Equipment & Capabilities

• War-in-a-Box
• Helicopter Symposium
• Upgrades for the NATO Early Warning Force
• Canada Wings 

War-in-a-Box

The exercise area, “Littoral Urban African”, was created for War-in-a-Box by Defence Geomatics from commercial satellite imagery.

New simulation program takes training to a new level

Imagine the fear: It’s May 23. Fifty Canadians are trapped in an African city compound, chaos is breaking out and all diplomatic efforts to resolve the situation have failed. Canadian Forces (CF) are called in to evacuate the Canadians.

The scenario is a possible one but, in this case fictional. This mission actually takes place in a simulated environment - a first-time joint training exercise made possible by new technology called War-in-a-Box (WIB).

“DND has never done simulation and training on this scale before,” says LCol Rick Thompson. “New technology allows DND to experiment with a wide range of scenarios that would be too expensive to do in reality.”

The Canadian Advanced Synthetic Environment (CASE) is supporting state-of-the art joint simulations like WIB. Advances in technology have improved the level of realism and complexity of simulation, increasing the value of the experience and improving force readiness, safely and cost effectiveness.

“It’s a combined constructive - pointing and clicking on a computer system - and virtual, with crews in cockpits flying above digital terrain, getting shot at and engaging in radio messaging...” says LCol Thompson. “We intend to offer this kind of environment as a training enabler to support the Defence Policy Statement.”

This new simulation program gives the CF the capability to connect Army, Navy and Air Force Warfare Centres - in line with the Chief of the Air Staff’s vision for a more jointly operated CF.

For this exercise, view ports and simulation stations operated in Ottawa, Halifax and Kingston, while crews operated virtual stations at 12 Wing, 3 Wing and the Defence R&D Lab in Toronto.

The game day simulation ran for a 24-hour period, broken up into three eight-hour sessions from 23-26 May 2006, following a week of dry runs and dress rehearsals.

“Like reality, the simulation consists of quiet periods punctuated by intense action,” says LCol Thompson.

It took over 100 simulation planners and three years to organize this simulation; they considered the political events leading up to the necessity of this mission, had maps made, assessed the mission’s terrain, and considered every life-like detail.

The CASE project plans to run several East to West simulation events each year.

Helicopter Symposium

The CH-148 Cyclone, as pictured, is a combat capable aircraft anticipated to replace the CF’s aging Sea Kings. They begin to arrive in 2008.

Canadian forces discuss the future of combat helicopter capabilities

As the Canadian Forces (CF) anticipates the arrival of the Cyclone helicopter in 2008, personnel from Gagetown, Petawawa and Kingston came together for a combat helicopter symposium on March 30 and 31 to discuss the present and future operations of CF rotary aviation. It gave members an opportunity to discuss transformation in the CF, the role of rotary aviation, domestic and international operations and future rotary aviation requirements and systems.

“Historically Maritime and Tactical Aviation helicopter forces have not worked in each other’s areas of expertise,” says Major Scott Davidson, Readiness Flight Commander for 423 Maritime Helicopter Squadron. “But with the emergence of new threats such as terrorism - both ashore and at sea - and the instability of failed and failing states after the end of the cold war, these historic “boundaries” between communities have blurred. Therefore the theme for the symposium “Knocking Down the Walls: Driving Integration into Canada’s Operational Helicopter Fleets” - was appropriate.

More interaction between maritime and over-land combat helicopter environments is said to be on the horizon - and symposiums like this certainly help that goal.

The combination of knowledge gained at the symposium proved beneficial and will help integrate the forces - part of the overall objective of transformation.

“The symposium opened the dialogue required between 1 Wing and 12 Wing to evolve our current missions and tasks into those that we may all face together in the future,” says Maj Davidson. “Hopefully it will continue on an annual basis in years to come.”

Upgrades for the NATO Early Warning Force

NATO AWACs modernization project planned.

Missions easier with new equipment

NATO is investing in a program to modernize the mission suite of the NATO Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) E-3A Sentry aircraft, and adding GPS and other avionics improvements to the flight deck to make it a more capable air surveillance and control platform.

“It’s called the NATO Mid-term Modernization Project, and it encompasses updating our computers, scopes, radios, radar - lots of things that will help us to do our jobs better,” says Captain Gareth Carter, a Fighter Allocator and Unit Public Affairs Officer with the Canadian Contingent NATO Airborne Early Warning And Control Force (CC-NAEWF). “It’s a $1.6 billion-dollar project and it’s going to make our jobs a lot easier when it comes online.”

The AWACS aircraft is a Boeing 707 modified for military use that provides NATO with early warning and control capability - allowing NATO to detect and track enemy aircraft operating at low altitudes over all terrain. The surveillance capability of the AWACS allows NATO forces to transmit data directly from the aircraft to command and control centres on land, sea or in the air. The mobility of the AWACS aircraft also allows it to be deployed rapidly and makes it far less vulnerable to attack than ground-based radar.

Canada is the third-largest contributor to the NAEWF—after the US and Germany. The Canadian Forces contingent to the NAEWF consists of about 125 personnel ranging from the Force Command Headquarters in Mons, Belgium to the Main Operating Base in Geilenkirchen, Germany. Of those personnel, 114 are employed in the maintenance and operation of the E-3A Sentry aircraft—the remainder are employed as administrative support.

The NAEWF was established following a NATO decision in 1978 to acquire a NATO-owned Airborne Early Warning air defence capability to provide air surveillance and command and control for all NATO commands.

“The pace of the NATO Airborne Early Warning Force has changed over the years,” says Captain Gareth Carter. “The Balkans kept us quite busy for awhile and then following the September 11 attacks, some of us were dispatched as part of Operation Eagle Assist to patrol the skies over the US and help prevent further terrorist attacks. But we’re scaling such missions back now—and this has freed us up to do more High Visibility Events (HVE).”

Canadians who are part of the NAEWF have most recently been involved in High Visibility Event missions like the Pope’s funeral, supporting the G-8 Summit in Scotland, the Olympics in Turin and even a Royal Spanish Wedding.

“It’s part of our NATO commitment—we’ve been a part of this since its inception in ‘82,” says Capt. Carter. “We practice a lot for the worse but we hope it never happens.”

Despite the challenges associated with flying operations at the only designated NATO airbase in the world, for members of the CF stationed in Germany and Belgium, it has proven to be a rewarding professional experience.

Note: Canada also has aircrews serving on AWACS in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and Elmendorf in Alaska.

Canada Wings

The Grob 120A aircraft as used by Canada Wings. This aircraft is an aerobatic, side-by-side training aircraft with advanced avionics and a large cockpit that can accommodate a student pilot and instructor.

New aviation training centre in Canada to become world-renowned

As part of the rapid transformation being undertaken by the Canadian Forces, improved training for Canadian troops is on the horizon.

“We knew well before 1999 that we needed an updated helicopter and multi-engine training structure,” says Brigadier-General Cajo Brando, advisor to the Chief of the Air Staff. “Now, it’s in the works - a $1.77 billion dollar program called ‘Canada Wings’ that will deliver the most effective pilot training in the world.”

Part of this training program means acquiring the necessary aircraft, simulators and infrastructure - from modern aircraft with glass cockpit instrumentation, to state of the art avionics, and a new 7,500 square meter training facility. The new facility is being called the ‘Canada Wings Aviation and Training Centre’ and it’s being built in Southport, Manitoba - expected to be up and running by mid-2007.

“Canada Wings is designed to develop pilots for the new generation of multi-crew and digital systems-oriented helicopters and multi-engine fixed-wing aircraft; ensuring graduates arrive at operational training units with the required level of expertise,” says BGen Brando. “The training centre will have full-motion simulators, flight-training devices, part-task trainers, multi-media classrooms, multi-media briefing rooms, accommodations, staff and student offices and recreation spaces.”

Canada Wings is similar to the NATO Flying Training Centre (NFTC) in Canada—which is known worldwide as a fully integrated, undergraduate and graduate fighter pilot training program designed for nations interested in NATO standard flying training. This public-private multi-billion dollar venture between the Canadian Forces and Bombardier Aerospace Corporation provides the most capable fighter pilot program at a minimized cost. The difference between the NFTC and Canada Wings is that the latter is for helicopters and multi-engine aircraft rather than fighter aircraft. It’s anticipated that the Canada Wings program will draw the interest of amicable foreign militaries, which will aid in military interoperability—just as the NFTC has.

The Centre will see a combination of military and civilians working together—while instructors and students are military, the facility will be run by civilians from the private sector.

“This is a long awaited and well-deserved recapitalization of our training facilities,” says BGen Brando. “Ultimately it ensures that Canadian and partnering international forces pilots receive the foundation necessary to perform in today’s complex and dynamic operational environment. It’s going to be second to none in the world.”

The Centre will see a combination of military and civilians working together to provide training to military students; the facility will be run by civilians from the private sector.