Bombardier believes the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) is being lured into an “end-of-life product” by considering buying Boeing military surveillance aircraft over-the-counter. The Quebec aircraft manufacturer, which is coveting this multi-billion-dollar contract, does not want to stand by and do nothing if a tender is not forthcoming.
Posted at 5:14 p.m
Canada, which needs to replace its 140 CP-140 Auroras that entered service in 1980, has just sent a letter to the US government seeking information, including a price, for a maximum of 16 P-8 Poseidon aircraft – 1 unit offered by the US giants.
Ottawa says this does not constitute a firm order, but experts consulted by La Presse believe the opposite. This scenario would thwart Bombardier, which is looking for military contracts and asking for a chance to promote its Global private jets, which can be converted for surveillance missions. The device is assembled in the Toronto area and then modified in the United States.
“It’s an end-of-life product,” said the aircraft manufacturer’s President and CEO, Éric Martel, on Wednesday in the margins of a speech to the Metropolitan Montreal Department of Commerce about the P-8 Poseidon. Boeing says buy it now because we’ll be ending production soon.
Although the Trudeau government has described the Boeing aircraft as the “only aircraft currently on offer” that “meets all operational requirements,” Martel said the Trudeau government had given him to understand that no decision had been made.
The Bombardier boss repeats that he is not asking for preferential treatment, but a chance to compete in good and proper form as part of a tender. The Quebec company will review “all options available to it” when it comes to an over-the-counter deal with Boeing.
“You can interpret it that way, yes,” Mr Martel replied when asked if he intended to respond in the absence of a tender.
billions at stake
The military contract in question is worth more than 5 billion and is for the replacement of the armed forces’ Aurora CP-140, which will be phased out from 2030 onwards. This patrol aircraft can also carry eight anti-submarine torpedoes. Similar to the 737 family of aircraft, the Poseidon can launch torpedoes. This is not the case with aircraft converted by Bombardier, but it is possible, according to the company.
PHOTO SUPPLIED BY BOMBARDIER
Bombardier wants to convince Ottawa to buy its private jets, which will then be converted for the army.
Boeing has delivered 158 examples of its US-assembled surveillance aircraft. The American aircraft manufacturer currently has 183 orders.
“We will continue to build P-8s as long as there is demand,” the American multinational said in an email. However, the continuation of production depends on a sufficient number of orders to feed the production line profitably. »
Observers who specialize in military procurement issues estimate that Bombardier has practically no chance at this point in time with the request just sent from Ottawa.
“The government has written that the Poseidon is the only device in service that meets the requirements,” said Thomas Hughes, a postdoctoral fellow at Queen’s University’s Center for International and Defense Policy at Kingston. Several Canadian partners and allies use this device. It’s not negligible. »
In this regard, Mr. Martel sees things differently. In his view, Canada has two choices: get hold of the last examples of an existing program, or opt for a platform — converted Bombardier jets — that is likely to be adopted by many allies in the coming decades.
Richard Shimooka, a researcher at the Macdonald-Laurier Canadian Institute who specializes in defense issues, also sees Bombardier’s chances as slim. According to the expert, one of the main reasons why Canada “appears to have accelerated the adoption process is the possibility that production of the P-8 will end in the coming years,” he writes in a report.
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Bombardier’s defense sector is expected to generate $1 billion in US revenue by the end of the decade.
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