By Lisa Gordon | May 30, 2014 Estimated reading time 6 minutes, 2 seconds.
CANSEC 2014, Canada’s largest defence industry trade show, attracted more than 10,000 delegates to the Ernst & Young Centre in Ottawa this week. Held on May 28-29, the 120,000-square foot trade show featured 331 companies showcasing the latest in defence-related products and services. Organized by the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI), the show also welcomed numerous government and industry representatives, as well as 31 foreign delegations who came to inspect the wares of Canadian companies.
Aviation and aerospace played a prominent role this year, with all major fighter jet manufacturers on hand to promote their aircraft as the replacement for Canada’s CF-18 fleet.
Lockheed Martin offered demonstrations in its F-35 cockpit demonstrator; while at a neighbouring booth, Rockwell Collins displayed the F-35 pilot helmet, with Lockheed Martin test pilot Billie Flynn on hand to assist with demonstrations.
A delegation from Eurofighter billed the Typhoon as the “most powerful swing-role fighter,” with 10-year veteran pilot Joey Borkenstein emphasizing its operational performance in an air dominance and air policing role, as well as its advanced weapons system—which he said has proven itself to be fully interoperable with any NATO systems.
Not to be outdone, Boeing attended CANSEC with its Super Hornet simulator, offering demonstrations while reiterating that its twin-engine jet is a known quantity—with proven performance, maintenance and support data already on record.
Rounding out the quartet of fighter jet hopefuls was Dassault Aviation, on hand to promote its Rafale fighter. Senior vice president Yves Robins told members of the press that the Rafale is a true “omni-role aircraft that addresses the full spectrum of air power roles,” while emphasizing that it meets 100 per cent of requirements addressed in the Canada First Defence Strategy.
All manufacturers—with the obvious exception of Lockheed Martin—are agitating for Canada to hold an open fighter jet competition. But Public Works Minister Diane Finley told a CANSEC audience that ministers are still in the process of reviewing “a number of reports relating to the evaluation of options, industrial benefits, costs and other factors related to the decision to replace our CF-18 fleet.” She added that no deadline has been set for a decision, so stakeholders must continue to wait for word on a possible competition.
In fixed-wing search and rescue (FWSAR) news, Airbus Defence and Space signed a memorandum of understanding with Provincial Aerospace (PAL) of St. John’s, NL. Under the agreement, PAL will provide in-service support for the fleet of C295 aircraft which Airbus is offering as a replacement for Canada’s CC-115 Buffalo and CC-130H Hercules search and rescue fleets. Other Canadian members of the C295 team include Pratt & Whitney Canada, CAE, L-3 Wescam, and Vector Aerospace.
Boeing and Toronto-based Field Aviation provided an update on their new maritime surveillance aircraft (MSA) demonstrator, a Bombardier Challenger 604 aircraft modified by Field in preparation for the addition of technologies developed by Boeing for its P-8A Poseidon program. The aircraft recently completed its first four-hour flight on Feb. 28, with additional airworthiness test flights scheduled over the next couple of months. After those flights, Boeing will install surveillance equipment in the demonstrator, with the baseline configuration including an Active Electronically Scanned Array multi-mode radar, an Electro/Optical/Infrared sensor, Electronic Support Measures, a Communications Intelligence sensor and Automated Identification System.
Also at CANSEC, imaging systems manufacturer L-3 Wescam of Burlington, Ont., announced new performance features for its MX series of electro-optical/infrared surveillance and targeting systems. The company reported that the improvements—available for immediate delivery—enable a “wider breadth of visual capabilities across all of our market segments.”
DRS Technologies of New Jersey showcased its automatic deployable flight recorder (ADFR), a device that breaks free from an aircraft upon impact with land or water, where it will float. Once detached, the device immediately transmits its location and the identification of the aircraft via satellite to search and rescue authorities. The ADFR is installed on numerous military aircraft in Canada and the U.S., and is built to survive powerful impacts.
Skies was out in full force at CANSEC 2014, where our team distributed hundreds of copies of MHM Publishing aviation magazines—including our special military publication, RCAF Today. We also gave away 500 copies of our popular RCAF Fleet Poster, newly redesigned for 2014.
