{"id":348533,"date":"2023-05-18T21:23:41","date_gmt":"2023-05-19T01:23:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/?post_type=news&p=348533"},"modified":"2023-05-19T15:08:41","modified_gmt":"2023-05-19T19:08:41","slug":"bombardier-partners-general-dynamics-platform-canadas-multi-mission-aircraft-requirements","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/news\/bombardier-partners-general-dynamics-platform-canadas-multi-mission-aircraft-requirements\/","title":{"rendered":"Bombardier partners with General Dynamics on platform that meets Canada\u2019s Multi-Mission Aircraft requirements"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Bombardier Defense on May 18 announced it is collaborating with General Dynamics Mission Systems-Canada on a next-generation multi-mission and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft that will meet the requirements set by the Canadian government for the Canadian Multi-Mission Aircraft (CMMA) project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two companies, which together form \u201cCanada\u2019s Multi-Mission Aircraft Team,\u201d are calling on the Canadian government to \u201copen a competitive, fair, and transparent procurement process that will ultimately allow for Canadian innovation to thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Bombardier and General Dynamics plan to build upon Bombardier\u2019s Global 6500 platform to offer to Canada to replace its CP-140 Aurora fleet. Bombardier Image<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The team plans to build upon Bombardier\u2019s Global 6500 platform for its offering to Canada to replace the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) fleet of 14 CP-140 Aurora maritime patrol aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bombardier\u2019s announcement with General Dynamics comes nearly two months after the Canadian government submitted a letter of request<\/a> to the U.S. government for the acquisition price of 16 Boeing-built P-8A Poseidon aircraft to replace the Aurora fleet. As well, the government said based on feedback from a request for information issued to the defense and aerospace industry in February 2022, it concluded that the P-8 is \u201cthe only currently available aircraft that meets all of the operational requirements\u201d for the CMMA project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prior to this, in January, Bombardier issued a statement calling for the CMMA tender<\/a> to consider a \u201cCanadian-built option.\u201d Despite what the federal government said about the P-8 in March, it appears that Bombardier is not going down without a fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe published CMMA procurement timeframe was prudently designed by the Department of National Defence to permit the Government of Canada to fully engage with industry to explore options to meet Canada\u2019s multi-mission aircraft needs and to have sufficient time to evaluate options,\u201d noted Bombardier.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The OEM said the Global 6500 platform \u201cwill host General Dynamics\u2019 best-in-class integrated mission systems, drawing directly from Canada\u2019s investment in the newly modernized CP-140 Block IV and CH-148 Cyclone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

General Dynamics delivered the CP-140 Aurora Incremental Modernization Project which, along with the Aurora Structural Life Extension Project, will extend the operational life of the aircraft into the 2030s \u2014 and keep it \u201cat the leading edge of ASW capabilities,\u201d the company said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Bombardier, the Global 6500 is the right CMMA platform thanks to its \u201cnext-generation engines, long range, high endurance, proven reliability, better fuel efficiency, and 24\/7 worldwide support infrastructure.\u201d Moreover, Bombardier has continued to emphasize the fact that it is a Canadian company, and the Global 6500 is a \u201cmade-in-Canada aircraft.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, some Canadians believe that although the Global 6500 is built locally, it could end up being more expensive than the P-8 Poseidon. In response to those comments, Bombardier\u2019s CEO Eric Martel said: \u201cWe should keep in mind that business jets are less expensive to operate than commercial airliners, not to mention the reduced environmental footprint of a smaller aircraft. Moreover, a Canadian-built option for CMMA would be an investment in our Canadian workforce and would drive innovation within our borders.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Jean-Christophe Gallagher (left), executive vice president of aircraft sales and Bombardier Defense, and Joel Houde, vice president and general manager of General Dynamics Mission Systems\u2013International, sign a memorandum of understanding. Bombardier Photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet\u2019s be clear \u2014 Canadians earning salaries in Canada would be building the aircraft itself,\u201d he continued. \u201cThis wouldn\u2019t just be a case of economic offset agreements; the government would stimulate its national workforce directly by working through Bombardier.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Martel raises some interesting points, he does not address the fact that the Global 6500 would require significant airframe modifications to deliver on Canada\u2019s requirements; particularly, the aircraft would require a weapons bay \u2014 which is already present on Boeing\u2019s P-8. This could mean a time-consuming, expensive development program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boeing has touted its P-8 platform\u2019s \u201coff-the-shelf, out-of-the-box capability\u201d across all 13 of Canada\u2019s requirements, and remains competitive on the topic of contributing to the Canadian economy. Boeing has established \u201cTeam Poseidon,\u201d consisting of Canadian aerospace companies CAE, GE Aviation Canada, IMP Aerospace & Defence, KF Aerospace, Honeywell Aerospace Canada, and Raytheon Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concerns have also been raised about the fact that, if chosen by Canada, the Global 6500 CMMA platform would be an orphan aircraft \u2014 meaning Canada would be the only Five Eyes nation operating the plane, which is similar to what happened with the CH-148 Cyclone helicopter. Canada learned many lessons with the Cyclone as an orphan aircraft, especially when it comes to supportability when deployed abroad. The CC-295 Kingfisher serves as yet another example of lessons learned by Canada when it comes to making significant modifications to an aircraft platform, as the Kingfisher\u2019s initial operating capability has been delayed by six years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Boeing has presented the P-8 Poseidon for the Canadian Multi-Mission Aircraft project to replace the CP-140 Aurora.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The P-8 Poseidon does not run this risk, as it is based on Boeing\u2019s 737NG platform and has an established global supply chain for logistical support. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, there are more than 150 P-8 aircraft in service around the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The two companies, known as Canada\u2019s Multi-Mission Aircraft Team, are calling on the Canadian government to \u201copen a competitive, fair, and transparent procurement process” for the project that will see the replacement of the RCAF’s CP-140 Aurora fleet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":348532,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-348533","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\/348533","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=348533"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/348532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=348533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=348533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=348533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}