Summary
The expected C-17 buy is actually one half of a two-part plan to restore the military's clapped-out air transport capability. To replace the 35-year old Hercules aircraft for routine operations, a similar class of aircraft will also be procured. Both types of aircraft will have the ability to operate from short, unprepared runways common to the developing world or to remote communities in Canada. This attribute was made clear to me on my second exposure to the C-17 when I recently flew out of Kandahar, Afghanistan. The pilot gunned the engines but kept applying the brakes. When he released them we shot forward and leapt off the ground, leaving our stomachs behind. It felt as though we had been catapulted from the deck of an aircraft carrier.
The nagging question of whether Canada could continue to rent large aircraft from Russian sources on an as-needed basis lingers like the smell of jet fuel. The Defence Department will undoubtedly reply that military and commercial demand for chartered airlift may soon outstrip supply. Since the charter companies shrewdly keep the number of aircraft in service fixed, increasing demand will drive up rental costs while diminishing the chances that Canada will obtain airlift when it is needed most. There is also the fact that Russian-built aircraft are cleared to carry Western equipment but not troops, which decreases their flexibility. And since those aircraft are civilian machines they cannot carry defensive aids, which are used to protect the aircraft from surface-to-air missiles in a combat zone. The C-17 can do all of the above. don't expect regional benefits to be swept completely off the table. Each of last week's announcements emphasized that "high-quality" industrial offsets will be sought in return for each equipment purchase. This means that bidders will have to do more than buy maple syrup from Quebec or hold corporate events at a golf resort on the Lake of the Woods. At best, Boeing will be compelled to agree that in return for purchasing two of its products -- the C-17 and the Chinook transport helicopter -- Canada's aerospace industry would be granted a major share of the production of the company's next commercial airliner. At worst, Ottawa will insist that the winning bidder for the army's new trucks build a production facility in Canada as a (short-term) job-creation scheme. An assembly line would be expensive to establish, leaving less money for the trucks themselves. It would also stand idle once the 1,500 or so vehicles had been delivered. But even this might not dissuade the Tories from going that route. It was no accident that the procurement announcement was made in Quebec. If a facility is built there it might boost the prime minister's electoral fortunes.See the full content of this document
Extract
Prepare for Takeoff
Has defence turned a critical corner, or is there more turbulence ahead?
DAVID RUDDSOME years back I happened to attend the air show at Winnipeg International Airport. I had heard that the German army was in the process of vacating its training facility at base Shilo, and I wanted to see if the Panzer crews were going to put on a farewell show for the province, which had hosted them for decades.I was not entirely disappointed. The Germans ran some of their armoured vehicles around an improvised obstac...See the full content of this document
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