The federal government announced the purchase of 16 new search and rescue aircraft that will replace Canada’s fleets of CC115 Buffalo and legacy CC130 Hercules aircraft.
The $2.4 billion contract with Airbus Defence and Space will cover the purchase of 16 C295W aircraft, equipped with advanced technology systems, to support Canada’s search and rescue operations, construct a new simulator-equipped training centre in Comox, British Columbia, and provide ongoing maintenance and support services.
RELATED: PAL Aerospace gets share of major federal SAR fixed-wing contract
Airbus has partnered with Newfoundland-based PAL Aerospace for maintenance and support services. The contract will provide a complete, modern and technologically advanced search and rescue solution, including maintenance and support services up to 2043.
The contract also includes options to extend the maintenance and support services for an additional 15 years. Should Canada choose to exercise these additional options, the contract value would increase to $4.7 billion.
“The purchase of these new search-and-rescue planes will provide Forces’ members at 14 Wing Greenwood with the equipment and technology they require to keep Canadians safe, and secures 14 Wing Greenwood as an important search and rescue base on Canada’s East Coast,” said West Nova MP Colin Fraser told KingsCountyNews.ca.
Of the 16 aircraft, three will be stationed at 14 Wing Greenwood. Three other aircraft will be going to each of the other three airforce bases in Canada – Trenton, Winnipeg and Comox – and an additional two new planes going to the operational training unit in B.C. The final two planes will serve as “floaters,” Fraser said, meaning they will backfill those aircraft when maintenance is required.
The federal government announced the purchase of 16 new search and rescue aircraft that will replace Canada’s fleets of CC115 Buffalo and legacy CC130 Hercules aircraft.
The $2.4 billion contract with Airbus Defence and Space will cover the purchase of 16 C295W aircraft, equipped with advanced technology systems, to support Canada’s search and rescue operations, construct a new simulator-equipped training centre in Comox, British Columbia, and provide ongoing maintenance and support services.
RELATED: PAL Aerospace gets share of major federal SAR fixed-wing contract
Airbus has partnered with Newfoundland-based PAL Aerospace for maintenance and support services. The contract will provide a complete, modern and technologically advanced search and rescue solution, including maintenance and support services up to 2043.
The contract also includes options to extend the maintenance and support services for an additional 15 years. Should Canada choose to exercise these additional options, the contract value would increase to $4.7 billion.
“The purchase of these new search-and-rescue planes will provide Forces’ members at 14 Wing Greenwood with the equipment and technology they require to keep Canadians safe, and secures 14 Wing Greenwood as an important search and rescue base on Canada’s East Coast,” said West Nova MP Colin Fraser told KingsCountyNews.ca.
Of the 16 aircraft, three will be stationed at 14 Wing Greenwood. Three other aircraft will be going to each of the other three airforce bases in Canada – Trenton, Winnipeg and Comox – and an additional two new planes going to the operational training unit in B.C. The final two planes will serve as “floaters,” Fraser said, meaning they will backfill those aircraft when maintenance is required.
The planes will be equipped with new technology that includes state-of-the-art communications systems that will allow search and rescue personnel to share real-time information with partners on the ground. Using integrated sensors, crews will be able to locate persons or objects, such as downed aircraft, from more than 40 kilometres away, even in low-light conditions, a federal government press release states.
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said in a release that the new planes would ensure Canada’s military have the tools needed to help people in distress.
“Members of the Royal Canadian Air Force search and rescue community are among the best trained in the world and respond to incidents in every type of environment, whether in the Arctic, over the Rockies or in the middle of the ocean,” he said. “Canadians in distress can count on them to give their very best to save lives. With this technology, we are giving our women and men in uniform the tools they need to continue to deliver effective and essential search and rescue operations.”
