CASR - 'Buy the Best, Kill the Rest' - Minister John McCallum ranks DND's Pet Projects

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Canadian
American
Strategic
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'Buy the Best, Kill the Rest'
Minister John McCallum ranks DND's Pet Projects
Part 1 — Summary of DND's Major Procurement Plans and Projects

Dianne DeMille — CASR Editor

On 27 February 2003, Defence Minister John McCallum gave a speech at the Annual General Meeting of the Conference of Defence Associations (CDA) in Ottawa. He knew it would be a tough crowd. No other organization lobbies more ferociously in favour of increased military funding. And Mr. McCallum had just decided to eliminate their modest funding of $75,000 as one of his cost-cutting measures within the Department of National Defence.

When the new federal budget was announced in February 2003, the minister explained that the increase in the defence budget would be augmented by the elimination of 200 million dollars from previous allocations. The CDA grant was just one of the many low-priority budget items to be cut.

As for the new money available, there will be approximately $800 million for the next fiscal year beginning 1 April 2003. The minister has gone over the 'wish list' of the DND defence staff and has decided to fund only those projects that make sense in light of Canada's current defence policy and the kind of operations the Canadian Forces are likely to face in the foreseeable future.

It seems as though Canada, at last, has a defence minister who takes his job seriously. Mr. McCallum is a civilian who previously knew very little about the complex weapons systems that lie behind the acronyms and the 'MilTech' jargon of DND. He has struggled to come to grips with the long-term procurement plans of his defence staff and has concluded that some sifting and sorting was essential if taxpayers dollars were to be well-spent.

Existing Procurement Projects:
(Translated from the Chief of Defence Staff Annual Report 2001-2002)

Maritime Helicopter Project — acquire 28 new maritime helicopters to replace the aging Sea King fleet. The purpose of this project is to:
• Address operational deficiencies of the current helicopter fleet.
• Eliminate parts and maintenance problems with the older airframes.
• Provide a fleet large enough to support current and future operations.

Aurora Incremental Modernization Project — the Aurora long-range patrol aircraft provides essential maritime patrol and long-range surveillance for the Navy. It also supports a number of other government departments with surveillance and information-gathering. Multiple new elements are required to refurbish or replace systems, enhancing the capability of this versatile patrol aircraft.

CF-18 Incremental Modernization Project — new computers, software, radar, radios, aircraft identification system, armament, and defensive electronic-warfare systems for the remaining 80 CF-18 fighter aircraft. The CF wants to maintain this capability to conduct aerospace control and contingency air operations, as well as provide effective air support to allied forces.

Canadian Military Satellite Communications (CMSC) — the CF wants to acquire a guaranteed and secure military satellite communications capability to support the command-and-control requirements of deployed forces around the world. The CMSC project is intended to provide the full spectrum of military satellite communications (MILSATCOM) capabilities.

Four independent projects currently comprise the CMSC project:
• Protected MILSATCOM
• Ultra High Frequency MILSATCOM Terminals
• Global Broadcast Service Capability
• Advance Mobile MILSATCOM (AMS) Capability

In addition, this project will enhance the Canadian Forces' interoperability with key allies, particularly the United States.

Joint Space Capability — comprises two space-related capabilities:
• Surveillance of space — providing data on space objects of interest to Canada
• Surveillance from space — making use of allied and commercial space-based assets

A child of the Joint Space Project, its goal is to provide space-based information to all military headquarters deployed in various theatres.

Afloat Logistics and Sealift Capability (ALSC) — the two Protecteur-class replenishment ships are approaching the end of their service lives. DND wants to combine their role with a sealift capability. The plan is to acquire vessels capable of supporting multi-national naval task groups at sea, as well as providing sealift and support for CF land and air forces.

Airlift Capability — the CF wants to be able to deploy equipment and personnel rapidly, wherever they are needed. The current tactical transport aircraft, the CC-130 Hercules, lacks the range and lift capacity required for rapid deployment of forces around the world. The current strategic transport aircraft, the CC-150 Polaris, a converted airliner, lacks the ability to carry the outsized cargo. Under this project, DND will review options for enhancing the strategic airlift capabilities of the Canadian Forces.

Strategic Air-to-Air Refuelling Capability — the CF lost its strategic air-to-air refuelling capability with the retirement of the CC-137 (Boeing 707) fleet in the mid-1990s. In December 2001, the CF received Treasury Board approval to modify two existing CC-150 Polaris aircraft into the air-to-air tanker configuration. Delivery of the modified aircraft is expected in 2004.

Command-and-Control and Air-Defence Capability Replacement (CADRE) — CADRE is designed to replace the command-and-control and task group area air-defence capability currently provided by Canada's aging Iroquois-class destroyers. DND is in a very preliminary stage of examining CADRE options.

Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) — the ability to acquire and integrate information from a wide variety of sources will provide an enhanced capability for command and control of the CF wherever they are deployed, whether for warfighting, peacekeeping or defending the continent.

Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) — Land Force commanders need the timely, accurate operational intelligence to employ forces effectively and to minimize the risk to troops. ISTAR will enable the processing of inputs from a wide variety of existing and planned national and international battlefield sensors.

Commanders will have access to analyzed intelligence, geomatics [analysis of geographical imagery], and weather products [forecasting, etc.] that permit timely, knowledge-based decisions. ISTAR will operate in training and deployed domains to provide continuous support through warning, preparation, deployment, and redeployment stages of operations.

Hardware and software will be integrated with CF Command System (CFCS). ISTAR will provide information to the Command and Control Information System, constantly feeding up-to-date information to key decision-makers — from the operational to the strategic level.

After reviewing these projects, Mr. McCallum made a decision about which of these major systems would be purchased. In addition, he selected certain equipment replacement programs that he believed to be warranted by the demands of the modern battlefield. The minister explained his reasoning in his 27 February 2003 speech in Ottawa.

Part 2 — Excerpts of Speech by Defence Minister John McCallum