Vanguard Magazine

10 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 www.vanguardcanada.com S Sit REp At the end of August, the Government of Canada was officially in- formed that the Eurofighter Typhoon will no longer be in the running as a contender for the next-gen fighters for Canada. The United King- dom's Ministry of Defence (UK MoD) and Airbus Defence and Space decided to withdraw from Canada's Future Fighter Capability Project Airbus pulls out of Canada's future fighter competition (FFCP) after conducting a "detailed review of the Request for Proposal (RFP)" which was released on July 23. This is the second team that has pulled out of the competition since the list of suppliers was announced in February 2018. In November that year, the France-Dassault team informed Canada of their with- drawal. The other suppliers still in the running for the future fighter, at this time, are the Boeing Super Hornet, Lockheed Martin F-35 and Saab Gripen E. According to a media release from Airbus, two factors have led to this decision: one, the NORAD security requirements are too costly for a platform that is outside the United States-Canada 2-EYES community, and two, the significant recent revision of Industrial Technological Ben- efits (ITB) obligations does not sufficiently value the binding commit- ments the Typhoon Canada package was willing to make. With this decision, the UK MoD and Airbus Defence and Space will not proceed any further with the Typhoon Canada campaign. However, both parties strongly reiterate their commitment to Canada. "Airbus Defence and Space is proud of our longstanding partnership with the Government of Canada, and of serving our fifth home coun- try's aerospace priorities for over three decades," said Simon Jacques, President of Airbus Defence and Space Canada. "Together we continue in our focus of supporting the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces, growing skilled aerospace jobs across the country and spur- ring innovation in the Canadian aerospace sector." The Eurofighter Typhoon. Image: Airbus Canada to modernize and grow its CH-149 Cormorant fleet As part of its undertaking in equipping the Canadian Armed Forces through defence policy Strong, Secure, Engaged, Canada is investing in the search and rescue (SAR) fleet of CH-149 Cormorant helicopters. Recently in Comox, British Columbia, Defence Minister Harjit S. Sajjan announced that the CH-149 fleet will "receive at least two additional heli- copters and be upgraded to extend its life to at least 2042." The work will be done by Leonardo S.p.A. in partnership with IMP Aerospace, and CAE. The CH-149 Cormorant provides the capability of performing SAR operations in areas not accessible by other helicopter fleets. By up- grading this capability, Canada is ensuring that it has a reliable fleet of helicopters to handle SAR services. Minister Sajjan said that these enhancements will ensure that SAR crews have the right equipment to continue providing these life-saving services. The Department of National Defence through the National Search and Rescue Program is responsible to respond to aeronautical incidents, maritime incidents, and coordinate the aeronautical and maritime SAR system. The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) has the responsibility to maintain a SAR response capable of reaching those in distress any- where in Canada at any given time. "Through this procurement, we are extending the service life of the Cormorant fleet until 2042 and augmenting the number of aircraft available to ensure Canada's ability to respond to incidents and keep Canadians safe," said Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility. Through the Cormorant Mid-Life Upgrade project, which is valued at up to $1.39 billion, the CH-149s will be upgraded to the AW101-612 de- sign. This model was recently procured by Norway for its SAR missions. Utilizing an already set configuration will hasten work on this project considerably. The Commander of the RCAF, LGen Meinzinger said that these up- grades will ensure that the RCAF will continue to deliver about 1,000 SAR missions every year.

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