CDR recently sent Ottawa Bureau Chief, James Careless, to sit down with Canada’s Minister of National Defence, Bill Blair, for an exclusive interview.

Addressing the personnel and equipment shortages of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), updating the status of the CAF’s many procurements – including submarines – and assessing Donald Trump’s potential impact on the Ukrainian War and NORAD modernization: These were some of the many concerns raised by Minister Bill Blair during CDR’s annual interview.

This episode is sponsored by CAE. Representing more than 75 years of industry firsts – CAE delivers the highest-fidelity flight, mission, and personalized training programs powered by innovation. With cutting-edge technology and world-class training centres, CAE develops and deploys advanced training, simulation, and critical operations capabilities to ensure mission readiness and to make the world safer. CAE is the largest Canadian-headquartered defence company, supporting training of all military pilots for the Canadian Armed Forces. Visit CAE’s website www.cae.com/defense-security.

Sometimes, there are repairs that no one seems to be able to do — until a unique company steps up and gets things done. That’s the role M1 Composites plays for many of its customers, including the Canadian Armed Forces. Based in Laval, Québec, M1 specializes in structural aircraft repairs, advanced manufacturing of aircraft parts, and non-destructive testing.

In a recent edition of the CDR Radio Podcast, CDR’s Ottawa Bureau Chief James Careless, spoke with M1 Composites President, Lorenzo Marandola, to learn more about his problem-solving company. Listen to the full conversation.

With construction of the Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) ships now underway, all eyes are on the advanced weapons systems that will be carried on the Royal Canadian Navy’s new River-class destroyers. They will include torpedo launcher systems built by SEA Canada, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the British defence and security firm SEA.

Dudley Malster is S-E-A Canada’s Business Development Executive. In a recent edition of the CDR Radio Podcast, Malster told CDR’s Ottawa Bureau Chief, James Careless, about the company’s work on the CSC, and its other projects in Canada.

CDR recently sent Senior Staff Writer, Joetey Attariwala, to interview the Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee. Their discussion focused on the challenges and the transformation that the Navy is going through.

CDR would like to thank the sponsor of this podcast – Saab, a longtime supporter of CDR’s journalism. Saab is a leading defence and security company with an enduring mission, to help nations keep their people and society safe. Empowered by more than 23,000 talented employees, Saab constantly pushes the boundaries of technology to create a safer, more sustainable and equitable world. Saab designs, manufactures and maintains advanced systems in aeronautics, weapons, command and control, sensors and underwater systems, including submarines. Saab’s submarines are based on generations of evolutionary design that has led to the delivery of seven submarine classes across three continents. Through a philosophy of modular design, Saab’s submarines offer a flexible approach to meeting the various operational, technical and in service support needs of its partner navies.

Saab's Canadian operations have been supporting Canada for over 35 years, with a longstanding commitment to the Royal Canadian Navy through the provision and support of systems such as the surveillance radars and fire control systems onboard the Halifax Class Frigates.

Saab has major operations all over the world and contributes to the domestic defence capability of several nations.

Visit their website to learn more: https://www.saab.com/markets/canada

In this episode of the CDR Radio Podcast we sit down with Corey Switzer, BluMetric’s Director of CleanTech and Military Market Leader, and Scott Healey, the company’s Strategic Partnership Manager-Military. Clean drinking water is an absolute must for the Canadian Armed Forces. They cannot fulfill their missions without having clean water on hand, at all times. This is where BluMetric Environmental comes in. This Ottawa-based consulting and engineering company designs, fabricates, delivers and services clean water processing systems for the CAF and other clients. 

CANSEC 2024 Prepares to Go Live in Wake of Defence Policy Update. CDR spoke with CADSI President & CEO, Christyn Cianfarani, to get the inside scoop on CANSEC 2024. The April 8th release of Canada’s much-awaited Defence Policy Update (DPU), ‘Our North, Strong and Free’, has set the stage for an exciting CANSEC 2024 at Ottawa’s EY Centre on May 29-30.

For more information about CANSEC visit: https://www.defenceandsecurity.ca/CANSEC/

In this episode of the CDR Radio podcast we discuss the long-awaited and recently released Defence Policy Update (DPU) with some well know subject matter experts in defence and foreign policy. Joining the discussion is Christyn Cianfarani, President & CEO of CADSI, Erin O'Toole, a member of the Conservative party who served as the leader of the official opposition from 2020-2022, David Perry, President of CGAI, and Alan Williams, former ADM MAT at DND. 

This episode is sponsored by thyssenkrupp Marine Systems Canada - tkMS-C for short.  tkMS-C offers Canada a broad product portfolio: world leading non-nuclear submarines, high-end naval surface vessels and outstanding naval electronics systems. Along with the recent contract award for Remote Minehunting and Disposal, tkMS-C contributes to the National Shipbuilding Strategy through work on the JSS, AOPS and CSC. The company, via full corporate support, intends to compete for the upcoming Canadian Patrol Submarine Project with the CD212 family of submarines. With tkMS-C’s Canadian base of operations and its longstanding relationship with the RCN, plus its parent company’s significant modern manufacturing facilities in Kiel, Germany, tkMS-C has the commitment, capability and capacity to ensure the success of Canada’s upcoming submarine project.  

Visit the thyssenkrupp Marine Systems website for more information and visit their booth at CANSEC to find out why 70% of NATO navies trust tkMS conventional submarine solutions.