrates its 6,000th Helicopter Built at Mirabel Facility

• HMCS Margaret Brooke returns from historic Operation PROJECTION

• Veterans Affairs Canada and DND mark 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day

• RCN Commemorates 80th Anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic

• BluMetric Announces Notice to Proceed for $12.2M Production of Mission Ready Water ASWUPS Systems

• David Pugiliese has confirmed my earlier reporting on the SPIKE system being fixed. Those who follow mr will know I reported on this a few weeks ago. For those who want to know, it was a software issue.

• Defence expert brings Canadian foreign policy talk to Prince George

• Strategic Reflections: The Indo-Pacific Imperative for Canada’s New Government

• Canadian Armed Forces sergeant jailed for sexual assault of soldier

• Retired army colonel fined, reprimanded for insulting British senior officer

• Is the promise of military icebreakers political theatre or sensible policy? (It is not)

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Project Updates

• The RCMPs Domestic Surveillance Aircraft project has been updated with a new Q&A along with the next steps for the project.

• The RCMPs Multi-Role Helicopter project has been updated with a new Q&A along with the next steps for the project.

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Lobbying Updates

• Bell Textron has filed a new lobbying record under CFN Consultants. They aim to seek contracts related to both the RCMP MRH project and NTACS

• D-Wave has filed a new lobbying record under Global Public Affairs to engage the government on funding and policy in regards to quantum computing

• Seaspan has filed a new lobbying record under Bluesky Strategy Group to assist in securing new contracts as it relates to the NSS. I should note that Seaspan has recently been pushing for the Canadian Multi-Mission Corvette, also known now as the Continental Defence Corvette to be pushed ahead.

• The Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI) has filed a new record under Enterprise Canada in preparation for CANSEC

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Rumors & Speculation

I hate having this section empty. I really do. Its been a slow few weeks for news in regards to anything juicy. Obviously I had the Cyclone stuff, but I decided to post that earlier as I thought it was to good to just sit and wait on.

Anyways, yeah, the SPIKE missile delays were software related. Im shocked by how hard it is for the Ottawa Citizen to get this info, especially since they seem behind on me, a random person.

Thats my ego talking. ANYWAYS this isnt a shock given these issues usually are related to some sort of technology or software. I wont pretend to know the technical aspects, nor do I have details besides it was a software issue with both the missile and launcher.

Outside of that, there isnt much I can say. A lot of important decisions will be made next month in regards to restructuring. Work is currently being done and choices finalized. The plan is still to announce things starting in September, though expect some policy papers and initial info to drop through the Summer.

Indirect Fire Modernization now has a new timeline as well. There is a big push to get the contract signed for it by the end of 2027, a very quick process comparable to the current Submarines, but also not a shock.

The Army has constantly listed IFM and HIMARS as top priority along with Ground-Based Air Defence and the Domestic Arctic Mobility Enhancement project. These form the basis for the 4 priorities the army has listed.

Speaking on GBAD I can confirm that I have heard nothing on it, neither the new UOR or Phase II and III of the initiative. It is likely we wont hear about this until things are finalized.

As I said last week we will Hopefully have more info after things are finalized next month. That should also be where we start to see things moving a bit faster Again.

Until next week then!