TABLE OF CONTENTS

FRONTLINE DEFENCE 2020: ISSUE 1

Efforts to combat the effects of COVID-19 may compel deep cuts to DND/CAF – creating an opportunity to re-align security policy across government. A clearer distinction between 'compulsory' and 'discretionary' missions will help ensure the military's relevance for the most important challenges facing Canadians.

Accurate plotting of a potential enemy's next moves has seen militaries worldwide rely increasingly on sophisticated technologies for strategic advantage, and that's where NATO's Airborne Early Warning Control force comes in.

FrontLine has gathered the key industry leaders in the defence and national security sectors. These are the project primes and specialized subcontractors that provide Top Quality solutions for these critical sectors.

10 May update: Partial remains of second crew member, Captain Brenden Ian MacDonald, have been identified after CH-148 Cyclone accident. A repatriation ceremony for all six Canadian Armed Forces members killed at sea in a helicopter crash, took place on 6 May 2020. Read original story and updates here.​

Despite the pandemic, many European NATO members are considering raising their combat potential as one way to stimulate economies that were negatively affected by efforts to control and mitigate the effects of COVID-19.

As COVID continues to force the federal government to implement measures that will inject liquidity into the economy, now is the time to reflect on annual defence budgets and the impact on capabilities from long-term funding shifts.

In naval warfare, one of the best tools for area denial is the anti-ship missile system. Iran is developing sophisticated anti-ship missile systems to counter any offensive advantage posed by its adversaries.

COVID-19 is both a threat-event and a national security concern, able to expose vulnerabilities of a nation and set the stage for grey-zone tactics by adversaries.

Personnel changes in your defence community include: Raytheon, DRS, ADGA, MDA, DND, Canadian Embassy in Washington, Cdn Forces College, and Climatopolis.

As 2020 rolled in, few could have guessed that members of the Canadian Armed Forces would soon be helping elderly Canadians battle an invisible enemy: the novel coronavirus that had emerged in China's Wuhan province in late 2019.

The Royal Australian Navy plays a big part in Australia’s extensive transformation process. The new procurement approach has been labelled a “continuous shipbuilding process,” and has the potential to impact defence procurement processes of its allies.

General Jonathan Vance, Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), announced, in March 2020, the list of Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) appointments, promo­tions, and retirements for 2020, and then announced his own retirement in July.

Accurate plotting of a potential enemy's next moves has seen militaries worldwide rely increasingly on sophisticated technologies for strategic advantage, and that's where NATO's Airborne Early Warning Control force comes in.

An unsettling revelation that Information Ops on the Canadian public had been underway for some time before the CDS got wind of it called an immediate halt. Considering that neither the CDS nor the Minister were aware of this initiative, one has to wonder what level of oversight exists for those operators?

Since May 25th, thousands of people of all ethnicities have taken to the streets in multiple cities around the world, as a groundswell movement for real and equal justice for all people began to take hold. Will 2020 finally be the year in which listening turns to hearing, and then to action? Change has indeed begun. Hopefully our leaders will embrace and assist this grassroots progress, but if not, to borrow from General Mattis, we can still do it together. What will you do?