Close X
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
ADVT 
National

Ghost Of Sea King Replacement Haunts Trudeau's F-35 Stealth Fighter Pledge

The Canadian Press, 22 Sep, 2015 12:34 PM
    OTTAWA — The last time a prospective Liberal government promised to cancel a pricey military program it led to a procurement odyssey that stretched more than 20 years, something defence experts say Justin Trudeau would have to avoid with the F-35.
     
    Jean Chretien's 1993 campaign promise to cancel the air force's planned acquisition of EH-101 maritime helicopters had a profound effect on both the military and the defence establishment.
     
    It cost the federal treasury up to $500 million in contract cancellation penalties, soured the relationship with manufacturer Agusta Westland, and left the air force with a fleet of aging CH-124 Sea King helicopters that it's still struggling to replace today after a series of development delays with the chosen successor, the CH-148 Cyclone.
     
    Trudeau's pledge to back out of the F-35 program would not mean contract penalties since there is no signed agreement to break. 
     
    But it has the potential of affecting up to 33 Canadian aerospace companies working on the stealth fighter and future work doled out by Lockheed Martin, the world's biggest defence contractor.
     
    Defence experts, such as former military procurement boss Alan Williams, say the key for Trudeau would be to open up bids quickly after forming government and signing a contract within two years.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Charges Laid In Arsons, Shootings Targeting B.C. Justice Institute

    Charges Laid In Arsons, Shootings Targeting B.C. Justice Institute
    Two men have been arrested and charged for attacks on more than a dozen people linked, sometimes in the most tenuous way, to the institute that trains British Columbia's police officers

    Charges Laid In Arsons, Shootings Targeting B.C. Justice Institute

    Jarrod Sidhu Joins Vancouver Police, To Work With Father Police Sergeant Tej Sidhu

    Jarrod Sidhu Joins Vancouver Police, To Work With Father Police Sergeant Tej Sidhu
    Jarrod Sidhu is one of the 13 new recruits who joined the department on Thursday and is posted under his father, Tej Sidhu, who is a sergeant with the Vancouver police department

    Jarrod Sidhu Joins Vancouver Police, To Work With Father Police Sergeant Tej Sidhu

    Toronto Police Hunt For Indian-Origin Uber Cab Driver Amritpal Singh For Molesting Woman

    Toronto Police Hunt For Indian-Origin Uber Cab Driver Amritpal Singh For Molesting Woman
    Listed as Amritpal with the cab service company, he is described as a young man between 26 and 30 years of age, short black spiked hair and a short chin-strap beard

    Toronto Police Hunt For Indian-Origin Uber Cab Driver Amritpal Singh For Molesting Woman

    Apple Security Breach Could Impact Canadians With iPhones And iPads

    Apple Security Breach Could Impact Canadians With iPhones And iPads
    Apple Inc. has removed some applications from its app store after developers in China were tricked into using software tools that added malicious code to their work.

    Apple Security Breach Could Impact Canadians With iPhones And iPads

    Hundreds Stranded, Others Without Power As Slides Hit Northeast Of Pemberton

    Hundreds Stranded, Others Without Power As Slides Hit Northeast Of Pemberton
    Officials with the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District hope to gain a better idea today of how long it will take to repair roads and reach people stranded northeast of Pemberton

    Hundreds Stranded, Others Without Power As Slides Hit Northeast Of Pemberton

    B.C. To Increase Wolf Cull, Says It's The Best Plan To Save Endangered Caribou

    B.C. To Increase Wolf Cull, Says It's The Best Plan To Save Endangered Caribou
    British Columbia is aiming to increase the number of wolves it kills this winter in the second year of a plan to save endangered caribou, prompting criticism from celebrities 

    B.C. To Increase Wolf Cull, Says It's The Best Plan To Save Endangered Caribou