Military shuns Canadian planes
Bombardier: Forces shoot down claims by company it's being shut out of $1.3B deal
a journalist
The Ottawa Citizen
June 19, 2005
The country's largest aircraft manufacturer says it has been shut out of a $1.3-billion program to provide new search-and-rescue aircraft for Canada's military and that the Armed Forces is instead keen to purchase from its foreign competition.
Bombardier senior official Derek Gilmour says the company's Dash 8 aircraft, built in Toronto, can fit the bill for Canada's search and rescue needs at a far lower price than the two planes now being considered, the CASA-295 built by a Spanish firm and the C-27J built by an Italian and U.S. consortium.
The Dash 8 is being used for search-and-rescue duties by the Swedish coast guard, the Australian coastal watch service and with the U.S. Customs agency. But Mr. Gilmour says the homegrown product is being ignored by the nation's military.
"We've had very little success in getting into the program," he said. "We don't see any Canadian product getting into the program at all."
Canadian industry is also concerned about the secretive nature of the procurement process, according to Mr. Gilmour, Bombardier's vice-president of government sales.
The fixed-wing search-and-rescue program is one of the most hotly pursued deals in Ottawa these days as cabinet prepares to give its blessing to the plan, which will see $1.3 billion spent on the aircraft and another $1 billion spent on a long-term maintenance contract.
Col. Pat Dowsett, in charge of the military's air mobility programs, questioned Bombardier's claims, noting the Forces hasn't settled on any one search-and-rescue aircraft and the process is still in its early stages. He said Bombardier would be welcomed in the competition, expected to start in the coming months.
"If Bombardier is happy to come to us with their existing aircraft, or any modified versions, we'll deal with that on an even playing field," he said.
Col. Dowsett denied process has been secretive, noting it has followed the usual government procurement cycle. "They (Bombardier) have received from us as much information as anybody else, as much access as anybody else," he added.
Col. Dowsett noted that whatever aircraft is selected, Canadian firms will benefit. That is because the winning company is required to provide industrial benefits for Canadian companies, he added.
Last year, Prime Minister Paul Martin identified the search-and-rescue project as a priority for his government, adding he would fast-track the purchase.
However, the program has already slipped behind its original schedule and new aircraft are not expected until late 2008 or 2009.
The project is to replace six Buffalo and 10 Hercules aircraft, which are so old they are only available for rescue missions about 50 per cent of the time. The aircraft would operate out of bases at Greenwood, N.S., Trenton, Winnipeg and Comox, B.C. The military is also looking at basing them in the Arctic.
Mr. Gilmour said there are more than 100 Dash 8s operating across Canada, giving the military a ready supply of maintenance expertise and parts. But, he noted the Dash 8 might not qualify for the competition because of the Defence Department's insistence the new planes have a folding ramp door at the rear. The Dash 8 does not have such a ramp, although Bombardier is installing a door at the back of its plane so search-and-rescue technicians can parachute from the rear of the aircraft.
Col. Dowsett, however, said there are good reasons why a rear ramp door is needed. It allows for the quick loading of the three tons of search-and-rescue gear the planes are expected to carry, as well as allowing the rapid transfer of equipment to another plane in case of breakdown.
Military requirements stipulate that if a main search-and-rescue aircraft broke down, the backup plane would have to be airborne within two hours. Without a back ramp it would take about 10 to 12 hours to move search-and-rescue gear from one plane to another, Col. Dowsett estimated.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2005
