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FWSAR (CC130H, Buffalo, C27J, V22): Status & Possibilities

  • Thread starter Thread starter aesop081
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suffolkowner said:
It's like deja vu [lol:

The article does a good job explaining the APU situation. It seems hard to believe that Leonardo could be cheaper than Airbus based on the published numbers but that is why you put it out for tender! I'd like to know what Leonardo was offering for that much of a price difference. I think the CPFH difference would be interesting as well but 3000 versus 2000 is a lot different than 30000 versus 20000.

More importantly I wonder where the RCMP investigation is on this file how exactly did Airbus know they could go over the budget by that much and not Leonardo. What would be the justification for the government not informing both bidders?

Notice that Leonardo is not raising the budget issue in their court filings.  Which is curious - if there was information asymmetry that could be an actionable thing, yet it's not part of the appeal.  Reading the article, it almost sounds as if Leonardo is arguing against the evaluation criteria.
 
dapaterson said:
Notice that Leonardo is not raising the budget issue in their court filings.  Which is curious - if there was information asymmetry that could be an actionable thing, yet it's not part of the appeal.  Reading the article, it almost sounds as if Leonardo is arguing against the evaluation criteria.

They likely can't/would be overly difficult to prove the asymmetry. It's better for them to focus on the actual SOR and how they believe the C-27J is the superior aircraft, and force PSPC to release the scoring criteria and scores on how they came up with the winner.
 
PuckChaser said:
They likely can't/would be overly difficult to prove the asymmetry. It's better for them to focus on the actual SOR and how they believe the C-27J is the superior aircraft, and force PSPC to release the scoring criteria and scores on how they came up with the winner.

I would certainly like to know how things were scored, to me it's not a good start to our non political procurement process!
 
Generally, the evaluation criteria are part of the package released to bidders.  And afterwards, the bidders are given (on request) a debrief and information on how they scored.

 
How they scored, but are they given the other bidders scores, or is that held in confidence? The first step to an open and fair procurement process is publishing the scoring for each company for the public to see.
 
You can see the problem in developing a scoring system though. If you can't manage FWSAR how are you going to do with more complicated procurements?
 
Leonardo claims gov't played dirty with them:

Losing search plane bidder not aware of feds 'budget flexibility'
Public works says the max $3.4B search plane budget 'never a mandatory requirement'

A new and crucial wrinkle has emerged in the Liberal government's first major military equipment purchase: the ongoing saga to replace the air force's fixed-wing search and rescue planes.

The losing bidder in the $4.7-billion program has told CBC News that it was never informed there was flexibility within the federal government's proposed acquisition budget. 

Leonardo S.p.A., an Italian aircraft maker, found itself on the outside of the deal last fall when the Liberal government chose to buy 16 new C-295W transports from rival Airbus Defence and Space.

The company with the losing bid, which offered its C-27J aircraft, has launched a Federal Court challenge. It also recently lost a bid before the Canadian International Trade Tribunal to halt the project.

Central to its case is how the program budget envelope went to $4.7 billion from $3.4 billion, which was initially approved and set aside by the previous Conservative government. 

    [further links]
    Trade challenge of RCAF search plane contract tossed
    Airbus search plane contract faces court challenge
    Airbus chosen to build Canada's new search planes

The three companies bidding on the replacement contract and 20 years of in-service support — Leonardo, Airbus Defence and Space  and Embraer — were told that exceeding the budget envelope could lead to disqualification.

"If the financial proposal of the winning bid is higher than the notional budget, Canada could, at its sole discretion exercise any of its rights," which includes rejection of the offer, said the request for proposals.

Federal officials, in explaining the mechanics of the decision last December, told CBC News that the contract was being broken up into two stages.

The Airbus bid came in at $2.4 billion and included only 11 years of maintenance. There would be an option to renew in-service support for up to 15 years, and, if fully extended, it would add an additional $2.3 billion to the value of the tender.

As the Canadian partner of Airbus, Provincial Aerospace in St. John's would be the main beneficiary of those contract extensions.

Bidder left in the dark?

Public works conducted extensive consultations with the bidders and trumpeted the openness and transparency of the contract process.

Yet, a senior official at Leonardo says nowhere in those discussions was his company given the indication that the project budget could be exceeded.

"All efforts made by Leonardo during the proposal preparation were focused, for the benefit of Canada, on considering the notional budget as a target to meet," Filippo Bagnato, the managing director of Leonardo Aircraft Division, told CBC News.

"Leonardo was not aware of any budget flexibility, beyond that described in the RFP (request for proposal), and that an increase in budget would be remotely possible."

A spokesperson for public works underlined the fact the program budget was "notional," meaning it was hypothetical with figures that were prepared a few years ago when bids were first solicited.

"While the Government of Canada shared a notional budget of $3.4 billion as information for the replacement of its fleet of Fixed-Wing Search and Rescue (FWSAR) aircraft with bidders, it was never a mandatory requirement nor was it a ceiling price that bidders had to bid under," said spokesperson Pierre-Alain Bujold.

"The notional budget was based on best information available at the time when the solicitation was released to industry. The solicitation documents clearly identified a best value approach for the selection of the winning bid, which considered capability and socio-economic benefits as well as cost."..
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/search-rescue-plane-contract-1.4136145

I.e. Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!

Mark
Ottawa
 
Meanwhile Twotters will be kept flying until 55 years old--but some Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!

Canada Invests in Maintenance of Buffalo and Twin Otter Aircraft

...maintenance contracts were awarded to KF Aerospace of British Columbia as a result of open, transparent and competitive processes. With much of the work being done in the country, these contract will help support Canada’s world-class aerospace industry and maintain approximately 40 high-value middle-class jobs [emphasis added] for Canadians...

The second contract, valued at $9.6 million (including taxes), will help maintain the Royal Canadian Air Force’s CC-138 Twin Otter aircraft for a period of four years and includes the possibility of four additional one-year extensions. Canada’s four Twin Otters are based in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. These aircraft are used in transport roles for the Canadian Armed Forces’ northern operations and occasionally in search and rescue missions. This investment will help maintain the equipment until at least 2025, so that the Canadian Armed Forces can continue delivering operations in the northern territories...
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-services-procurement/news/2017/05/canada_invests_inmaintenanceofbuffaloandtwinotteraircraft.html

Sigh...what about this jobs alternative?

Why Not Just Buy New-Build Viking Air Twotters for RCAF?
https://cgai3ds.wordpress.com/2015/03/26/mark-collins-why-not-just-buy-new-build-viking-air-twotters-for-rcaf/

From that post, new Twotter with Vietnamese navy, great paint job:

thuyphico_souk.jpg


Mark
Ottawa
 
With a "trade in" clause that Viking takes and resell the older Otters, which they would be happy to do I suspect. Write a sole source contract, because they are the only ones that seem to work.
 
The Twin Otter seems like a slam dunk solution, especially if one considers the jobs aspect.

Regarding FWSAR it seems hard to believe that Leonardo could match Airbus's numbers, I sure would like to know how their bids compared. You would think the RCMP would be investigating this instead of Admiral Norman

 
MarkOttawa said:
Leonardo claims gov't played dirty with them:

Further down in that article, it states:

"Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan ... "When we made the announcement I was very happy to hear from our search and rescue community that this aircraft is going to deliver all the necessary tools and be able to enhance our ability. I'm looking forward to having new equipment for our search and rescue because our men and women deserve that."

One wonders who told him that, or if he's imagineering again.

I've not heard anybody in the SAR community speak favourably about this decision, but there could be some who feel that anything shiny is better than anything old, I suppose.
 
His career would not have him rub shoulders with the day to day SAR ops. Likely he is hearing what the hand puppets at the top want him to hear.
 
So, has anyone seen/toured the Brazilian C-295 that did the tours of Comox, Winnipeg and Trenton?  If so, now that you've seen it in the flesh, how does it compare to the Buffalo?
 
Dimsum said:
So, has anyone seen/toured the Brazilian C-295 that did the tours of Comox, Winnipeg and Trenton?  If so, now that you've seen it in the flesh, how does it compare to the Buffalo?
Looks like a herc that never grew up.
 
Dimsum said:
So, has anyone seen/toured the Brazilian C-295 that did the tours of Comox, Winnipeg and Trenton?  If so, now that you've seen it in the flesh, how does it compare to the Buffalo?

Apologies for delay - I spent about 4 hours crawling over the Brazilian variant of our new CC-295. 

It is superior in every way to the Buffalo - faster, more comfortable, pressurized and more room. 

It's not a Herc - nor was it ever meant to be. 

Airbus has built a nice package for our SAR crews - it will be a welcome addition to our modern fleet. 
 
Ditch said:
Apologies for delay - I spent about 4 hours crawling over the Brazilian variant of our new CC-295. 

It is superior in every way to the Buffalo - faster, more comfortable, pressurized and more room. 

It's not a Herc - nor was it ever meant to be. 

Airbus has built a nice package for our SAR crews - it will be a welcome addition to our modern fleet.

???

So?  What happens when SAR has to jump?  Rapid decompression?....  :warstory: ......I know.....The cabin will be depressurized and then the doors opened, and away they or cargo go. 

That was my initial impression though.  [:D
 
jmt18325 said:
I thought I read here earlier that it would be nothing but a total disaster?

The comparison was to the Buffalo only the 295 isn't just replacing the Buffalo. I'd also wait to hear what the backenders think, they are the ones doing to work in the back right?  The Buffalo isn't the ideal 1-solution FW platform either and I don't remember anyone saying that.  I'd expect Buff drivers to love the new plane, glass cockpit etc.  Doesn't mean it was the ideal choice over the other available choices for a single FWSAR.

The RCAF also announced that the sensors would not be operated by the RCAF sensor operators.  That also shows you how some of the RCAF thought processes occur.  ::)
 
It's also worth noting that while it's not replacing only the buffalo, it's only replacing one role of the SAR Hercs.  It's not meant to replace their other functions. 
 
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