Canada to Spend C$ 500 Million on CFB Trenton

CC-177: Trenton arrival

CFB Trenton, located in the province of Ontario about 2 hours drive away from Toronto, is one of the Canadian Forces’ busiest bases. It is the backbone of Canada’s transport fleet, housing Canada’s 4 new C-17s (aka CC-177) along with 20 C-130 Hercules transports, 5 Airbus A310 Polaris (CC-150) transports/refuelers, and 4 Challenger (CC-144) VIP business jets that are technically 8 Wing’s responsibility

• . When Canada’s 17 new C-130J Hercules transports arrive, many of them will also be based at CFB Trenton.

Accommodating that level of activity and restoring Trenton’s flightline over the next 5 years will require the rebuilding and construction of new taxiways, ramps and aprons, as well as several new maintenance hangars. All of these activities are included within the C$ 500 million (about $470 million) budget, announced by the Minister for Defence on Sept 5/08.

So, too, is relocation of Canada’s JTF2 special forces to Trenton. JTF2 has seen long-standing service in the “commando olympics” of Afghanistan, and is also Canada’s key unit for potential domestic anti-terrorism operations like hostage rescues. The unit is growing in size, and has begun to outgrow its current location at Dwyer Hill Training Centre near Ottawa. Moving to CFB Trenton keeps the unit close to its required transports for fast deployments, and CFB Trenton already hosts the Canadian Forces Land Advanced Warfare Centre so it was a natural choice. DND has been working with the Department of Public Works and Government Services to purchase parcels of land bordering the base, and associated buildings, training centers, and other infrastructure will also be required.

$85.3M Order As Excalibur Production Accelerated

Excalibur 155mm

“CENTCOM Looks to Boost ISR Capabilities in 2008-2009” discussed the implications of improved surveillance capabilities, especially when combined with the ability to target precision artillery fires and provide fast surveillance/strike systems.

USA Today recently reported that an urgent request from commanders in Iraq for more accurate artillery to reduce civilian deaths prompted the Army to speed production of Raytheon’s Excalibur GPS-guided 155mm artillery shells. On June 2/08 DefenseLINK announced an $85.3 million firm-fixed price contract for 155mm Excalibur block 1A-1 and 1A-2 projectiles, and a Sept 5/08 release from Raytheon revealed that it included shells for for the U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps and the Australian Defence Forces – which had requested Excalibur shells in April 2008.

Work will be performed in locations across the United States and Sweden, and is expected to be completed by Jan 31/10. One bid was solicited on March 16/07 by the Joint Munitions and Lethality life Cycle Management Command at Picatinny Arsenal, NJ (W15QKN-07-C-0100).