Military’s $12B plan for aircraft grounded

Looming election puts procurement process on hold Troops counting on new choppers, transport planes

OTTAWA— The looming election has derailed a $ 12 billion plan by Canada’s military to buy desperately needed helicopters, transport planes and searchandrescue aircraft, raising concerns that troops could be left without the equipment they need. A cabinet committee delayed the projects this week because of uncertainty surrounding the future of the minority Liberals — and the potential political backlash the big- ticket purchases might spark.

Defence Minister Bill Graham conceded the decision could impact how Canadian troops carry out their missions.

“ Ultimately their ability to do their job is affected by the assets that we give them to do it,” he said yesterday.

Still, the air force acquisitions will be put on ice until after a federal vote. “We don’t make major procurements during elections,” Graham said, adding that he was “ very anxious” to proceed with the procurement “ to enable our troops to do their job.”

Military brass was pushing a plan to buy heavy lift helicopters, considered essential for moving troops and equipment in the field, new tactical transports to replace the 40- year- old fleet of Hercules, and searchandairplanes. The defence department wanted about 15 models of each aircraft. The news that this was all on hold was reportedly not wellreceived by Gen. Rick Hillier, the chief of defence staff, who had been urging government to push forward with the air force acquisitions “ fairly aggressively.

“ The troops need it. They need it now, not 15 years from now, not 10 years from now, not even five years from now. They need it as soon as possible,” Hillier told the Star in an interview prior to the cabinet decision. Conservative MP Gordon O’Connor ( Carleton- Mississippi Mills) said the Liberals have only themselves to blame.

“ They have created a crisis . . . Now, as we go to an election and putting troops in harm’s way, they’re trying to get all this equipment,” he said. “ They should ( have) had them years ago. We have some of the oldest military Hercules on the planet.” But it’s more than just the election at play in this decision. The military, hoping to fast- track the purchases, issued specific, performancerequirements for each aircraft, such as how fast they should fly and how much they should carry.

That has ruffled feathers in the defence industry and sparked a fierce lobbying effort by companies that fear they might be shut out of the lucrative contracts.

Quietly, military officials have complained it’s the lobbyists themselves who benefit from a drawn- out procurement by collecting fees for the time a project sits on the shelf. The military’s urgent need for helicopters was driven home to the armed force’s second in command this past weekend as he visited Canadian troops in the mountains of Pakistan — in a leased civilian helicopter, because the military didn’t have one that was up to the job.

“Clearly, we need enhanced helicopter capability for the kind of missions that we’re doing in Afghanistan and other places,” said Lt.- Gen. Marc Dumais, the deputy chief of the defence staff. But Canada’s disaster assistance response team, helping out in Pakistan’s earthquake zone, has been forced to rely on a rented chopper. The Russian- built Kamov 32, rented from a Canadian company that normally uses them for logging on the West Coast, is now ferrying military teams and humanitarian aid around the disaster zone.

“ Because of the mountainous region . . . helicopters are critical,” Dumais said. “ That’s really enhanced their effectiveness. With that helicopter, they’ve been able to launch reconnaissance missions . . . fly in the medical teams and also evacuate people who are ill.” Dumais conceded that Canada’s increasing presence in Afghanistan — more than 1,300 troops will be added next February — means troops will have to hitch rides on helicopters owned by allied nations to get around the country.

“ Obviously, if we had our own assets that could be put to the task, that would be a perfect world. Hopefully we’ll get there some day,” he said. The Canadian army, meanwhile, is spending $36 million to improve the armour plating on its relatively thinned-skinned reconnaissance vehicles and trucks destined for duty in Afghanistan, Canadian Press reports. The plating is meant to protect soldiers from grenades and road- side bombs.