- Reaction score
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- Points
- 410
(from the Halifax Herald - perhaps the slogan of this helicopter replacement project should be "Smaller, Slower, Cheapest ... Anything except the Cormorant/EH101"?)
Personally, I feel it's a shame that political interests are running roughshod over the moral imperative of "looking after our service members" - by this, I mean to say for the millionth time "what's wrong with buying the best kit for our soldiers?" - we've got a budget surplus, let's spend some of it on those who protect the country (instead of musical fountains in the Prime Minister's riding.)
Only one chopper in running?
Ottawa pushing firm in race to replace Sea King, opposition says
By John Ward / The Canadian Press
Ottawa - The process to find a replacement for the aging Sea King helicopter fleet is seen by many in both industry and politics as skewed in favour of one potential bidder.
Careful study of the federal government's statement of requirements, issued in August, and the letter of interest, which came out this month, show there are major pitfalls for two of the three firms seen as the top contenders for the multibillion-dollar deal.
While the government insists everything is above board, Tory Senator Mike Forrestal and Alliance MP Art Hanger both say the wording of the government's proposal will tilt the contract toward the Eurocopter Cougar design.
That would be at the expense of the bigger and faster choppers offered by Team Cormorant and Sikorsky.
"In my opinion, the process appears far from 'fair and open'," Forrestal wrote in a letter to Prime Minister Jean Chretien this month.
The senator concluded: "If these rules . . . are not altered, Canada will only have one helicopter from which to make a choice, the Eurocopter Cougar March II."
Hangar remarked: "I don't think it's been done with the best interests of the taxpayer in mind or with the military in mind."
Industry insiders and some analysts say privately that Chretien is opposed to the Cormorant because it is a variant of the EH-101, which he condemned as an unneeded luxury during the 1993 election campaign. One of his first acts as prime minister was to kill a Tory deal to buy 43 EH-101s.
Although the government purchased 15 Cormorants - produced by an Anglo-Italian consortium - for search-and-rescue work two years ago, many feel the political situation means the Cormorant will never win the deal for 28 shipborne choppers now up for grabs.
"At the end of the day, they wanted to make sure that it would never be the EH-101 or the Cormorant, call it what you want," said one long-time observer.
Traditionally, the military has looked for "the best value" in buying big-ticket items. This time, the government says it wants the cheapest available helicopter that meets all the requirements. That could hurt Cormorant, which is bigger than the other two contenders, has three engines and is thus more costly.
Gabriel Galleazzi, sales director for Team Cormorant, is still optimistic about the prospects.
"People believe the helicopter is more costly than the others," he said. "We have not put together our price yet."
With 15 Cormorants being built for search-and-rescue, there's room to move on price, he said. "We can really think about a very good and competitive proposal."
He also said there are savings to be found in having a common chopper for both search and rescue and shipborne work.
While Cormorant may be struggling, Sikorsky may be shut out completely by the requirement that the helicopter be certified as airworthy when the contract is signed early next year.
Sikorsky's S-92 aircraft, which has been in development for 10 years and which has already been ordered by two Canadian companies, isn't scheduled to be certified until 2002.
Joe Haddock, director of international business for Sikorsky, said he doesn't see why an aircraft to be delivered in 2005 needs to be certified in 2001.
"We see it as overkill," he said.
Eggleton said he can't budge.
"We said we're buying an off-the-shelf, commercial product, we're not buying an experimental product."
Less-expensive and off-the-shelf are the buzz words for Eurocopter.
"Our philosophy goes clear back to the 1994 defence white paper," said Don Turrentine, area sales director for Eurocopter. "Our product policy has been based on an off-the-shelf, proven aircraft. We intend to be the lowest-cost, compliant bidder."
- 30 -
Personally, I feel it's a shame that political interests are running roughshod over the moral imperative of "looking after our service members" - by this, I mean to say for the millionth time "what's wrong with buying the best kit for our soldiers?" - we've got a budget surplus, let's spend some of it on those who protect the country (instead of musical fountains in the Prime Minister's riding.)
Only one chopper in running?
Ottawa pushing firm in race to replace Sea King, opposition says
By John Ward / The Canadian Press
Ottawa - The process to find a replacement for the aging Sea King helicopter fleet is seen by many in both industry and politics as skewed in favour of one potential bidder.
Careful study of the federal government's statement of requirements, issued in August, and the letter of interest, which came out this month, show there are major pitfalls for two of the three firms seen as the top contenders for the multibillion-dollar deal.
While the government insists everything is above board, Tory Senator Mike Forrestal and Alliance MP Art Hanger both say the wording of the government's proposal will tilt the contract toward the Eurocopter Cougar design.
That would be at the expense of the bigger and faster choppers offered by Team Cormorant and Sikorsky.
"In my opinion, the process appears far from 'fair and open'," Forrestal wrote in a letter to Prime Minister Jean Chretien this month.
The senator concluded: "If these rules . . . are not altered, Canada will only have one helicopter from which to make a choice, the Eurocopter Cougar March II."
Hangar remarked: "I don't think it's been done with the best interests of the taxpayer in mind or with the military in mind."
Industry insiders and some analysts say privately that Chretien is opposed to the Cormorant because it is a variant of the EH-101, which he condemned as an unneeded luxury during the 1993 election campaign. One of his first acts as prime minister was to kill a Tory deal to buy 43 EH-101s.
Although the government purchased 15 Cormorants - produced by an Anglo-Italian consortium - for search-and-rescue work two years ago, many feel the political situation means the Cormorant will never win the deal for 28 shipborne choppers now up for grabs.
"At the end of the day, they wanted to make sure that it would never be the EH-101 or the Cormorant, call it what you want," said one long-time observer.
Traditionally, the military has looked for "the best value" in buying big-ticket items. This time, the government says it wants the cheapest available helicopter that meets all the requirements. That could hurt Cormorant, which is bigger than the other two contenders, has three engines and is thus more costly.
Gabriel Galleazzi, sales director for Team Cormorant, is still optimistic about the prospects.
"People believe the helicopter is more costly than the others," he said. "We have not put together our price yet."
With 15 Cormorants being built for search-and-rescue, there's room to move on price, he said. "We can really think about a very good and competitive proposal."
He also said there are savings to be found in having a common chopper for both search and rescue and shipborne work.
While Cormorant may be struggling, Sikorsky may be shut out completely by the requirement that the helicopter be certified as airworthy when the contract is signed early next year.
Sikorsky's S-92 aircraft, which has been in development for 10 years and which has already been ordered by two Canadian companies, isn't scheduled to be certified until 2002.
Joe Haddock, director of international business for Sikorsky, said he doesn't see why an aircraft to be delivered in 2005 needs to be certified in 2001.
"We see it as overkill," he said.
Eggleton said he can't budge.
"We said we're buying an off-the-shelf, commercial product, we're not buying an experimental product."
Less-expensive and off-the-shelf are the buzz words for Eurocopter.
"Our philosophy goes clear back to the 1994 defence white paper," said Don Turrentine, area sales director for Eurocopter. "Our product policy has been based on an off-the-shelf, proven aircraft. We intend to be the lowest-cost, compliant bidder."
- 30 -
