Unmanned aircrafts coming to Greenwood
MP says eight of 11 RPAS planes to be stationed in Annapolis Valley
14 Wing Greenwood will see infrastructure upgrades and the arrival of new personnel with the federal government’s investment in remotely piloted aircraft technology.
At a news conference at 14 Wing on Dec. 19, Kings-Hants MP Kody Blois announced the federal government will invest $2.49 billion to acquire a Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS), including 11 new MQ-9B remotely piloted aircraft.
The acquisition will be completed through a direct commercial sale contract with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., with some specific components acquired through a foreign military sale with the United States government.
Blois said the RPAS will provide the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) with a large and sophisticated remotely piloted aircraft, roughly the size of a fighter jet, but with a wider wingspan.
Col. Jeff Davis, 14 Wing Greenwood's commander, said the new RPAS aircraft would follow the same operational and technical airworthiness certification as crewed aircraft.
“It is a fully certified aircraft that will just be operated from another location,” Davis said.
The aircraft will be piloted from Ottawa. With RPAS technology, he said the RCAF would be able to update the sensor package as required.
Blois said the technology would allow members to meet operational requirements that may exist on any given day without putting men and women in uniform in harm’s way if the aircraft is impacted.
He said he doesn’t know if residents will ever see a world totally without pilots being physically inside of aircraft, but RPAS is very important in terms of advancement and making sure the CAF has the best tools available.
PROTECTING CANADIAN SOVEREIGNTY
Blois said Canada has an important role in protecting its own sovereignty and working with allies to promote global peace and security. It’s important to ensure that Canada has the tools and capacity to deliver on that commitment.
“The world has changed, fundamentally,” Blois said. “We have a war in eastern Europe, we have a conflict in the Middle East, and there is rising geopolitical tension around the world.”
Blois said that, once fully operational, the RPAS will deliver considerably enhanced intelligence gathering, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities, and provide operators with an air-to-ground strike capability.
The aircraft will also give the Royal Canadian Airforce the ability to carry out missions over longer distances, using a variety of sensors to detect, recognize, track, and engage targets in complex environments.
Missions could include monitoring forest fire hotspots or Maritime approaches. The RPAS could also be deployed internationally to support Canadian forces and allies in combat.
He said the fleet would enhance arctic security and contribute to meeting Canada’s NORAD and NATO obligations. The first aircraft is scheduled to arrive in 2028, with the full fleet expected to be operational by 2033. Of the 11 aircraft, eight will be stationed in Greenwood and three at 19 Wing Comox in British Columbia.
While Blois made the announcement at 14 Wing Greenwood, Marie-France Lalonde, parliamentary secretary for National Defence Minister Bill Blair, announced the new aircraft in Comox.
NEW INFRASTRUCTURE, PERSONNEL
Blois said the investment
would be a significant driver for job creation, innovation, and growth. There will be major infrastructure upgrades at 14 Wing Greenwood, including 16,000 square metres of new runway, a hangar apron area, security fencing, and more.
The acquisition will mean that more than 50 new CAF and DND members will be stationed at Greenwood as the fleet is scaled up.
Between the recently announced new Boeing P-8A Poseidon aircraft (which will also be based at Greenwood and Comox and replace the Aurora class) and the RPAS aircraft, Blois said there would be “hundreds of millions of dollars” in infrastructure upgrades for 14 Wing. It also means important partnerships with local suppliers, including Nova Scotia’s IMP Aerospace and Defence.