Saturday, December 20, 2014

Canada: New C-17 transport plane purchase costing twice what other countries pay

Defence Minister Rob Nicholson says Canada will purchase another C-17 military transport aircraft from the U.S. but he didn't explain why the plane appears to be costing taxpayers twice what other nations have paid.

Nicholson said Friday that Canada would pay $415 million for the acquisition. Another $30 million would be spent for 12 years of inservice support.

During the news conference at Canadian Forces Base Trenton, Ont., Nicholson was asked about the cost and the fact other nations have paid around $200 million per plane. Nicholson responded that the $415 million was the price negotiated with the plane's U.S. manufacturer Boeing.

"It's $415 million and it's part of the negotiations we have undertaken," Nicholson said. "The contract has been signed with Boeing. It's one of the last 10 that will come off the assembly line and I think we are very pleased and proud to have it."

Boeing says it is closing down the C-17 assembly line by the middle of next year.

Nicholson said he expects the C-17 to arrive in Canada sometime in the spring.

Canada has already purchased four C-17s from Boeing. The Royal Canadian Air Force refers to the aircraft as the CC-177.

The Department of National Defence could not provide a breakdown of how the $415 million was being spent but a spokesman noted that it includes the cost of the aircraft, some spare parts, and the cost to run a small project office.

Boeing could not respond to questions about the cost of the aircraft. "We are pleased with Canada's announcement and stand ready to deliver an additional C-17 to continue to meet the ongoing airlift requirements of the Royal Canadian Air

Force," noted company spokesman Scott Day in an emailed statement. "C-17s are unmatched in their ability to transport troops or heavy cargo, to support airdrop and aeromedical evacuations, and to deliver humanitarian aid virtually anywhere."

The RCAF started lobbying the government in 2012 for the purchase of an additional C-17. Senior officers pointed out that they believed the purchase was affordable. At the time, they estimated the additional aircraft would cost $169 million U.S., according to DND documents obtained by The Canadian Press.

The DND noted that the additional Globemaster C-17 would ease the burden on the current fleet and extend the life expectancy of the entire fleet by about seven and a half years.

With the purchase of an additional aircraft, the RCAF is projected to have at least three such aircraft available more than 90 per cent of the time to respond to concurrent international or domestic crises, it added. This represents an increase of approximately 25 per cent, according to the department.

Nicholson said the RCAF has made a lot of use of the C-17s. They have been used to move supplies to the Canadian military in Kuwait for the Iraq mission. They have also moved equipment and supplies for Canadian military personnel stationed in Lithuania as part of the NATO response to Russia's actions in Ukraine.

Source:  http://www.thestarphoenix.com

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