On
May 24th of this year the federal government notified industry of a sole source deal to modernize its
Cormorant search-and-rescue helicopter fleet. The agreement is with Leonardo,
the Italian aerospace firm whose subsidiaries originally built the CH-149
Cormorants.
Leonardo
had proposed that the existing 14 Cormorants be modernized and in addition they
suggested that seven of the nine presidential VH-71 helicopters, a variant of
the company’s EH-101 helicopter purchased from the U.S. in 2011 for spare
parts, could be put into service for search and rescue operations. Parts
obtained from those same helicopters have played a critical role in keeping the
RCAF Cormorants flying.
There
was no cost attached to the plan but a previous estimate on the upgrade put the
price-tag anywhere between $500 million to $1.5 billion. That original project,
known as the Cormorant Mid-Life Upgrade (CMLU), did not specify that the eventual solution had to be a
Cormorant. Despite the name other helicopter manufacturers believed there was an
opportunity to meet the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) requirements with
aircraft they believe could be more effective and efficient.
Sikorsky
offered Canada its S-92
civilian helicopter for the Royal Canadian Air Force’s search and rescue
operations, making a case that it would be less expensive to buy new rather than upgrade the
existing fleet of Cormorants. Sikorsky believed that the solution they proposed would be more affordable at acquisition
and throughout the entirety of the life-cycle.
They
pointed out that the S-92 has a high mission-readiness rate, the latest in
de-icing technology and can operate in extreme temperature conditions. As well,
Sikorsky representatives pointed out that S-92s are used by the Irish Coast
Guard, the South Korean Coast Guard and in the United Kingdom for search and
rescue and other missions.
Based
on third-party analysis of U.K. SAR data, Sikorsky also claims to be “at least
50 percent of the cost per hour to operate the S-92 compared to the incumbent,”
Sikorsky assumed that part of the appeal of their offer would be that the Royal
Canadian Air Force is currently introducing into service the Cyclone maritime
helicopter. The CH-148
Cyclone, a militarized variant of the S-92, will reach initial operating
capability with the Royal Canadian Navy later this year, and could serve as a
reason to develop some common aircrew and technician training. Compatibility
between the SAR and maritime helicopters might also improve fleet management.
It
is reported that Department of National Defence sources say that it was
determined that it would be "more cost effective to stay with the Cormorant
fleet as it is a proven aircraft the RCAF knows well". The RCAF also hopes to
purchase a simulator for the Cormorant fleet to help train crews.
This
decision by the Air Force, to refurbish and update the Cormorant fleet, makes
no sense. If
the RCAF were to take their conclusion, that is “more cost effective to stay with the Cormorant fleet as it is a proven
aircraft the RCAF knows well” to its logical end then it would never
purchase any new aircraft of any kind.
Even
more importantly this choice represents a lost opportunity to reduce the number
of aircraft types in service with that service. Instead of operating just three
fleets of complementary helicopters, that is CH-146 Griffons, CH-147 Chinooks
and CH-148 Cyclones, along with a search and rescue derivative of the latter type;
by the including CH-149 Cormorant in their fleet they will have four types in
service .
In
its comparative analysis of options
regarding a single or mixed fleet for the National Fighter Procurement program
the Air Force found that “the cost of
duplication may result in a mixed fleet that is more expensive than its single
fleet”.
Further
their studies showed that “In the case of
a mixed fleet, extra costs result from duplication: infrastructure; aircraft
maintenance support equipment; operational and maintenance training; supply
lines; project management; engineering support; aircraft certification; test
and evaluation; storage and management of spare parts, weapons, and
expendables; and electronic warfare and systems reprogramming are just some of
the many sources of duplication”.
There
is no reason to believe that the same logic that drives the Air Force to prefer
a single type of fighter should not apply to other kinds of aircraft. Sikorsky is
not suggesting an entirely new type of helicopter to replace the Cormorants.
What is being proposed is an opportunity to rationalize the number of kinds of
aircraft used, with all the accompanying savings in “infrastructure; aircraft maintenance support equipment; operational and
maintenance training; supply lines; project management; engineering support;
aircraft certification; test and evaluation; storage and management of spare
parts, weapons, and expendables; and electronic warfare and systems reprogramming”.
There
may be reasons the RCAF has decided to pass on the chance to save taxpayer
money and increase their own effectiveness. Perhaps they are motivate by their
previous experiences dealing with Sikorsky, perhaps the people in the CH-148
office don’t get along with the ones in the CH-149 department, probably they
know somethings we don’t. Anything is possible. What is not acceptable is that
this decision is being made with no attempt to explain to the public why the
choice has been made to commit to operating more types of aircraft at greater
expense. The stated reasoning, that it will lead to better Search and Rescue
outcomes, does not stand up to analysis.
Cormorant
search and rescue helicopters to be modernized - Italian firm to get
sole-source contract
RCAF
analyzes options for Cormorant upgrade
Sikorsky’s
pitch for Canada: Our new helos are cheaper than upgrading yours
A
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF MINIMUM RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS FOR SINGLE AND MIXED
FLEETS FOR THE NATIONAL FIGHTER PROCUREMENT EVALUATION OF OPTIONS
