Airbus Helicopters delivers the fifth EC145 to Peru’s National Police  

Lima, November 13, 2014 – Peru’s Ministry of the Interior has now added the final EC145 helicopter to the modernized fleet of the National Police of Peru (PNP).  The formal handover at the Police Aviation Unit facilities in El Callao was attended by both Peruvian and French officials, including Peru’s interior minister Daniel Urresti and Daniel Leimbacher, chief of the Central Air Command of the French Gendarmerie, along with representatives of Airbus Helicopters.  

Five EC145s have been delivered in less than one year since the PNP first selected Airbus Helicopters as its partner to renew its helicopter fleet. The first four aircraft have already accumulated more than 800 flying hours in that time, performing a wide range of missions that demonstrate the EC145’s versatility and operational efficiency throughout Peru’s territory. In addition to surveillance operations and support for parapublic missions, the EC145 has proven itself to be a reliable and effective ally in the PNP’s fight against illegal mining in the Madre de Dios region on the border with Bolivia and Brazil. The helicopters have also successfully completed more than 20 sea rescue and MEDEVAC missions in Lima and Callao.    

The deal for these new EC145s includes a technology transfer program that has already provided training for more than 14 pilots and 20 technicians of the PNP. In addition, the PNP and the French Gendarmerie – both operators of the EC145 – have been engaged in an operational exchange program to provide in-depth training on the tactical uses of these next-generation aircraft. This exchange is part of the cooperation agreement signed between the French and Peruvian interior ministries in the field of security and defense in October 2013. Just a few weeks ago, the PNP participated in high-mountain rescue exercises in the French Alps as part of this program.  

The EC145 is the helicopter of choice in the light twin-engine category and is renowned worldwide for police and public service missions. With more than 500 units delivered to date, this helicopter serves in the police fleets of 26 countries – including France, where the Gendarmerie Nationale operates more than 15 units. The EC145 has also been a major success in the Americas, starting with the United States, where the government purchased 345 units to replace the Army’s UH-1Hs. In Latin America, the EC145 performs police and public service missions in a number of countries including Argentina, Bolivia and Brazil.  

Powerful and versatile, the Airbus Helicopters EC145 is perfectly suited to the operating conditions in Peru, ensuring the success of missions in extreme conditions whether at sea level, in the jungle or up on the demanding Andean Plateau. With a payload capacity of more than 1.7 tons and a range of 370 nautical miles, the PNP’s new EC145s can transport up to 10 passengers. They are also equipped with PA systems, a siren and multi-frequency radios for hub-and-spoke communications. One of the helicopters features a state-of-the-art infrared camera. This new high- definition camera, the only one in the country, will transmit live images to the command center or ground units, which will optimize surveillance and civil security missions.  

By Ken Pole

20 June 2014 – Under the terms of a new contract arrangement with Sikorsky, the Royal Canadian Air Force now expects deliveries of Block 1 of its 28 new CH-148 Cyclone shipborne helicopters to begin next June. Block 2 deliveries would begin in 2018 and the fleet would be considered “fully capable” by 2021.

Four “interim” Cyclones – which “lack a functioning mission system” and remain the company’s property even as the RCAF continues to use them for evaluation and training purposes at Shearwater, NS – are to be returned to Sikorsky for retrofitment during the Block 1 delivery period and would be returned to Canada as part of Block 2.

However, after negotiations involving the RCAF, the government has agreed to “a small number” of modifications, probably in a bid to keep the capital acquisition cost at $1.9-billion. It also has extended by 10 years, to 2028, the $5.7-billion in-service support contract.

When the government and Sikorsky announced the changes, they said that Sikorsky’s first export sale of the H-92 Superhawk variant would be “operationally relevant” for the RCAF. A Sikorsky spokesman later explained that this means the replacements for the now 50-year-old Sikorsky CH-124 Sea Kings would be “capable of conducting the training and missions required of them.”

Block 1 will initially be limited mainly to search and rescue (SAR) and utility transport, but the Sikorsky spokesman said that in early 2016, “as enhancements are completed, the aircraft will be suitable for limited anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare missions such as those requiring the use of weapons in a threat environment.

”The “small number” of modified capabilities or requirements agreed to by the RCAF, likely due to cost-containment, include deletion of automatic life-raft deployment and acceptance of military-standard main gearbox run-dry capability. DND explained that the Cyclone gearbox run-dry tolerance will be “in line with all other RCAF aircraft.” It also said that Sikorsky has designed it “to ensure that the possibility of a total loss of lubrication is very remote” and that “extensive testing proper operating procedures will be established to satisfy the required airworthiness regulations, including the civil run dry requirement, to ensure the safety of the crew and aircraft.”

Other modifications include the deletion of some “crew comfort” provisions, as well as the loss of autonomous self-start at low temperatures – the aircraft’s operating range is -51 to +49°C – DND said that “in its final configuration, the Cyclone will be at the forefront of modern technology and one of the most capable maritime helicopters.”

©FrontLine Security 2014

Canada and International Partners Net Major Capture in Fight Against Illegal Fishing

Operation High Seas Driftnet participates in international apprehension of Chinese vessel

June 4, 2014 - Comox, British Columbia

Members of the Canadian Armed Forces and Fisheries and Oceans protection officers concluded a successful two-week sweep over the North Pacific Ocean as part of Operation Driftnet, which resulted in the seizure of a vessel alleged to have violated international fisheries regulations.

The Chinese-registered vessel is alleged to have been using an illegal driftnet. Between 900 to1200 lbs of salmon, which is a banned fishery in that area, was also found on board. The vessel is suspected of committing serious international and domestic fisheries violations.

The apprehension was the result of a successful, combined international effort, including the Canadian-led 2014 Operation High Seas Driftnet, which monitors the North Pacific Ocean for evidence of high seas driftnets and other illegal fishing activity using ongoing aerial and at-sea patrols, as well as sophisticated satellite imaging technology including Canada’s Radarsat-2.

The vessel was seized by Chinese authorities, who were part of the effort to capture the vessel, and a full investigation will be conducted when the vessel arrives in China to determine specific charges.

The mission greatly benefits from close strategic partnerships between Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Department of National Defence/Canadian Armed Forces, the United States Coast Guard and the Government of Japan. This year’s operation included support from Representatives of China’s Fisheries Law Enforcement Command. The participation by Chinese fisheries enforcement personnel in this situation speaks to the firm commitment that all North Pacific fishing nations have to address Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing on the high seas. Canada would like to express its appreciation to Chinese authorities for that quick action.

Canada continues to play a leadership role in supporting sustainable global fisheries, including working to eradicate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activity in the North Pacific Ocean.

Quick Facts

The United Nations banned the use of driftnets in 1992 because of the serious harm they were doing to our oceans and the species they capture.

Canada’s 2014 patrol was coordinated by Canadian protection officers from British Columbia stationed in Hakodate, Japan, with support from the United States Coast Guard out of Juneau, Alaska, and in collaboration with specialists from Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Canadian Armed Forces through Canadian Joint Operations Command and its supporting elements. These included the use of one Royal Canadian Air Force CP-140 Aurora long-range surveillance aircraft from 407 Squadron at 19 Wing Comox.

Quotes

“The Government of Canada is pleased to see that this sort of illicit activity is being detected with the help of strategic and highly effective international cooperation. The damage that illegal fishing inflicts both on the environment and the economy is considerable and Canada remains steadfast in its resolve to suppress it in all of its forms.” – The Honourable Gail Shea, Minister of Fisheries Oceans Canada.

“I would like to commend the CP-140 crew for their hard work and dedication on Operation High Seas Driftnet 2014, which led to this extremely successful interception. Operation High Seas Driftnet is an important component of Canada’s contribution to the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission. The Department of National Defence is proud to be a part of this cooperative approach to protecting Canadian interests.” – The Honourable Rob Nicholson, PC, QC, MP for Niagara Falls and Minister of National Defence.

Associated Links

Video: Watch how Canada and international partners monitor and deter high seas fishing activities that harm our oceans\' resources http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/international/mcs-si-eng.htm

(Mar. 20) Denmark has completed the destruction of its stockpile of cluster munitions, in line with its obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Having ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions in 2010, Denmark finishes its stockpile destruction 4.5 years in advance of the eight-year deadline set by the convention. Eighteen other states, including other former large stockpilers such as the Netherlands, Belgium, and the United Kingdom, have also finished their destruction of cluster munition stockpiles.

(Mar. 4) CAE has signed a contract with the City of Ottawa Office of Emergency Management to provide an Emergency Management Information System that will improve multi-agency collaboration and enhance effective decision-making during emergency incidents. CAE’s Integrated Enterprise Solutions group will serve as the prime contractor and systems integrator to provide the Emergency Management Information System. CAE will integrate the WebEOC incident management system from Intermedix with the AMS critical and emergency communication system from Amika Mobile Corporation to create an emergency management information system that will improve information sharing and provide more timely information.

The old polygraph has been discredited at the highest levels of defector Edward Snowden, CIA traitor Aldrich Ames, the mass murderer known as the \'Green River Killer,\' and Defense Department traitor and Cuban spy Ana Montes.

Starting in 1989, mostly with smaller police agencies, the switch to the Computer Voice Stress Analyzer includes such large metropolitan police agencies as Atlanta, Nashville, New Orleans, Miami, the California Highway Patrol, as well as many state and federal agencies. According to the NACVSA, this is due to the low cost, ease of operation, adaptability, and high accuracy rate of the CVSA.

Interest in the CVSA by government agencies worldwide has increased dramatically due to a recently published research study in the 2012 annual edition of the scientific journal \'Criminalistics and Court Expertise\' which reports the accuracy rate of the CVSA exceeds 95%, an assertion long made by law enforcement users of the system.

The 18-year field study was conducted by Professor James L. Chapman, the world\'s foremost authority on the application of Voice Stress Analysis technologies. The peer-reviewed study, titled \'Long-Term Field Evaluation of Voice Stress Analysis In a North American Criminal Justice Setting\' was ground-breaking in that it validated the tremendous decades-long success of the CVSA in the criminal justice system.

Further, a recently released book, \'The Clapper Memo\' by investigative journalist and author Bob McCarty, provides details about the failed efforts of the US polygraph community to maintain its relevancy based on the worldwide success of the CVSA. NITV Federal Services, a West Palm Beach (FL) based company, is the manufacturer of the CVSA with the Final Analysis Confirmation Tool (FACT), which is the world\'s only patented and validated automated scoring algorithm for quantifying and evaluating voice stress analysis patterns and charts.

(Oct. 22) Should President Obama approve the pipeline? That\'s the subject of the first in this season of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute\'s Great Canadian Debate series. On October 24, at the Canadian War Museum, former Alberta Energy Minister Ted Morton will argue for the affirmative and author Andrew Nikiforuk will argue that exporting more oil to the US would devastate the environment.

The full text of the letter follows, and additional former officials and experts continue to sign onto it.  The letter was prepared by the Foreign Policy Initiative, a non-profit, non-partisan organization that promotes U.S. diplomatic, economic, and military engagement in the world.

February 11, 2013

Dear Speaker John Boehner, Senator Harry Reid, Senator Mitch McConnell, and Representative Nancy Pelosi: 

As the March 1st deadline nears for unprecedented, across-the-board cuts to our military, we write to urge you to work together to avoid this unnecessary and dangerous blow to American power and global leadership. You have each expressed your opposition to allowing these cuts to go into effect. They will go into effect without congressional action. You are the leaders of Congress. We ask that you act as leaders to stop sequestration now.

In recent days, the Defense Department leadership has developed its plans for operating under sequestration.  The details that have been released thus far are chilling:

• The Navy has indefinitely delayed the deployment of a carrier strike group to the Persian Gulf—a decision that significantly weakens America’s ability to provide regional security and protection to allies at a time when the Iranian regime continues its work to acquire a nuclear weapons capability.
  
  
• The Air Force plans to cut the flying hours of its pilots by 18 percent, and more broadly will have to curtail the service’s ability to conduct air-to-air refueling, support Army logistical requirements and, by September of this year, train new pilots—reductions that cumulatively will erode America’s vitally important airpower capabilities.
  
  
• The Army will delay training for almost 80 percent of its Brigade Combat Teams, cancel critical maintenance, and stop training new aviators and military intelligence specialists—delays that, according to the service’s leaders, will result in the “rapid atrophy of unit combat skills with a failure to meet demands of the National Military strategy by the end of the year.

These cuts are only the tip of the iceberg.  As outgoing Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has warned, sequestration will yield the “smallest ground forces since 1940,” “a fleet of fewer than 230 ships, the smallest level since 1915,” and the “smallest tactical fighter force in the history of the Air Force.

Sequestration will result in unacceptable risk for U.S. national security. It will degrade our ability to defend our allies, deter aggression, and promote and protect American economic interests. It will erode the credibility of our treaty commitments abroad. It will be a self-inflicted wound to American strength and leadership in the world. 

History will not look kindly on this abdication of responsibility, but will hold accountable the President and the Congress who together chose such a dangerous course.       

Sincerely,     

Elliott Abrams, Robert G. Joseph, Stephen G. Rademaker, Max Boot, Frederick W. Kagan, Randy Scheunemann, L. Paul Bremer, Kimberly Kagan, Gary J. Schmitt, Eliot A. Cohen, Robert Kagan, Randall G. Schriver, Norm Coleman, Zalmay Khalilzad, Dan Senor, Seth Cropsey, William Kristol, Vance Serchuk, Thomas Donnelly, Joseph I. Lieberman, James Talent, Mackenzie Eaglen, Mary Beth Long, Ashley J. Tellis, Eric S. Edelman, Thomas G. Mahnken, William H. Tobey, Douglas J. Feith, Michael Makovsky, Daniel Twining, Robert M. Gates, Robert C. McFarlane, Kenneth R. Weinstein, Christopher J. Griffin, Joshua Muravchik, Richard Williamson, Stephen J. Hadley, John Nagl, R. James Woolsey, William Inboden, Michael O’Hanlon, Robert Zarate, Bruce Pitcairn Jackson, Danielle Pletka.

Eurocopter Canada is Accepting Nominations for ‘Innovation in Safety Award’

Deadline for submissions: Friday, September 6th, 2013.

Award recognizes outstanding achievement in Canadian rotary wing safe flying operations.

Eurocopter Canada Limited (ECL) will recognize outstanding achievement with its presentation of the 2nd Annual ‘Innovation in Safety Award’. This award was established as a benchmark in which to measure the advanced achievements accomplished by groups, companies, organizations or agencies in maintaining Canadian rotary wing safe flying operations, while employing an exceptional or groundbreaking approach.

“Through the presentation of this award, we hope to create a broader understanding and awareness of an organizations best safety practices and initiatives,” said Guy Joannes, President & CEO, ECL. “It is a testimony to the high degree of professionalism and innovation found in Canadian business rotary wing operations and an acknowledgement to the skilfulness and overall ability of an organizations management, maintenance, pilot and support personnel teams.”

The award will be presented to the nominee whose professional initiatives have demonstrated a tremendous impact on the overall goal of safe flying procedures, as recognized through the examination of skill development, training and any additional resources.

The winner of the ‘Innovation in Safety Award’ will be chosen through a committee selection process, received during the 2013 calendar year. The award presentation will take place at the Helicopter Association of Canada annual conference, November 8th-10th in Vancouver, BC.

To be eligible, nominees must:

• Be a Canadian-owned organization, group, company, agency or resident of Canada.
• Demonstrate a commitment and exceptional dedication to Canadian rotor wing operational safety over an extended period of time (three years or longer).
• Successful completion of a program or research project that has had a significant impact on safety in the Canadian rotor wing industry. 
• An outstanding act, effort, contribution or service to safety in the Canadian rotor wing industry.

Nominee Applications must include the following information:

• Name of the Nominee.
• Recommended Company/ Organization’s Name.
• Reason for nomination (provide as much detail as possible to meet eligibility criteria).

The award recipient will receive a plaque, certificate of recognition co-signed by the award committee and cash award.

The 2012 'Innovation in Safety Award' application is located on the Eurocopter Canada website at:
http://www.eurocopter.ca/safetyaward/

Deadline for submission is Friday, September 6th, 2013.

Please email applications to:
Laura Senecal, Director, Communications & Corporate Affairs

Committee for the Innovation and Safety Award

Robert Erdos: Chief Experimental Test Pilot, National Research Council of Canada.

Robert Erdos is Chief Experimental Test Pilot with the Flight Research Laboratory of the National Research Council of Canada. His research activities specialize in handling qualities flight testing, with approximately 7,600 flight hours in over 135 types of airplanes and rotorcraft. He attained a Master Degree in Aviation System Research at the University of Tennessee in 1998, is currently qualified on eleven types of flying machines and has gained monumental experience as a test pilot in civil and military aviation.

Fred Jones: President and CEO, Helicopter Association of Canada.

Fred has been HAC’s President & CEO since the Fall of 2008.  Formerly Fred was the Vice-President Operations & Legal Affairs for the Canadian Airports Council and prior to that was with the Air Transport Association of Canada (ATAC), most recently as their VP Flight Operations.  Fred is a former Transport Canada Inspector, a former TSB Accident Investigator and Safety Analyst, and a current helicopter and fixed-wing Commercial pilot.  Fred has a BA in Psychology from Western and a Law Degree from the University of Ottawa. Fred was called to the Ontario Bar in 1986 and is licensed to practice law in the Province of Ontario.

Matt Nicholls: Editor, Helicopters Magazine and Wings Magazine.

Matt Nicholls creates outstanding business publications for the helicopter industry as editor for Helicopters Magazine and Wings Magazine. Matt also works as a freelancer and editorial consultant, for a variety of industry publications. Matt brings forth more than 20 years of editorial experience, supported by a BAA in Journalism from Centennial College and an English degree from Queen's University in Kingston, Ont.  As part as the 2013 editorial coverage at WINGS and HELICOPTERS, Matt will once again lead key industry roundtables with top industry players, covering off a variety of pressing issues.

Mike Reyno: Editor-in-chief and co-publisher of MHM Publishing.

MHM Publishing publishes Vertical, Vertical 911 and Canadian Skies magazines. Mike Reyno has been an aviation photojournalist for 20 years, and is also the co-founder/co-publisher of the largest helicopter magazine in the world, Vertical magazine. Supported by his wife and co-publisher Linda, the two launched Vertical in 2002, Vertical 911 in 2008 and Canadian Skies in 2011.

About ECL & Eurocopter Group

Eurocopter Canada Limited (www.eurocopter.ca) is a subsidiary of Eurocopter. Eurocopter Canada based in Fort Erie, Ontario, with operations in Richmond, British Columbia and Montreal, Quebec – has a customer support network that spans the entire country. Eurocopter Canada celebrated 2009 as its 25th anniversary year. Established in 1992, the Franco-German-Spanish Eurocopter Group is a division of EADS, a world leader in aerospace and defense-related services. The Eurocopter Group employs approximately 20,000 people. In 2011, Eurocopter confirmed its position as the world’s number one helicopter manufacturer with a turnover of 5.4 billion Euros, orders for 457 new helicopters and a 43 percent market share in the civil and parapublic sectors. Overall, the Group’s helicopters account for 33 percent of the worldwide civil and parapublic fleet. Eurocopter’s strong international presence is ensured by its subsidiaries and participations in 21 countries. Eurocopter’s worldwide network of service centers, training facilities, distributors and certified agents supports some 2,900 customers. There are currently more than 11,300 Eurocopter helicopters in service in 149 countries. Eurocopter offers the most comprehensive civil and military helicopter range in the world and is fully committed to safety as the most important aspect of its business.

www.eurocopter.com