The most recent deadline of June for the delivery of the first CH-148 Cyclone has come and gone. Sikorsky International Operations Inc. has been contracted to deliver 28 of the state-of-the-art helicopters.
“And we still don’t know when these helicopters are going to come in,” Stoffer, who represents Sackville-Eastern Shore, said in a telephone interview Monday evening.
“I can only assume that the men and women who work at 12 Wing Shearwater are disappointed as well and shrugging their shoulders and saying, ‘What else is new?’
“I wish Sikorsky and the Canadian government would sit down and hold a public press conference and tell the public what’s going on.”
The Canadian government started looking at replacing the Sea Kings in the 1980s.
In 1992, the Conservative government of former prime minister Brian Mulroney decided to buy 50 EH-101s, but the $5.8-billion deal was torn up by the Liberals when they came to power the following year.
Jean Chretien’s government paid
$500 million in penalties for backing out of that deal.
A deal for 28 choppers to replace the Sea Kings was finally signed in 2004. At the time, Sikorsky was to deliver the Cyclones by July 2008. That deadline later got pushed back to last month.
Stoffer said he was there for the Sikorsky announcement and wondered at the time if the four-year delivery timeline was too short, and it turned out he was right.
Although he said Sikorsky is a good firm, Stoffer added that it appears the company may have been the wrong choice for Canada.
The cost of the helicopters is expected to come in at about $5.7 billion.
“It appears to be a whole string of problems here, and I think what Canadians are asking for, they are footing the bill, and the men and women of the navy are asking for, is, ‘Please tell us the truth. What is going on here? When are those helicopters going to be here?’”
In the meantime, the Royal Canadian Navy is struggling to keep the aging Sea Kings in the air.
The Sea Kings have been plagued by technical problems, leading to crashes and regular groundings.
In 2010, auditor general Sheila Fraser said the final bill for the new helicopters will be $6.2 billion when the cost of maintaining the Sea Kings through the delays is considered.
“How long can you keep putting money into these ones?” Stoffer asked.
Canada first started purchasing Sea Kings in 1963.
Original Article
Source: the chronicle herald
Author: DAVENE JEFFREY
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