Canadian airlift procurement plan

From DefenseNews

Canadian Government Hears Airlift Procurement Plan

By DAVID PUGLIESE, VICTORIA, British Columbia

Canada’s Defence Staff chief is hoping to convince the government to approve an airlift procurement plan that would see the purchase of new helicopters, tactical transport aircraft and search-and-rescue planes in one overall package.

Gen. Rick Hillier briefed senior government ministers on the plan Nov. 14. The proposal would see the purchase of at least 50 fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters.

Defence Minister Bill Graham has confirmed he supports the plan. Graham hopes that getting government approval for three different aircraft programs all at once, instead of separately, will cut down on procurement times for the planes.

Government ministers made no decision at the end of Hillier’s briefing.

Industry officials originally put the cost of the package at 6 billion Canadian dollars ($4.8 billion), but some estimates are double that. That higher cost, however, includes contracting out maintenance and support of the aircraft over a 20-year period, said one industry source.

A possible upcoming federal election has put any decision on moving forward with the package temporarily on hold.

“We don’t make major procurements during elections,” Graham told reporters Nov. 16.

A federal election is expected in December, January or February, but no date has been set.

Hillier told Defense News last month that airlift, particularly tactical airlift, is his No. 1 priority.

Canada operates 31 CC-130 Hercules aircraft to handle its tactical airlift needs. But 18 of those are older models, some with the distinction of having the most flying hours of any C-130 in military service. Some have 30,000 to 40,000 flying hours and are more than 35 years old. The Canadian Air Force has cut back on its C-130 fleet’s flying hours to help ease the stress on its aircraft.

Hillier said he did not plan on detailing specific aircraft he wants, but would outline the types of capabilities each would be expected to perform.

But industry sources say the Canadian Forces has its preferred aircraft and is looking at the purchase of 15 to 20 Lockheed Martin C-130J transport planes, 15 C-27J search-and-rescue aircraft and 20 CH-47 Chinook helicopters from Boeing. The C-27J Spartan is built by a joint venture of Alenia Aeronautica, Rome, and Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, Marietta, Ga.

Officials with EADS Canada as well as Bombardier have voiced concerns that they are being frozen out of billions of dollars worth of potential sales. Both companies had hoped to enter their aircraft in the competition for a new search-and-rescue plane.

EADS Canada had planned to offer the EADS CASA C-295 for the search-and-rescue program and potentially the A400M for tactical airlift.

Bombardier hopes to enter its Dash 8 as a contender for the fixed-wing search-and-rescue aircraft program.

Agusta Westland International also is interested in offering its EH101 for Canada’s program to purchase medium-lift helicopters to transport Army and special forces troops.

Sikorsky Aircraft has said its H-92 and CH-53 helicopters can fit Canada’s requirements for a tactical lift helicopter.

The Canadian Forces operated seven Chinooks but took those out of service in 1991 as a cost-saving measure. They were sold several years later to the Dutch government, which had them upgraded to the CH-47D standard.