![\"\"](\"https:\/\/assets.skiesmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/20180512raaf8185068_0376-1024x673.jpg\")
The term first appeared in RCAF public discussions in April, during presentations to the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries, and has since become a recurring theme. In addition to long-term force development, interchangeability was listed as a growing concern in capability sustainment and contested logistics supply chains, where \u201cbespoke solutions will be increasingly difficult to support,\u201d according to one slide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the term is not well defined, lacks maturity, and is open to a wide range of interpretation \u2014 depending on the user and the audience \u2014 \u201cit is potentially pretty consequential,\u201d said David Perry, a leading observer of defense procurement and the president and senior analyst of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute (CGAI).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDepending on how it gets operationalized,\u201d and if it indicates a significant shift from employing common capabilities to acquiring identical platforms and equipment, \u201cit will circumscribe a whole lot of options and effectively be dictating procurement strategies,\u201d noted Perry. \u201cThat\u2019s got pretty profound implications.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the RCAF weighs options for the next Canadian Multi-Mission Aircraft (CMMA), a project to replace the CP-140 Aurora submarine hunter and maritime patrol and overland intelligence gathering platform, interchangeability has surfaced as a potential necessity along with the Air Force\u2019s 13 high-level mandatory requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russia\u2019s resurgent submarine presence in the Atlantic has reached levels not seen in recent years, according to NATO, and China now boasts a fleet of over 70 modern submarines that continues to grow. To counter such threats, \u201ca focus on true interoperability, almost to the point of interchangeability, is necessary with our partner nations,\u201d MGen Iain Huddleston, commander of 1 Canadian Air Division and Canadian NORAD Region, told a CGAI conference on the future of anti-submarine warfare (ASW) in mid-June. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have to be plug and play \u2014 one allied asset replacing another allied asset in this ASW fight,\u201d he said. \u201cEffectively, we\u2019re looking to be able to place one of our assets into a NATO mission or a combined or joint mission seamlessly . . . without any question as to its capability, capacity, or alignment with allied procedures.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Economic impact<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The CMMA project has taken on some urgency \u2014 and a more visible public profile \u2014 since the federal government issued a request for information (RFI) from the defense and aerospace industry in February 2022. That process determined that the Boeing-built P-8A Poseidon is \u201cthe only currently available aircraft that meets all of the [RCAF] operational requirements,\u201d Public Services and Procurement Canada stated in a press release in March 2023. That release also announced that Canada had sent a letter of request to the U.S. government for the purchase price of 16 P-8 aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In late June, the U.S. State Department approved the possible foreign military sale of the maritime patrol aircraft, as well as various sensors and onboard systems, spares, and technical and training support, for an estimated US$5.9 billion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Originally scheduled to enter the definition phase of the government defense procurement process in 2025, and achieve initial operating capability (IOC) in 2034 and full operational capability (FOC) by 2040, the CMMA project is now starting definition this year and is on course to reach IOC by 2032 and FOC by 2037.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The faster timetable is being driven in part by the age of the CP-140, a variant of the Lockheed Martin P-3 Orion. Although all 14 of the Auroras are completing the fourth and final block of a 20-year incremental modernization project that has significantly enhanced the mission capability of the platform, the airframe is now over 40 years old. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The CP-140 was acquired in the early 1980s to replace the CP-107 Argus, but legacy systems have challenged the performance of newer mission systems. For example, on Exercise Sea Dragon in the western Pacific Ocean in March, extreme temperatures overwhelmed the aircraft\u2019s air conditioning, which then affected the mission computers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Boeing has also flagged the potential closure of the P-8 production line sometime in the 2020s, depending on aircraft orders. The P-8A is a purpose-built military variant of the Boeing 737 Next Generation commercial airliner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the government has deemed the P-8A as the only fit at present for the CMMA project, Montreal-based Bombardier has challenged that claim, arguing it could deliver cutting-edge ASW capability on a new Canadian-built special mission variant of the Global 6500, if the government holds a \u201cfair competition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In May, Bombardier announced a partnership with General Dynamics Mission Systems Canada, the current provider of integrated ASW mission systems on the Aurora, CH-148 Cyclone maritime helicopter, and the Royal Canadian Navy\u2019s Halifax-class frigates. The companies asserted at a press conference in June \u2014 where a mock-up of the proposed aircraft was unveiled \u2014 that a plane built primarily in Toronto and then assembled in Montreal would \u201cgenerate thousands of jobs in Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The companies also questioned the wisdom of a multi-billion-dollar investment in a platform based on a 1970s design. The Global 6500 \u201cburns 30 percent less fuel than its closest competitor,\u201d Jean-Christophe Gallagher, Bombardier\u2019s executive VP for aircraft sales and defense, told CBC<\/em>. \u201cIt flies higher, it flies faster, it stays longer on target.\u201d However, a militarized Global 6500 that includes mission equipment, weapons bay, wing pylons, and weapons would suffer a speed, range, altitude, and fuel burn reduction when compared to the current business jet configuration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A PricewaterhouseCoopers report released in mid-July concluded that selecting the Global 6500 platform for the CMMA project would generate an economic footprint of about C$2.8 billion in GDP, 22,650 full-time equivalent jobs, and C$1.8 billion in labor income \u2014 if the 16 aircraft were designed, manufactured, upgraded, and maintained along with the ASW mission capability \u2014 over the contract period. However, the report does not state over what period of time the economic footprint extends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Boeing has countered with its own numbers. At a press event in late May prior to Canada\u2019s largest defense and security tradeshow, known as CANSEC, the company shared the findings of a Doyletech study that claimed a CMMA contract award would add $357 million per year to Canada\u2019s GDP over the first 10 years of the contract and generate on average 2,923 jobs per year during that timeframe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The same study pegged Boeing\u2019s current annual economic impact in Canada at over $4 billion, despite several years of Covid-19 restrictions and reduced activity across the aerospace sector GDP, with the company supporting around 14,000 jobs among more than 550 Tier 1 and sub tier suppliers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Canadian companies currently supply parts for all of Boeing\u2019s 7-series jetliners, noted Neil Knudsen of Doyletech, and increased access to Boeing\u2019s global supply chain for more small- and medium-sized businesses would expose them \u201cto new business opportunities, new technologies, new markets, cutting-edge processes, and quality innovations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Boeing is investing in R&D around emerging technology such as advanced air mobility, sustainable fuels, and electrified aircraft, and has or is launching centers of excellence in areas such as smart digital learning, added Knudsen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While the economic argument is a key political consideration in defense contracts \u2014 the economic return to Canada through industrial and technological benefits can exceed 10 percent of the bid evaluation \u2014 interoperability with allies and ease of entry into service are important concerns for the Air Force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In fact, Huddleston\u2019s aim of near seamless integration in ASW could imply that \u201cif meaningful numbers of our allies are operating the same pieces of gear, we\u2019d be demonstrating a preference for buying into that same pool,\u201d said Perry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Boeing has emphasized interchangeability in its pitch to Canada. Not only is the P-8A operated by, or in production for, the other Five Eyes partners (Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States) as well as India, Norway, Germany, and South Korea, it also shares 86 percent commonality with the commercial 737NG aircraft. There are 4,000 737NGs in service today, over 100 of which are with Canadian airlines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOne of our key lessons from the war in Ukraine is that supply chains are easily disrupted on the modern battlefield by long-range fires. So allied interoperability is no longer enough,\u201d Ted Colbert, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space and Security, told the pre-CANSEC event. \u201cThe new logistics paradigm is interchangeability, and the P-8 offers guaranteed interchangeability with the eight other allied partners who require it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFrom a national security perspective, the real advantage with the P-8 is the information Canada will exchange with allied nations in real time \u2014 something you can\u2019t find in any other aircraft of its type,\u201d added Colbert. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mitigating risks<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n If interchangeability is an emerging longer-term objective, a smooth entry into service is likely the more immediate priority. Recent history with the CH-148 Cyclone and ongoing issues with the CC-295 Kingfisher fixed-wing search-and-rescue aircraft are stark reminders of how problematic it can be to get a new aircraft through the lengthy certification process and declared airworthy, especially when it has undergone extensive modifications to militarize a civilian platform. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Bombardier has delivered hundreds of specialized business jets to operators worldwide and modified several Global aircraft as special mission variants, including the Saab GlobalEye based on a Global 6000 and the PAL Aircraft Services P-6 maritime patrol aircraft based on a Global 6500. Aerospace commentators, however, have noted the certification challenges and costs Bombardier could incur converting a Global 6500 to meet the CMMA requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With over 160 P-8s now in service, Boeing, too, is highlighting the risks associated with certification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c[The P-8A], by the fact that it has more than 500,000 flight hours and has been certified by the U.S. Navy, and also by international operators \u2014 for example, the [European Union Aviation Safety Agency] has certified the aircraft \u2014 should give Canada a high degree of confidence that there won\u2019t be certification issues for entry into service,\u201d said Sean Liedman, Boeing\u2019s director of international business development for mobility and surveillance aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Further, the U.S. Navy and Australia, which joined the Poseidon program almost at the outset, have invested C$8 billion over the nine years from selection to IOC, he noted. \u201cI think that that would be a blueprint for any other developmental effort going forward. To solve those engineering challenges takes time and money, it is just a simple fact of aerospace engineering and physics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n To replace the CP-140 fleet within the current timeline of the early to mid-2030s \u201cis not a window big enough to support a development program,\u201d said Colbert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In selecting its team of Canadian partners for the P-8 (CAE, GE Aviation Canada, IMP Aerospace & Defence, KF Aerospace, Honeywell Aerospace Canada, and Raytheon Canada, among others), Boeing consciously sought ways to mitigate some of the risks of certification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCertification is an enduring process over the life of a platform,\u201d said Liedman, \u201cso that\u2019s why we needed Canadian industry partners who could provide those continuing airworthiness services going forward.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBringing a new aircraft to market is lengthy, expensive, and poses many risks,\u201d noted Terry Manion, vice president and general manager of Raytheon Canada, which will likely provide supply chain coordination and possibly radar support to the P-8A. \u201cBoeing created Team Poseidon to capitalize on Canadian industry partner capabilities and deliver long-term economic prosperity to Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n KF Aerospace\u2019s director of business development, Bryan Ackerstream, a former RCAF logistics officer who worked with the U.S. Air Force on in-service support optimization, believes the path to getting the P-8 on the operational line is relatively short. <\/p>\n\n\n\n KF Aero has a lengthy history of converting Boeing 737-800s to cargo freighters and has completed avionics, winglet, and other structural modifications to the airframe, as well as heavy maintenance checks \u2014 making it an ideal in-service support provider. Altering the structure of a civilian aircraft to incorporate such requirements as a torpedo bay would be time-intensive and expensive, he suggested. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere is a reason that platform is the most sought after narrowbody freighter in the world,\u201d noted Ackerstream. \u201cThe slots for converting 737 passenger to 737 cargo are full. Boeing has a history of developing and certifying these robust airframes that work in the freighter world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gregg Evjen, KF Aero\u2019s chief operations officer, added: \u201cWe\u2019ve all witnessed the effects that certification risks and resource shortages can have on a new design program, and how long these delays can last. With the P-8, Canada will receive a fully operational platform with an existing pedigree and a very experienced Canadian team to help execute and sustain the program.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n With IMP Aerospace, Boeing brought in the current prime contractor on the Aurora Incremental Modernization Program and a center of excellence in ASW for both fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, Liedman noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to be an enduring requirement to sustain that capability for the P-8 as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Likewise, with the CFM56-7B27 engines, \u201cin terms of risk \u2013 technical and financial \u2013 this is the best solution by far,\u201d said Daniel Verreault, director of military systems operations in Canada for GE Aviation, which \u201chas manufactured almost 18,000 of these engines\u201d from its facility in Bromont, Quebec. With more than 500 million flight hours across several military and commercial Boeing fleets, \u201cit is a proven platform,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe CFM56 is an excellent engine with many millions of hours flown \u2013 proving its quality and reliability,\u201d added Marc Drobny, president of StandardAero\u2019s military, helicopters and energy division, which provides MRO services for the CFM56 engines. \u201cThe P-8 meets all the mission requirements as stated by the [RCAF].\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Since North American economic security is dependent on stable patterns of global maritime trade, the CMMA project represents a critical decision for the federal government, suggested France H\u00e9bert, CAE Canada\u2019s vice president and general manager of defense and security. CAE has provided operational flight trainers to all six of the current P-8 nations and would deliver training solutions for the RCAF. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere is no country in the world that is building more surface vessels and submarines than China which, according to the Office of Naval Intelligence, is on track to achieve a fleet size of over 425 vessels by 2030. What this tells me is that the CMMA program could not happen fast enough,\u201d she told Boeing\u2019s pre-CANSEC event. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShould Canada advance with this platform, it is my view that CMMA will emerge as one of the key Canadian national security contributions to stability in the Indo-Pacific region. It will also represent a tangible policy instrument for the government as it executes its recently released Indo-Pacific Strategy and seeks to raise the profile of Canada, amongst our friends and allies in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/assets.skiesmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/20230316-N-MM9751-1-1568x569-1-1024x432.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/assets.skiesmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/photo-highres-1024x576.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/assets.skiesmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/2022LondonAirshow_TWILIGHT_PCardinal-6-1024x682.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/assets.skiesmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/20230327CXB0044D004-1024x829.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/assets.skiesmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Boeing-P-8-1024x635.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/assets.skiesmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Global-6500-CMMA-1568x901-1-1024x588.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/assets.skiesmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/P-8A_OFTs_on_motion_IMG_4333-1024x768.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/assets.skiesmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/CFM56_header-1024x854.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/assets.skiesmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/20180907raaf8185068_0143-1024x682.jpg\")