Military & Defence Industry News
Who’s Where?
On 1 January 2018, Mike Greenley, the former Sector President of L-3 WESCAM was selected as Group President of MDA.
MDA is a Maxar Technologies company with internationally recognized leadership in space robotics, satellite antennas and subsystems, surveillance and intelligence solutions, and defense and maritime systems.
Garry Venman has been appointed as president of Raytheon International Inc., in Canada. Former combat pilot and then Executive VP of business development and government relations for Top Aces, Garry is now responsible for overall country performance and business development to support Raytheon’s global growth. Garry has a proven record of long-term relationships with customers and industry.
UK gifts “Franklin Wrecks” to Canada
26 April 2018 – UK Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson announced that the UK has officially gifted the historic Franklin Wrecks to Canada with the ceremonial signing of a Deed of Gift. Her Majesty’s Ships Erebus and Terror were discovered in the northern waters of Nunavut in 2014 and 2016. Local residents played a key role in the discovery of these two archaeologically important shipwrecks, and the Inuit of Nunavut will also become joint owners of the wrecks and artifacts. During the transfer ceremony, Torsten Diesel, from the Inuit Heritage Trust, spoke of the importance of this to the Inuit.
8th FREMM frigate floated out
1 February 2018 – Crowds inside the Naval Group assembly hall at Lorient, and outside on the nearby bridge and along the shoreline, excitedly awaited high tide to witness FREMM multi-mission frigate Normandie being floated out – just 12 months after the start of hull assembly in the building dock on the Lorient site. The first FREMM, Aquitaine, was delivered in 2012, and the completion of this new milestone represents an important step, ensuring compliance with a very tight schedule to deliver six FREMMs to the French Navy before the end of 2019 in spite of adding two international orders to the schedule (one was delivered to Morocco in 2014 and another to Egypt in 2015).
LM Canada and JEDI congratulate PLATO
In March, eight entrepreneurs, representing six Indigenous-led small businesses from New Brunswick, participated in a Joint Economic Development Initiative (JEDI) competition, held at the Lockheed Martin Canada facility in Ottawa.
Left to right: Lynn Poole-Hughes, CEO of JEDI; Chelsea Griffith and Jenilee Paul with PLATO Testing; Gary Fudge, Acting VP and General Manager of Lockheed Martin Canada RMS.
The winner, PLATO Testing, develops and leverages a network of approximately 70 Indigenous software testers across Canada. The company provides outsourced testing solutions to clients throughout North America, with a focus on projects that would have previously been sent offshore. Established by industry veteran and PQA Testing founder, Keith McIntosh, PLATO Testing addresses the technology talent shortage in Canada and brings meaningful training and employment to Indigenous people. For more info on the competition, visit:
http://defence.frontline.online/press_releases/9518-PLATO-Testing
CAMM completes qualification trials
MBDA’s Common Anti-air Modular Missile (CAMM) completed qualification launch from Lockheed Martin’s Extensible Launching System 3-Cell Stand Alone Launcher following a series of trials by the Royal Navy at the end of 2017. Considered the most modern air defence missile of its class on the market, MBDA’s CAMM is a highly compact missile that enables multiple weapons to be fitted in limited spaces. In India, L&T MBDA Missile Systems Limited is offering its guided weapon systems technology for the Indian Armed Forces under the ‘Make in India’ initiative with a clear objective of indigenously developing, manufacturing and supplying highly advanced missiles and missile systems.
In Memoriam
Friends of the venerable and jovial Vic Johnson were saddened to hear that he passed away suddenly (1 March 2018) of a health issue. Vic was very proud of his 53 years of unbroken service to the RCAF; he retired from the RCAF at the rank of MWO and went on to Air Force magazine as its editor-in-chief and then staff photographer (1991-2012). RIP my friend.
