Preserving capacity, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, Keys to Canadian SAR
Issue link: http://vanguardcanada.uberflip.com/i/507045
bility-based is our desired solution," said Pablo Molina, head of Airbus DS Military Aircraft in Canada, "because we can provide the capabil- ity based on the current bases that the air force is operating and with a lower cost than anyone can do it." While the RCAF would prefer to maintain its current basing structure for SAR, it left open the option to alternative proposals in a draft RFP. In an interview shortly before the fi nal RFP was released, Molina said that Airbus' partner- ship with Provincial Aerospace (PAL) and the experience of its customer base that includes 120 aircraft in operation, include SAR opera- tions in Finland and Portugal, would "give us a very reliable basis" to calculate the data re- quired to meet operations and performance requirements for all SAR missions, especially maritime and Arctic. The FWSAR program will be an early test for the government's year-old Defence Procure- ment Strategy. Molina said Airbus has been banking IRB credits with Industry Canada, pri- marily through its commercial business, but sees new export opportunities with its FWSAR partners, especially PAL – it recently signed an agreement to explore foreign markets collab- oratively. (The other Canadian partners include CAE, Pratt & Whitney, Vector Aerospace and L-3 WESCAM.) The RFP closes on September 28. www.vanguardcanada.com aPRIL/May 2015 9 I INSIDE IndUSTRy Fifth C-17 will extend life of Globemaster fl eet Tail number 705 touched down on the tarmac of 8 Wing Trenton in April, marking delivery of a fi fth CC-177 Globemaster to the Royal Canadian Air Force. The acquisition of the Boeing airlifter was announced in December to augment a fl eet that has been heavily engaged in Operations Impact and Reassurance, establishing and re- supplying troops and air task forces in Kuwait and Lithuania, respectively. The fl eet has also played a key role in Arctic operations, deliver- ing fuel, equipment and personnel across the High North. In a press release, National Defence said the additional aircraft would allow the RCAF to en- sure "at least three CC-177 aircraft [are] available more than 90 per cent of the time to respond to concurrent international or domestic crises. This represents an increase of approximately 25 per- cent." The department said that the fi fth aircraft, acquired for approximately $415 million, plus 12 years of in-service support at $30 million, would extend the life expectancy of the entire fl eet by about seven and a half years. "We've chalked up enormous successes with our fi rst four Globemasters," said RCAF com- mander Yvan Blondin. "With the arrival of our new Globemaster, we will be more agile, more fl exible, and better able to respond when the government calls." The aircraft, which will be operated by 429 Squadron at 8 Wing, was one of 10 "white tail" planes produced by Boeing as it prepares to close the C-17 production line in mid 2015. B U I LD I N G S H I PS F O R C A N A D A B Y C A N A D I A N S www.seaspan.com Non-Combat Supplier for the Canadian Government's National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy (NSPS).