Canada: Sea King-replacing CH148 Cyclone delays, updates....

[Erik_7Xi]

Why not simply order MH-60R's?

Isn't that what the Royal Australian Navy did? Back when they first ordered the NH90, they increased the order to include a few helicopters for the Navy as well, which was still operating the Sea King at the time. The idea was that they would order a specialized Naval variant as a second batch to replace the Sea King.

So they flew the NH90, whenever they were not grounded....and ended up buying the MH-60R instead. What does that tell you about the NH90?

For the Canadians though, looking at the AW101 makes sense as it is already the primary maritime SAR helicopter. Reducing the number of different types and different vendors is a proven method of reducing the overall fleet upkeep costs. But only of it makes economical sense to purchase the AW101 vs. the MH-60R and if the AW101 is actually fit for purpose. (Does it fit on the ships, is it compatible with the existing systems and processes in use today, etc.)

At this stage, I would not rule out the purchase of used Merlin / EH101 /AW101 helicopters as the Canadian Sea Kings are really getting old and must be hellishly expensive to maintain and operate.

[Stratofreighter]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/pol ... e14269644/

Last updated Thursday, Sep. 12 2013, 7:52 AM EDT

The federal government has spent more than $1-billion on a delay-plagued acquisition of naval helicopters, sources say –
a deal that Ottawa is now threatening to scrap.

Last week, Public Works Minister Diane Finley signalled Ottawa is
contemplating pulling the plug
on an acquisition the Auditor-General has estimated would total $5.7-billion when all costs, including setup, maintenance and training, are included.

Ms. Finley said the government is shopping around for alternatives to the Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone.

The federal government has refused to officially accept delivery of four “interim configured” Cyclones at a Canadian Armed Forces Base in Nova Scotia on the grounds they do not meet contracted requirements.

A 2010 Auditor-General’s report said Ottawa “understated the complexity of configuring this helicopter,”
and noted that while the Defence Department treated the procurement as an off-the-shelf purchase, it was far from that.
“This will result in an aircraft that never existed before.”

An independent evaluation of the contract conducted for Public Works has not yet been released,
but excerpts of the report obtained by CBC last week make it appear as though Ottawa is being advised to relax the requirements of the helicopter deal.

It reportedly urges Ottawa to
“sacrifice less important requirements in order to deliver relevant capability”
to the Royal Canadian Air Force.

The Canadian government recently sent a team to Britain to consider the Royal Navy’s Merlin helicopters.
This service branch recently received upgraded Merlin Mk2 helicopters.

Another chopper maker, AgustaWestland, publicly appealed to Ottawa this week to consider its AW101 helicopter instead.
Its CH-149 Cormorant is used by the Forces for air-sea rescue.

[Stratofreighter]

http://www.nasdaq.com/article/canadas-s ... g-cm316047

January 06, 2014, 09:40:01 AM EDT

The Canadian Ministry of Public Works and Government Services recently announced that it has given a green signal to the $4.7 billion (C$5 million) deal to buy 28 helicopters from Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a subsidiary of diversified business conglomerate United Technologies Corp. ( UTX ). The deal, which was almost shelved due to long delays, got a fresh lease of life when the Canadian government entered into new Principles of Agreement with principal contractor Sikorsky.

In addition, the new contract also states that Sikorsky will be required to upgrade the helicopters' capability to suit Canada without any extra charge.

Also see
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/201 ... nterested/

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/pol ... e16192640/

Between 2015 and 2018, the Canadian Forces are planning to operate Cyclones with “sufficient” operational capability to start replacing the Sea Kings, but not the full capabilities that Ottawa is paying $5.7-billion to obtain.

http://o.canada.com/news/tories-stickin ... sea-kings/

http://thechronicleherald.ca/canada/117 ... -next-year

Instead, Ottawa will go ahead with its plan to acquire the maritime choppers to replace the decades-old CH-124 Sea Kings, which it will start retiring next year.

...and a comparison at http://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/he ... omparison/ .

[Stratofreighter]

http://www.nasdaq.com/article/canadas-s ... g-cm316047

January 06, 2014, 09:40:01 AM EDT

The Canadian Ministry of Public Works and Government Services recently announced that it has given a green signal to the $4.7 billion (C$5 million) deal to buy 28 helicopters from Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a subsidiary of diversified business conglomerate United Technologies Corp. ( UTX ). The deal, which was almost shelved due to long delays, got a fresh lease of life when the Canadian government entered into new Principles of Agreement with principal contractor Sikorsky.

In addition, the new contract also states that Sikorsky will be required to upgrade the helicopters' capability to suit Canada without any extra charge.

Also see
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/201 ... nterested/

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/pol ... e16192640/

Between 2015 and 2018, the Canadian Forces are planning to operate Cyclones with “sufficient” operational capability to start replacing the Sea Kings, but not the full capabilities that Ottawa is paying $5.7-billion to obtain.

http://o.canada.com/news/tories-stickin ... sea-kings/

http://thechronicleherald.ca/canada/117 ... -next-year

Instead, Ottawa will go ahead with its plan to acquire the maritime choppers to replace the decades-old CH-124 Sea Kings, which it will start retiring next year.

...and a comparison at http://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/he ... omparison/ .

[Stratofreighter]

http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2014/12/04/Vi ... li-Hangar/

Safety requirements dropped

In June 2014, the Harper government surrendered to Sikorsky by renegotiating the contract.

In return for a 2015 delivery, it reduced the company's development costs by eliminating two key safety requirements:

a 30-minute "run-dry" capability and an automatic life raft deployment system.

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/ ... o-the-rcaf

Last Updated: February 8, 2015 10:59 PM EST

I had a Defence Watch reader inform me that four Cyclone maritime helicopters had been delivered to the RCAF at 12 Wing Shearwater.

Phone calls were made to NDHQ but it turns out that is not the complete story.

As has happened before, there are indeed Cyclones in Canada for training.

DND spokesman Zoltan Csepregi told Defence Watch that, “The Department of National Defence/Canadian Armed Forces are not taking formal delivery of maritime helicopters at this time.”

“Four aircraft are positioned at 12 Wing Shearwater and they will be used by Sikorsky for Initial Cadre Training of Royal Canadian Air Force aircrew and technicians,” he added.

“DND continues to closely monitor progress towards achieving all delivery requirements, as well as the potential impact on the schedule for delivery of the final version of the Cyclone.”

Sources tell Defence Watch that the RCAF is expected to take formal delivery of the first helicopter sometime in the summer of 2015.