|
|
 |
|
Viewing report
|
|
|
|
Canada Defence and Security Report Q4 2010
Business Monitor International, Oct 2010, Pages: 77
Business Monitor International's Canada Defence and Security Report provides industry professionals and strategists, corporate analysts, defence and security associations, government departments and regulatory bodies with independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on Canada's defence and security industry.
The security of any F-35 deal between the Canadian government and Lockheed Martin is looking increasingly precarious as the Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff has opposed the 'single-source' deal which is currently government policy. Under the current plan, the government only intends to purchase 65 F-35 fighters from Lockheed Martin. The F-35 project has, however, been plagued by rising costs and various delays which seem set to ensure that unit prices will far exceed original expectations. The Liberals have urged the government to open up a competitive process for Canada's new fighter.
Despite the Canadian government's participation in the F-35 project since the very beginning, the contracts signed allow the Canadian government to withdraw without penalty at any point in time prior to 2013. The Liberals have suggested examining the viability of allowing an Airbus bid or other competitive offers. Should this become the policy of a new Liberal government, the aerospace environment in Canada could develop in a drastically different manner and aerospace executives have already voiced their concerns that threatening to withdraw from the F-35 programme could cost thousands of potential jobs.
Canadian firms have been lobbying the Canadian government for access to the F-35 programme. The planned procurement of the F-35 will be the most expensive military procurement in Canadian history, with the total bill starting at CAD9bn. Canadian companies have been disappointed, however, at the level of access they have had to the programme. The Canadian government's involvement since the very beginning of the project was defended on the basis of securing contracts for Canadian defence firms – contracts which have not been forthcoming.
Canadian defence firms have long faced immense difficulty in complying with the US Defence Department rules on defence trade, the International Trade in Arms Regulations (ITARS). Canadian companies in particular find these rules burdensome due to the multicultural nature of Canadian society.
ITARS rules prohibit the involvement of nationals or natives of 25 different countries, including Iran, China and Vietnam, in defence projects connected to the US military. Canadian companies have cause for hope, though, as the US military has announced that it intends to rewrite these rules to remove these requirements and instead place a more general burden on companies to verify the reliability of their employees. US officials have admitted that the current regulations do not make the US safer and come at the cost of annoying allied governments.
Product samples
A sample for this product is available. Please Login/Register to download this sample.
|
|
|
|
