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DAVID DONALD Boeing has come to CANSEC commemorating 100 years of partnership with Canada. In 1919 Bill Boeing flew an aircraft from Vancouver to Seattle carrying the first air mail between the US and Canada, and 10 years later the Boeing Canada company was established. Since then, Boeing has executed a large number of successful programmes that have contributed significantly to Canada’s defence and aerospace industries. Now, Boeing is hoping to open another chapter in the partnership, offering the F/A‑18 Super Hornet for Canada’s Future Fighter Capability Project. The company is highlighting the range of ITBs (industrial and technological benefits) that it and team partners CAE, L3, General Electric, Raytheon and Peraton can guarantee. Boeing is
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Focused on partnership
also highlighting the long‑term commitment that the US Navy has made to the Super Hornet, with consequent benefits in terms of acquisition and life‑cycle costs. The
Bridging the capability gap ROBIN HUGHES BAE Systems (Booth 713) is showcasing its Modular Bridging System (MBS) capability as a potential solution for the Canadian Army’s future Bridge and Gap Crossing Modernisation (BGCM) requirement. The BGCM project will deliver a suite of light, medium and heavy bridging capabilities to replace in‑service systems. Potential deliverables are: Short Support Bridges, Medium Support Bridges, Long Support Bridges, Heavy Assault Bridges, Line of Communication Bridges and Heavy Floating Bridges. The MBS is used by ground forces to rapidly undertake assault crossings and restore vital lifelines and military routes. The design also offers rapid replacement of civilian infrastructure in combat and peacetime disaster relief. The system is light enough to be transported by air and lifted by helicopter, yet the bridge panels are strong enough to withstand the weight of main battle tanks, and during its lifetime, each bridging system is designed to withstand typically 10,000 crossings in its worst‑case load condition, for both tracked and wheeled vehicles and in extreme military environments. BAE Systems’ MBS comprises both the General Support Bridge (GSB) and the Close Support Bridge (CSB) systems. Designed to span gaps in excess of 60m, the GSB is generally carried and launched from optionally armoured multi‑wheeled platforms, and comprises three main elements: an Automotive Bridge Launch Equipment (ABLE) vehicle; Bridging Vehicles (BVs) to carry and load bridge panels into the ABLE; and the Bridge System, a variety of bridge panels and equipment. Designed to span gaps from 12 to 24.5m in a single span, and up to 64m in combination, the CSB comprises a tracked Armoured Vehicle Launch Bridge, a wheeled Tank Bridge Transport (TBT) platform, and the No. 10 26m medium assault, and No. 12 13.5m short assault, bridges. For the Canadian Army’s BGCM programme, BAE Systems is offering to tailor its GSB and CSB solutions to customer requirements in terms of vehicle platform utilisation.
Navy has signed up to a multi‑year procurement for 110 of the latest Block III Super Hornet that runs to at least 2026, along with a Block II to III service life modernisation
programme that covers 440 aircraft by 2033. The last of the Block II aircraft are being built through 2020, including those ordered by Kuwait. In terms of what Boeing is offering for the FFCP, the Block III incorporates advanced features such as Raytheon AESA radar, modern cockpit systems based around a 10x19in touchscreen, advanced communications and networking capability and a 10,000‑hour airframe life without depot‑level maintenance. The Block III also has conformal fuel tanks, which add 125 nautical miles in range or 30 minutes of time on station with no significant effects on drag or radar cross‑ section. The company notes that the extra endurance, in particular, would be useful for missions over Canada’s far north. Boeing is quoting a competitive cost per flying hour of less than $20,000 for the Super Hornet.
Opportunities open up PETER DIEKMEYER When UTC Aerospace Systems and Rockwell Collins banded to form Collins Aerospace, Canada – which provided a respectable C$1 billion in business to the group last year – was hardly top of mind. Top brass, who now had 300 global sites, 70,000 employees and US$23 billion in business to manage, had bigger fish to fry. However, Canadian president and managing director Lee Obst sees a slew of opportunities to broaden its mission systems, tactical communications, avionics and other offerings. One possibility: to leverage Collins Aerospace’s successes in the simulations field to add value to Canada’s coming Future Aircrew Training programme. The idea is to provide government and private higher tier players with hardware, visual systems, live‑virtual systems and other capabilities that fit into broader solution packages. Collins Aerospace has already built two flight simulators for Canada’s CH‑148 helicopter programme and participated in projects with Bluedrop Learning Systems and CAE. Collins is also working with the Canadian government and prime contractors on the Future Fighter Capability
Project bidding process to provide local support options no matter who emerges as the final winner. The company’s biggest hopes may be in targeted opportunities. For example, it took advantage of increased interest in the days leading up to CANSEC to demonstrate its Coalescence mixed reality technology (pictured) to Canadian Department of National Defence personnel. The system, which merges real‑world views and synthetic environments, is currently being tested in Orlando with an initial client. The technology could eventually have applications in land, sea and air training environments. Collins Aerospace also demonstrated the advanced connectivity, situational awareness and decision‑making capabilities in its Pro Line Fusion avionics system, as well as with Wideband HF and navigation solutions.
