Latest news with #Topshee
Vancouver Sun
2 days ago
- Business
- Vancouver Sun
Lack of working Cyclones frustrates Canada's top sailor: 'The helicopter has been letting us down'
Canada's top sailor is so fed up with the dearth of Cyclone helicopters available to fly off this country's warships, he'll replace them with drones if he must. The fleet of 26 CH-148 helicopters was grounded for most of last month due to spare parts problems. And, as of Thursday, only three of the choppers were available to fly off the country's warships as the problems persist. 'Am I satisfied? No, not at all,' Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee said in Halifax on Thursday. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Naval officers often say maritime helicopters are the eyes and ears of a warship. 'This is why we're going all-in on drones right now,' Topshee said. 'The Royal Canadian Navy is working to get into contract for an uncrewed aerial vehicle that we can operate. It was meant to supplement the helicopter, but the reality is, if the helicopter can't be more reliable, then we are going to have to rely even more on other systems.' As a stopgap, the navy is employing Hammerhead target drones — remote-control speedboats it normally uses to mimic small boat attacks — to launch sonobuoys ahead of a fleet so ships can detect submarines. 'One of the things a helicopter can do for us is it can drop sonobuoys to help detect submarines. Now we've got the ability to do that in other ways,' Topshee said. 'Whenever we've been forced to innovate, we will innovate. We will find a way to get the job done. So, the helicopter has been letting us down, but we will find a way to achieve the effect.' The navy is hoping to have purpose-built aerial drones in operation by next summer, he said, noting the project went out to tender. 'We're in the process of awarding it.' Topshee — who was in Halifax to celebrate the start of Fleet Week, where the public can tour warships and meet the folks who crew them — doesn't want to rely on unmanned drones over helicopters. 'A helicopter is a far better platform,' he said. 'A helicopter can do everything. So, what we're going to need to do is take all of the things that we need a helicopter to be able to do and do them individually' in other ways. To that end, the navy's experimenting with large drones that can transport equipment between ships, Topshee said. 'That's not a task that we need a well-armed (anti-submarine warfare) helicopter to do,' he said. 'If it can be done by a drone very simply without people involved in the process of actually flying it back and forth, that's ideal for us.' Topshee is adamant he's not replacing the Cyclones. 'We're not,' he said. 'We want the Cyclone helicopter to be an effective part of the force.' The admiral points out that, even when the helicopters are in top shape, they can only operate for 12 hours a day. 'Even if it's perfectly operational, there's 12 hours where you don't have it available,' Topshee said. 'Which means we need to be experimenting and ready to operate all of the time.' Canada has 26 of the ship-borne maritime helicopters, with a final one slated for delivery this year. The $5.8-billion fleet is normally used to provide air support for the navy. Their missions include surface and subsurface surveillance, search and rescue, and anti-submarine warfare. The Cyclones didn't fly at all for 27 days in May as the military struggled with spare parts problems with certain components. The Department of National Defence indicated last month that it was working with the military and Sikorsky, which manufactured the helicopters, 'to identify potential parts of concern. This includes components of the Cyclone's landing gear, tail rotor driveshaft flange and auxiliary power unit, as well as engine parts.' The problems persist, according to Topshee. 'It's a parts issue that's keeping them grounded.' Another 'messy problem' plaguing the helicopters, he said, is replacing the Cyclones' ageing datalinks — used to communicate digital information such as radar images to other aircraft, warships and shore bases. 'It is a technology from the 1980s,' Topshee said. The admiral places the blame for old tech aboard relatively new helicopters, ordered in November 2004, squarely on former prime minister Jean Chretien's 1993 decision to cancel the contract to buy AgustaWestland's EH-101 maritime helicopters to replace Canada's geriatric fleet of Sea Kings, which went out of service in 2018 after flying off navy ships for more than half a century. 'One of the accusations at the time, as we were coming out of the Cold War, was that we had gold-plated the requirement,' Topshee said. 'That we were asking for far more than we needed out of a maritime helicopter. The interesting thing is if you were to go back to our initial requirement, it is almost exactly the helicopter we need today because … we're in a period of great power competition. We need a war-fighting helicopter.' The military 'listened to the complaints,' and watered down the requirements as much as it could, he said. 'We specified exactly the systems that we wanted as opposed to saying we need the helicopter to have modern link, modern communications and up-to-date combat systems. We said we needed to have this Link 11 system, which was the state-of-the-art at the time we set that requirement.' The datalink is 'critical' for the Cyclones, he said. 'It's what tells the rest of the force where the helicopter is. It tells the rest of the force everything the helicopter is seeing. So, when it finds a submarine, it uses that link to communicate the position of the submarine to the rest of the force so that we can either target that submarine or avoid the submarine. It also tells us that that's our friendly helicopter right there so we don't accidentally shoot it down.' Canada is negotiating with Sikorsky to get the datalinks updated, Topshee said. 'The timeline is unacceptably long. We're in negotiations with the company for them to try and deliver it as quickly as possible but right now it's not quick enough.' Sikorsky is saying it will take 'more than two' years to upgrade datalinks aboard all of the Cyclones, according to Topshee, who wants the choppers upgraded from datalink 11 to datalink 16 and datalink 22. The Cyclones 'can still use the old link … but it doesn't provide all the functionality that we need,' he said. 'A lot of countries are stopping using it.' The old datalinks could put Cyclone crews in jeopardy. 'Without the most modern link system, we don't know exactly where the helicopter is all the time because that system does not provide the same level of positional fidelity that we would expect,' Topshee said. 'The helicopter knows where it is. We just don't know whether it's friendly or not all of the time. Can that put them in danger? Yes. In an operational environment where we're starting to shoot, that could be a problem.' Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
Edmonton Journal
2 days ago
- Edmonton Journal
Lack of working Cyclones frustrates Canada's top sailor: 'The helicopter has been letting us down'
Article content Canada is negotiating with Sikorsky to get the datalinks updated, Topshee said. 'The timeline is unacceptably long. We're in negotiations with the company for them to try and deliver it as quickly as possible but right now it's not quick enough.' Sikorsky is saying it will take 'more than two' years to upgrade datalinks aboard all of the Cyclones, according to Topshee, who wants the choppers upgraded from datalink 11 to datalink 16 and datalink 22. The Cyclones 'can still use the old link … but it doesn't provide all the functionality that we need,' he said. 'A lot of countries are stopping using it.' The old datalinks could put Cyclone crews in jeopardy. 'Without the most modern link system, we don't know exactly where the helicopter is all the time because that system does not provide the same level of positional fidelity that we would expect,' Topshee said. 'The helicopter knows where it is. We just don't know whether it's friendly or not all of the time. Can that put them in danger? Yes. In an operational environment where we're starting to shoot, that could be a problem.'
CBC
15-03-2025
- Science
- CBC
Antarctic security a concern for Canada, says top naval commander
Mapping Antarctica's ocean floor to reveal climate secrets 6 hours ago Duration 2:29 Social Sharing According to an international treaty, military vessels aren't allowed in Antarctica without a scientific objective. That's what the HMCS Margaret Brooke is currently doing in the southern polar region, supporting 15 Canadian climate scientists in their research. Partway through its Antarctic expedition, the Margaret Brooke was joined by the navy's top commander, Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee. In an exclusive interview aboard the ship, Topshee spoke to the CBC's Susan Ormiston about why the Royal Canadian Navy would invest in this kind of mission, and why a scientific research expedition can serve to strengthen Canada's polar security. Q: What initiated this mission all the way to Antarctica? A: As I looked at what we were doing in the North, and in particular, what we were seeing our adversaries doing in the North, we realized that … we can see climate change in the North, we can see what China and Russia have been doing in and around the Canadian North, [and thinking] I wonder what's going on in the South Pole, and [can we] get the perspective and experience of the South American navies that are down here all the time. And so the genesis of this was, let's go get some hands-on experience. Let's have this deployment serve as a forcing function for us to get closer to the navies of South America that work in this polar region. Let's do some science, and see if we can figure out things that can help us better protect and defend our own North. Q: Do you think there's a security concern here in Antarctica, as there is in the Arctic? A: I definitely do. I am concerned that the whole agreement that we would not [militarize and mine Antarctica] … would, could change. And I don't think that's in our interest to allow that to change easily. Q: You said it was your goal to find out what China's doing. So what have you found out? A: So, I did not realize that the Russians had a base down here that was right beside the Chileans, and where exactly it was. And so, just by the simple fact of coming down here and appreciating how close all of these different operations are. And in the research in advance of coming down here, we realized that China is increasing their Antarctic footprint, and for us, what we really want to do is understand: is it the same type of scientific research that they're doing down here that we've seen them doing [in the North]? A lot of their research is dual-purpose, it obviously serves a military purpose as well as an economic and potentially a diplomatic purpose. So it's interesting to get a better sense of that. Q: How does knowing what China or Russia are doing in Antarctica affect Canadians? A: It's always easy, from a military point of view, to understand the capabilities of another nation in terms of the military. We can look at how many tanks they have, how many ships do they have, how many aircraft do they have. What's always harder to discern is intent. Countries will always say positive things … in fact, I've seen speeches by the Chinese defence minister that could have been given by our minister, because the language is the same. But the interpretation and meaning of the words can often be different. And so coming down here, seeing what they're doing, gives us a better understanding of their intent. WATCH | What Canada's Navy is doing in Antarctica: Canadian navy looks to South Pole for lessons about the North 2 days ago Duration 2:03 Q: What do you think their intent is? A: I don't know. I think Russia's made their intent pretty clear. So we've seen an increase in Russian capability in the Arctic. We've seen their illegal and unprovoked invasion in Ukraine. There's no doubt in my mind about Russia's intent. But I think China is something where there's some concerning indicators with how they've treated some of our aircraft when we've operated, some of the responses to our operations in the South China Sea. But on another level, I don't know that they're operating that differently from how we would operate if a Chinese task group came into Canadian waters. We would still go out with our ships and our aircraft to monitor what they were doing, just as they monitor what we do in their waters. Q: How would you compare the security and sovereignty concerns in the Arctic and Antarctica? A: The biggest difference is the Antarctic Treaty. So there's a whole idea that the countries of the world will co-operate and that there's no advantage to be gained by any country. Whereas the Arctic, really all of the areas are delineated already, [although] there's still some work to be done with some specific claims ... But I think the biggest difference is the fact that there is a competition already in the Arctic, we know that the resources in the Arctic can be challenged. And so what we need to do as Canada is continue to do what we've done, which is build the capacity to make sure we can understand everything that's happening in our Arctic and respond to make sure that our interests are protected. Q: You've talked about an understaffed Navy. You've talked about old ships with long lives and the lack of modern ships. How do you defend an expenditure like this, to come thousands of kilometres down south from Canada and explore this part of the world? A: Yeah, it's quite simple … we have seen the greatest increase in human prosperity since the Second World War because of peace that's been maintained at sea. Freedom of shipping around the world, and a desire to not have any choke points be stopped by different things. Whether it's piracy off the coast of Somalia, the actions of the Houthis in the Red Sea, and things like that. South American navies are a part of that solution as well. And so this ship, Margaret Brooke, is visiting just about every South American country on their way around, working with all of the key navies of the region to build partnerships and relationships. ... We have an interest in this region because if things are safe and secure here, it is to the benefit of everyone. And so I think this is a relatively small investment in the shared burden of continuing to make sure that the seas are free and open for all. Q: What about this collaboration with scientists? They're all down there on the quarterdeck, working away, hoping that they get another chance to do something like this, with a vessel like this and the support they've had. Will this kind of co-pro continue? A: I think this is the type of thing that would be worth doing every three to five years or so, to come down. You know, visit South America, visit Antarctica, to continue research. But honestly, we need to make sure that the … governments and organizations that these scientists come from … found value in this. And if Canada continues to think it's a worthwhile thing to do, then yeah, we should definitely do it again. … My feeling right now from having talked to the scientists and seeing the crew on board, and the knowledge that we've gained, I think it is worthwhile. WATCH | No one owns Antarctica. Could that change? No one owns Antarctica, but that agreement is showing cracks 7 days ago Duration 7:52 Antarctica has been governed by a treaty of nations since 1959, but with rising geopolitical tensions and a shifting world order, that governance system is under pressure. From aboard an unprecedented Canadian mission to the frozen continent, CBC's Susan Ormiston explains what's at stake and how countries are angling for more control. Q: I heard you talk about "this is a global navy." Some people wonder, how can we be a global navy? We're too small. China's making ships, they're the largest navy, ship-wise, in the world now. A: Well, I'd love to have shipyards like China has. In fact … [South] Korea's yards would be fantastic. So we're building the fleet that we need right now, with the commitment from the government — the 15 river-class destroyers, the potential acquisition of 12 … submarines. We've got six ships in this class, we've got two tankers coming as well. So we are building the fleet that we require. ... So yeah, we might be a small navy, but we really have got global reach. In fact, HMCS Montreal last year did a round-the-world circumnavigation as part of its Indo-Pacific deployment. A: My preference is that we avoid election promises around defence, because those tend to be negative promises. But no, I think no matter what government is elected, there's a pretty clear commitment by Canada that we need to spend more on defence and security, because the world is a dangerous place, and the oceans around Canada only protect [us] with a powerful navy.
