VICTORIA, British Columbia \u2014 Canada’s special operations forces are focusing on acquiring ISR aircraft and new vehicles as it develops its future equipment needs, according to its commander.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both projects are in their early phases but are already attracting interest from international and domestic companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The purchase of a small fleet of ISR intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance<\/span> aircraft would improve special operations forces <\/span>capability to track and target insurgents on the ground. Four aircraft will be bought and outfitted with signals intelligence intercept <\/span>capability and sensors to target ground movement on the ground<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I would say that the manned airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platform is very, very significant to me,” said explained <\/span>Brig.-Gen. Mike Rouleau, commander of the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM). “It’s a co-sponsored project between us and the Air Force, but that for me represents a real generational capability leap from an operational perspective.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The planes would be flown by the Royal Canadian Air Force but special operations forces personnel <\/span>would be in the rear of the aircraft to operate the specialized equipment, Rouleau said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said the ISR aircraft would be connected to a new special operations forces<\/span> command-and-control system to allow forces on the ground to receive data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No specific timelines have been set for the acquisition, but there have has <\/span>been discussions about purchasing the planes through US foreign military sales from the U.S. through a Foreign Military Sale <\/span>and having companies provide the specialized on board equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Boeing had been promoting its Reconfigurable Airborne Multi-Intelligence System (RAMIS) to the Canadian Forces for the project. RAMIS can provide an array of payloads, including a ground moving target indicator (GMTI) <\/span>as well as communications intercept capabilities, said Mike Ferguson, the Boeing official in charge of business development for RAMIS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has plug-and-play software and sensors can be quickly added or removed. “You can fly one sortie in the morning and fly another module in the afternoon,” Ferguson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said Boeing remains flexible in responding to the Canadian special operations forces <\/span>acquisition. “If it’s modifying existing aircraft, we’re ready to do that and we have programs do that,” Ferguson said. “Or if it is buying new aircraft from the United States through [a foreign military sales] an FMS <\/span>case, we’re ready to support them on that.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ferguson noted that RAMIS can be installed on any air platform, but the most common pairing would be with a Beechcraft King Air 350.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Boeing brought the RAMIS production prototype aircraft to Ottawa in August 2014 <\/span>for a demonstration for Royal Canadian Air Force officers, including Chief of the Air Staff Lt.-Gen. Yvan Blondin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At this point, industry officials have not been provided with details on when the project would proceed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mike Greenley, vice president for CAE Canada Military, said if CANSOFCOM does acquire the aircraft as a direct purchase from the US government, there could be additional work for Canadian firms. That could involve provision of specific sensors or long-term maintenance and support of the planes. “We would have the capability to support an ISR platform in Canada,” Greenley noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n L-3, which was involved in modifying King Air 350s for the US Air Force as part of the Project Liberty Aircraft program, has also expressed interest in the Canadian program. A company official said it is unclear at this point on how Canadian special operations forces will proceed with the acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rouleau did not get into specific details about the aircraft purchase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Humvee Replacement<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition, Rouleau noted that his command is also looking to acquire a new vehicle to replace its existing <\/span>fleet of Humvees. High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n It has dubbed the replacement as the Next Generation Fighting Vehicle or NGFV. NGFV will be a multi-role vehicle comprising of <\/span>different variants that can be outfitted for various special operations forces <\/span>missions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n CANSOFCOM has just finished upgrading its Humvees, HMMWVs <\/span>which will extend their life until 2024, Rouleau said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “We’re looking at various options,” for the NGFV, Rouleau explained. “That project is scheduled to start delivering in 2023, 2024 when the Humvee fleet fades out.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The examination of vehicle options will proceed this year. A request for proposals will be released to industry in 2017 and a contract awarded in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The preliminary budget estimates for the project range between CAN $115 million (US $106 million) to (CAN) <\/span>$249 million, but a more accurate figure will be determined when CANSOFCOM better understands what it is looking for in a new vehicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n CANSOFCOM spokesman Maj. Steve Hawken said the command has not yet determined exact quantities of NGFVs that it needs at this point<\/span>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The command believes that <\/span>there are off-the-shelf products that could satisfy its current <\/span>requirements and have been talking to allied special operations forces about what vehicles they use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n General Dynamics has already noted that it is interested in the Canadian acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ken Yamashita, General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada’s manager of corporate affairs, said the company is continuing to maintain contact with CANSOFCOM to keep abreast of developments in the project. “We are considering a number of General Dynamics products, including the Ocelot, for this program,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Ocelot, which the British military calls the Foxhound, has a modular design, allowing for quick modifications of its cabin for specific missions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Email: dpugliese@defensenews.com.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Canada’s special operations forces are focusing on acquiring ISR aircraft and new vehicles as it develops its future equipment needs, according to its commander.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":115403,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":33,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[33,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3445],"class_list":["post-57581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home","category-pentagon"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"V2SEELGODJFAZFX7WUQPZE7EOE","arc_canonical_url":"\/home\/2015\/01\/17\/canada-crafts-spec-ops-equipment-needs\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n