Royal Canadian Air Force
Air and space component of the Canadian Armed Forces
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2024 | Teal Drones, Inc. Teal 2 was introduced to the Army and Royal Canadian Navy, with fifty units acquired. |
June 2024 | The RCAF Band travelled to Normandy and participated in ceremonies commemorating the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings. |
December 19 2023 | The Government of Canada signed a contract for 11 MQ-9B SkyGuardian drones, 219 Hellfire missiles, and 12 Mk82 500-pound bombs in a $2.49 billion CAD deal. The drones will be deployed at 14 Wing Greenwood (Nova Scotia), 19 Wing Comox (British Columbia), and Ottawa, with plans for forward deployment in northern Canada. |
November 30 2023 | The Government of Canada finalized a government-to-government agreement with the US government to acquire up to 16 Boeing P-8A Poseidon aircraft for the Royal Canadian Air Force, with an initial procurement of 14 multi-mission aircraft and options for two additional aircraft. |
August 31 2023 | First CC-330 Husky aircraft arrived in Canada, with civilian registration 9K-APC and RCAF numbering 30002. |
July 2023 | A CH-147F Chinook helicopter crashed during operations. |
January 9 2023 | The Government of Canada officially ordered 88 F-35A aircraft to replace the existing CF-18 Hornet fleet. |
2022 | Captain Devin Sloos becomes the band director, serving from 2022 to the present. |
2022 | 3 Canadian Space Division was established, expanding the Royal Canadian Air Force's organizational structure. |
2022 | Expected completion of delivery for 16 CC-295 Kingfisher Search and Rescue aircraft, though initial operating capability anticipated for 2025/26. |
March 28 2022 | The Government of Canada announced the F-35A as the top choice in the competition, planning to purchase 88 aircraft for the Royal Canadian Air Force. |
2021 | Captain Chris Embree becomes the band director, serving from 2021 to 2022. |
December 2021 | The Royal Canadian Navy began issuing a new naval combat dress (NCD) uniform, with members exchanging their worn-out NCD-pattern uniforms for the updated design. |
2020 | Additional trainer aircraft arrived for maintenance personnel as part of the Future Aircrew Training (FAcT) Program. |
2019 | Saab Skeldar (designated CU-176 Gargoyle) was acquired and operated by the Royal Canadian Navy and CANSOFCOM. |
June 2019 | The band took part in the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy. |
2018 | AeroVironment RQ-20 Puma unmanned aerial system was acquired and operated by the Royal Canadian Navy. |
July 2018 | The band served as musical support in the changing of the Queen's Guard at Buckingham Palace in London, marking the first time in RCAF history. |
2017 | A fourth pattern of Distinctive Environmental Uniform was created specifically for the Special Operations Forces Branch. |
2016 | Captain Matthew Clark takes over as band director, serving from 2016 to 2021. |
2016 | The pipes and drums were dissolved, and the band reinstated brass and reed band instrumentation with contemporary musical capabilities. |
2015 | Following the Federal Election, the new Liberal Party government initiated an open competition to replace the CF-18 Hornet aircraft, after previously campaigning to potentially cancel the F-35 procurement. |
2015 | The Canadian Air Force changed its uniform's rank insignia from gold to pearl grey and replaced gold buttons with silver buttons, marking a significant modification to the service dress appearance. |
2014 | Boeing Insitu ScanEagle (designated CU-165) ceased operation with the Canadian Army. |
2013 | Royal Canadian Air Force introduced M3M 0.50 cal machine gun for CH-146 Griffon helicopters |
2012 | General Thomas J. Lawson was appointed as the last air force officer to serve as Chief of the Defence Staff. |
2011 | With the restoration of royal military prefixes, the band was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force Band. |
2011 | Royal Canadian Air Force introduced Joint Direct Attack Munition and M134 7.62mm self-defence machine gun |
2011 | IAI Heron unmanned aerial systems were turned over to the Royal Australian Air Force. |
2010 | Captain John Fullerton becomes the band director, serving from 2010 to 2016. |
This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles Royal Canadian Air Force Band, Royal Canadian Air Force & Uniforms of the Canadian Armed Forces, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.