[quote]Sikorsky will replace Sea Kings
Michael Tutton
Canadian Press
July 22, 2004
SHEARWATER, N.S. (CP) -- After decades of delay, the Liberal government announced Friday it has chosen the Sikorsky S-92 helicopter to replace its ancient fleet of Sea Kings.
Defence Minister Bill Graham, only four days into his new job, made the announcement of the $3.2-billion purchase Friday morning before a squadron of Sea King helicopter pilots and crew gathered at a military base near Halifax.
"Sikorsky's S-92 represents the right helicopter for the Canadian Forces at the best price for Canadians," he said.
"The country will be getting a robust maritime helicopter that will meet our military needs for many years to come."
The defence minister dubbed the aircraft "the Cyclone," and said "by selecting the S-92, Canada is acquiring a world-class helicopter that is at the forefront of modern technology and will serve our defence needs for years to come."
The twin-engine S-92, built by U.S.-based Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., has been touted as the less expensive option over its rival, the larger, three-engine EH-101 Cormorant, built by a British-Italian consortium led by EH Industries.
Despite Friday's announcement, the Sea Kings will be kept flying for at least the next four years as the S-92s are built, said Scott Brison, the federal minister of public works.
After that, the new helicopters will be delivered at a rate of one per month over the following 27 months. There will be financial penalties if the choppers aren't delivered on time.
One veteran airman questioned both the lengthy process and the military merits of the final choice.
"This announcement is long, long overdue," said Sgt. Phil Moffitt, a Halifax-based airman who retires next fall after 27 years of working aboard and flying Sea Kings.
He said he would have preferred the Cormorants over the Sikorsky aircraft, a sentiment shared by many in the military.
"We already have that aircraft (the Cormorant) in the Canadian Forces. It would be better for cross training for technicians and air crew," he said.
Friday's announcement closed a saga that began in the 1980s, when the Defence Department set out to replace its fleet of maritime helicopters, otherwise known as the CH-124 Sea Kings -- also a Sikorsky product.
The matter could have been settled when the Tory government ordered 50 EH-101 helicopters -- essentially a fancier version of the Cormorant -- in 1992.
But the $5.8-billion contract was cancelled by former Liberal prime minister Jean Chretien, who declared in the 1993 election campaign that the helicopters were "Cadillacs" the nation couldn't afford.
His move cost taxpayers $500 million in penalties and became a lightning rod for those who argued the Liberal government was set on destroying Canada's military.
Meanwhile, maintenance technicians have had to meticulously overhaul the fleet of obsolescent Sea Kings to keep them flying.
They require about 30 hours of maintenance for every hour of flying time, and there have been four fatal crashes that have claimed at least 10 lives.
The Defence Department has long pushed to have the government buy the more expensive Cormorant. In fact, the department issued a recommendation to do so as far back as 1987.
Some analysts have said the Sikorsky is somewhat of an unknown quantity for military use because no other country uses it for that purpose, said David Rudd, executive director of the Toronto-based Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies.
Still, Rudd said that after such a long wait, Canada's military is probably "glad to get anything."
Lee Myrhaugen, a retired air force colonel and former Sea King pilot, said the Sikorsky S-92 represents a "quantum leap" over the old Sea King.
He called it "an exceptional, state of the art aircraft" that will allow the navy to play a prominent role in the U.S.-led war on terrorism.
"I believe today it's out of the political arena, and I believe the Liberal government is demonstrating that by making a timely decision."
Opposition critics have said the Liberals are guilty of repeatedly doctoring the tender specifications, either to avoid making a decision or to ensure they wouldn't have to buy the same helicopter that Chretien had so dismissively attacked in opposition.
In 1998, the ruling Liberals awarded a $790-million contract for 15 search-and-rescue versions of EH Industries' Cormorant.
But the balance of the order for maritime patrol choppers went into a complex tendering process that at one point divided the air frame and avionics into separate bids.
After facing a barage of criticism from the aircraft industry, the federal government issued a call for a single tender last December, just days after Chretien left office.
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