Search and rescue deal could lift gloom over fighter jets

The process to buy new fixed-wing search and rescue planes for the Canadian military is in its final stages and is now set to be announced by the Liberal government.

The $ 3- billion project is seen as a good news story and could provide a welcome diversion for the Liberals to shift attention from their controversial proposed purchase of Super Hornet fighter jets.

The winner of the search and rescue contest will be the Alenia C-27J or the Airbus C- 295. The Brazilian aerospace firm Embraer submitted a bid for its KC- 390 aircraft, but the plane only made its maiden flight in 2015 and it is not yet in full production.

The announcement of the winner will be good news for the Royal Canadian Air Force, which has been waiting decades for new planes.

But it will also be welcome for the Liberal government, which is in the midst of allegations it fabricated claims the country doesn’t have enough fighter jets to justify its multi- billion dollar plan to buy Super Hornets.

Martin Shadwick, who teaches strategic studies at York University in Toronto, said although it has taken years, the purchase of the search and rescue planes isn’t seen as controversial.

“You’re not going to get many people who are philosophically opposed to saving lives,” he said. “This purchase will significantly improve Canada’s search and rescue capabilities.”

But he also points out the announcement will give the Liberal government some much- needed positive publicity on military procurement. “They will definitely get kudos for this and it should take the focus off the Super Hornet issue at least temporarily,” he said.

The Liberals have been accused of needlessly delaying the purchase of new fighter jets with their decision to buy Super Hornet jets as a stopgap measure. The Conservatives say the move will waste billions of dollars. They argue the government could quickly select a new fighter jet, instead of buying other planes as an interim solution.

Shadwick warned t he controversy surrounding the fighter jets can be expected to dog the Liberals over the long term.

The new search and rescue planes will replace the RCAF’s 40- year- old Buffalo aircraft and older model C130s currently assigned to search and rescue duties.

The search and rescue aircraft purchase has been a long time in the making. In 2004 the Liberal government highlighted it as a priority.