Plan to move DND test facility delayed
A plan by national defence to move an aerospace testing facility from Alberta to Ottawa has fallen behind schedule because of problems renovating a hangar at the Ottawa International Airport.
The new Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment facility is supposed to be located at Hangar 14 at the airport.
That hangar currently houses a number of different Department of National Defence organizations, but there have been delays in finding new accommodation for those staff.
As a result, the plan to renovate the hangar for the testing facility has now fallen a year behind schedule, according to a DND update on military procurement projects.
“Cost pressures associated with infrastructure activities continue to increase due to renovation requirements and elevated construction costs in the Ottawa area,” the document noted.
DND spokesman Dan Le Bouthillier said in the summer of 2020 that some staff from the Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment, or AETE, were transferred from their facility in Cold Lake, Alta., to a building at Coventry Road in Ottawa.
The rest are still in Cold Lake waiting until the completion of the renovations of the hangar.
“The site is currently being redesigned, and its renovation is scheduled to be completed in 2023,” Le Bouthillier said.
The renovations are estimated to cost $30 million, according to a federal government posting to the construction industry.
AETE, which has operated from Cold Lake since 1971, tests equipment and aircraft in all extremes and under a variety of situations in support of the military's equipment acquisition and modification projects.
The Citizen first revealed the proposal to move AETE in April 2016. The plan started under the Conservative government, but the Liberals continued with the relocation initiative.
At the time, the military told defence industry representatives the remote Cold Lake location made it challenging to attract or retain people and that relocating could save money.
The move to the Ottawa airport allows AETE to partner with the National Research Council Flight Research Laboratory and the Transport Canada Aircraft Services Directorate for flight testing and evaluation, according to the DND.
The unit employs 166 military personnel and 22 public servants. The public servants will be moved to Ottawa, but around 130 military personnel assigned to AETE will now transition to different roles in the Canadian Forces.
The cost to move the 22 public servants from AETE is expected to be about $1 million. Those employees not interested in moving will be found other positions in the department.
Moving AETE will save $14 million a year and free up space for the arrival of more fighter jets at Cold Lake, DND says.
The majority of flight test planning, flight test instrumentation design, manufacturing and installation will now be done from Ottawa.
AETE may conduct limited flight testing in Ottawa, Le Bouthillier confirmed. But the emphasis will be to do flight testing at RCAF bases and weapon ranges as well as military operating areas away from Ottawa. “This limits disruptions with the Ottawa airport operations and noise in and around Ottawa airport,” Le Bouthillier said.
The Cold Lake location was primarily selected for AETE because of the large evaluation range nearby and its favourable climate for flight testing. AETE employs test pilots, flight test engineers, qualified systems evaluators, specialist engineers and technologists.
The site is currently being redesigned, and its renovation is scheduled to be completed in 2023.