{"id":345364,"date":"2023-01-06T09:09:36","date_gmt":"2023-01-06T14:09:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/?post_type=news&p=345364"},"modified":"2023-01-06T11:24:25","modified_gmt":"2023-01-06T16:24:25","slug":"bombardier-ceo-canadian-multi-mission-aircraft-tender-canadian-built-option","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/news\/bombardier-ceo-canadian-multi-mission-aircraft-tender-canadian-built-option\/","title":{"rendered":"Bombardier CEO calls for Canadian Multi-Mission Aircraft tender to consider \u2018Canadian-built option\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Bombardier\u2019s president and CEO, \u00c9ric Martel, released a statement in late December 2022 expressing concern over reports that Canada is considering awarding a sole-source contract to U.S. aerospace giant Boeing for the Canadian Multi-Mission Aircraft (CMMA) project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project, which could be worth more than $5 billion, is designed to replace the Royal Canadian Air Force\u2019s (RCAF\u2019s) fleet of 14 CP-140 Auroras \u2014 which entered service in 1980 as maritime patrol aircraft \u2014 with a new platform capable of anti-submarine warfare, surveillance, and reconnaissance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"special
Bombardier believes a special mission version of its Global 6500 jet will respond to Canada\u2019s multi-mission aircraft needs. Bombardier Photo <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Canadian government issued a request for information (RFI) in February 2022, on behalf of the RCAF, seeking input on how best to develop the CMMA requirements. Boeing was the first to respond to the RFI, and later proposed its P-8 Poseidon multi-mission aircraft \u2014 which shares 86 percent commonality with the OEM\u2019s 737 NG aircraft. Boeing believes the P-8 already meets all 13 high-level mandatory requirements<\/a> spelled out in the RFI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The estimated timeline for the CMMA project would see definition in 2023\/24, implementation in 2027\/28, and first delivery in 2032\/33. However, Boeing warned Canada in late 2022 that it may consider shutting down its U.S.-based P-8 production line by 2025 if it does not receive additional orders for the aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Dec. 14, the Ottawa Citizen<\/em> reported that Canada\u2019s Defence Minister Anita Anand began considering whether to push forward a proposal from Boeing for eight to 12 Poseidon aircraft for the CMMA role. The report indicates that affordability is among the factors being considered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roughly one week later, Bombardier\u2019s Martel said he wanted to \u201cpublicly share\u201d his \u201cconcern that Canada . . . may be considering awarding a sole-source contract directly to Boeing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Martel noted that if a CMMA tender were to be open to \u201cdiverse proposals,\u201d it would offer Canada the opportunity to \u201crethink its surveillance capabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He emphasized that \u201ca Canadian-built option should, and must, be considered on equal footing with those of foreign companies who have, in the past, directly attacked our home-grown aircraft programs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bombardier is confident that its Global 6500 aircraft is the right aircraft to fulfill Canada\u2019s requirements, thanks to its \u201clonger range offering, endurance, and proven reliability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The OEM markets the Global 6500 as a multi-role aircraft, capable of maritime surveillance, ISR, search-and-rescue, medevac, and other operations. Martel noted the fact that the Global aircraft family has \u201cestablished an excellent track record,\u201d having already been selected by the U.S., U.K., Germany, Sweden, and other countries to serve various roles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2022, Bombardier delivered Global series aircraft to a number of governments, armed forces and special mission integrators \u201cfor a variety of surveillance and other missions,\u201d added Martel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also highlighted the fact that the Global 6500 boasts lower operating costs and a lower carbon footprint, thanks to its next-generation engines and aerodynamic profile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCanada has the skills, the industrial footprint, and the technological capabilities to succeed in this sphere and become more than an exporter of technology,\u201d concluded Martel. \u201cThis is the ultimate opportunity for . . . a Canadian-built aircraft to defend our borders and support our allies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the first week of 2023 nearly behind us, further developments regarding Boeing\u2019s CMMA proposal remain to be seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The OEM announced last June that it is teaming up with several Canadian companies \u2014 including CAE, GE Aviation Canada, IMP Aerospace & Defence, KF Aerospace, Honeywell Aerospace Canada, and Raytheon Canada \u2014 in an effort to strengthen any future Poseidon bids for the CMMA project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bombardier, on the other hand, is touting its \u201cmore than 10,000 talented employees in Ontario and Quebec . . . its growing Defense team, [and] its skilled partners, [who] would be proud to put forward a made-in-Canada solution to compete in a CMMA tender, should Canada give us the opportunity to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for the CP-140 Aurora, the aircraft is set to retire in 2030. Canada recently wrapped up a decade-long Aurora structural life extension project that extended the operational life of the fleet to the 2030 timeframe, and is nearing the end of a more than 20-year, multi-block modernization project that will add beyond-line-of-sight satellite communications and link 16 datalink to the fleet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bombardier\u2019s CEO, \u00c9ric Martel, has released a statement expressing concern over reports that Canada is considering awarding a sole-source contract to Boeing for the Canadian Multi-Mission Aircraft project.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":345366,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-345364","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-military","entry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/345364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/117"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=345364"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/345366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=345364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=345364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=345364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}