Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) News and Discussions

John Newman

The Bunker Group
Until an order is actually sent, I will hold off on the celebration.
I’m a bit like you John, I’ll believe it when a contract is signed and aircraft are rolling down the LM production line.

I’m sure the Canuck political ‘spin doctors’ will be using the line that having delayed and waited this long, the end result will be that Canada will receive aircraft that are more mature and cheaper aircraft, Block 4 instead of Block 3F, etc.

But every coin has two sides.

All of the above is true, but it also comes at a cost too.

The RCAF has been forced to maintain, sustain and upgrade the old CF-18 fleet much longer than planned, plus the cost of procuring ex-RAAF F/A-18A/B which also require upgrades and modifications too.

There is no such thing as a ‘free lunch’, what you might save at one end, has already cost you at the other end.

Cheers,
 

ngatimozart

Super Moderator
Staff member
Verified Defense Pro
The last couple of months has been a bit of a reality check for NATO members. The next obvious selection should be to once again follow the German lead and choose the P-8A.
Sorry I have to laugh. That's to much reality for an Canuck cousins to take in one sitting.
 

John Fedup

The Bunker Group
Sorry I have to laugh. That's to much reality for an Canuck cousins to take in one sitting.
A RFI has already been issued by PWC on MPA but a purchase is likely years away. Same applies to a recent RFP on refuelling aircraft which resulted in the MRTT being the only acceptable offering but might happen sooner than P-8s.
 

ngatimozart

Super Moderator
Staff member
Verified Defense Pro

Mikeymike

Active Member
One step closer to replacing the RCAF CC-150 Polaris tanker fleet.




Interesting that the ADBR article says one is to be fitted with a VIP suite, which I haven't seen mentioned anywhere else. That would make sense as both the UK and Australia already do this but haven't seen anything about it elsewhere.
 

ngatimozart

Super Moderator
Staff member
Verified Defense Pro
One step closer to replacing the RCAF CC-150 Polaris tanker fleet.




Interesting that the ADBR article says one is to be fitted with a VIP suite, which I haven't seen mentioned anywhere else. That would make sense as both the UK and Australia already do this but haven't seen anything about it elsewhere.
It does make sense and that brings to three of the FVEY partners operating the A330MRTT with the RAAF and RAF already operating it; although the RAF variant doesn't have the boom (great Pommy foresight that). The French and the European Multinational Multirole Fleet are the other NATO members operating it. In the Indo Pacific it's operated by the Singaporeans and South Koreans.
 

John Fedup

The Bunker Group
One step closer to replacing the RCAF CC-150 Polaris tanker fleet.




Interesting that the ADBR article says one is to be fitted with a VIP suite, which I haven't seen mentioned anywhere else. That would make sense as both the UK and Australia already do this but haven't seen anything about it elsewhere.
I can recall all the blowback Mulroney got over the VIP suite on the Polaris CC-150. Guessing the Liberals won’t be expressing their outrage over a VIP suite for the MRRT (might whine about only one VIP suite). In any event, an important capability being finally upgraded. Hopefully some P-8 news soon.
 

Sandhi Yudha

Well-Known Member
In this article they are telling that Canada plans to get four A330MRTT s.

|"The cost of the contract is yet to be determined, but the government has allocated up to CA$5 billion (U.S. $4 billion) to purchase the planes."|
Thats quite high compared to the A330MRTT acquisitions from other countries. Probably the Canadian government will get a huge support package with it, or its just inflation.
 
Last edited:

John Fedup

The Bunker Group
In this article they are telling that Canada plans to get four A330MRTT s.

|"The cost of the contract is yet to be determined, but the government has allocated up to CA$5 billion (U.S. $4 billion) to purchase the planes."|
Thats quite high compared to the A330MRTT acquisitions from other countries. Probably the Canadian government will get a huge support package with it, or its just inflation.
Not sure if this amount takes into account the conversion for two used A330s which were acquired earlier. A fleet of 6 MRTTs is a significant upgrade from the Polaris fleet. A support package would very likely be a mandatory requirement.
 

John Fedup

The Bunker Group
Apparently the FWSAR acquisition is seriously behind schedule. It never ceases to amaze me on how Canadianization can delay delivery on a proven product operated by other militaries. I understand we have certain demanding missions that require specific critical modifications but is this really valid for a C-295? Software issues for the instrumentation…WTF? Perhaps more worrisome is the centre of gravity issue.

 

Sandhi Yudha

Well-Known Member
Apparently the FWSAR acquisition is seriously behind schedule. It never ceases to amaze me on how Canadianization can delay delivery on a proven product operated by other militaries. I understand we have certain demanding missions that require specific critical modifications but is this really valid for a C-295? Software issues for the instrumentation…WTF? Perhaps more worrisome is the centre of gravity issue.

|"A number of issues affecting the planes are linked to modifications made to the fixed wing search-and-rescue (FWSAR) planes for specific Canadian requirements."|
It is indeed remarkable that Canadization of a proven platform can mess up everything, to the point that there are software problems and a change of the center of gravity.

It is actually totally unclear for me why and what is modified in the "Special Canadian Edition" of the C295.
 

Sender

Member
I believe the development described here has eliminated one key advantage that the IAI Heron TP had over the MQ-9B, which was more Canadian content, given the engine on the Heron is also supplied by Pratt and Whitney Canada out of Montreal. With the addition of the PT-6E option on the MQ-9B, that advantage is gone, leaving it in much better position to win the RPAS competition. The other engine option on the MQ-9B is the US-built Honeywell TPE331-10. When faced with the choice of a domestic (Pratt and Whitney Canada), or foreign (Honeywell) supplier, there can be no doubt which option the GoC will choose. In this case, it's a no brainer, given the superb pedigree of the PT-6 engines.

RPAS: Remotely piloted aircraft systems - Air procurement initiatives - PSPC Services - PSPC

Heron TP: UNMANNED SYSTEMS - UNMANNED SYSTEMS - Canadian Defence Review | Canadian Defence Review
MQ-9B: Team SkyGuardian
 
Last edited:

Sender

Member
|"A number of issues affecting the planes are linked to modifications made to the fixed wing search-and-rescue (FWSAR) planes for specific Canadian requirements."|
It is indeed remarkable that Canadization of a proven platform can mess up everything, to the point that there are software problems and a change of the center of gravity.

It is actually totally unclear for me why and what is modified in the "Special Canadian Edition" of the C295.
According to the following, there were more than 30 modifications to the baseline aircraft, to meet the unique SAR requirements for Canada:


Here's a good overview of some of the differences from Airbus:


The operating environment for SAR in Canada, arguably, is unique in the world, with operations ranging across 1000s of kilometers, and in extremes of temperature. In order to meet the stringent requirements set out in the RFP, Airbus had to make significant changes to the design. It is disappointing that the IOC and FOC dates have slipped, but hardly surprising.
 

swerve

Super Moderator
Russia has a similar operating environment. It doesn't have the same vast archipelago stretching as far north, but it has similar temperatures & distances.
 

Sender

Member
Russia has a similar operating environment. It doesn't have the same vast archipelago stretching as far north, but it has similar temperatures & distances.
True. I responded as I did because @Sandhi Yudha made the statement "It is actually totally unclear for me why and what is modified in the "Special Canadian Edition" of the C295.". This was simply an attempt to answer that question.

I don't know what platform the Russians use for this role, but presumably it also would have a bunch of specialist equipment to deal with the extreme operating environments. I'm not aware of any aircraft that was designed from the ground up as a SAR mission optimized aircraft, so that mission needs to be added to an existing platform and that requires modifications, which, in the case of the C295, were pretty extensive. Most things built for Canada need to be modified to perform in our environment, which can see temperature extremes from -60C to +45C, and with every form of precipitation imaginable. It's not surprising that such a highly modified platform would have some teething pains.
 
Last edited:

Sandhi Yudha

Well-Known Member
True. I responded as I did because @Sandhi Yudha made the statement "It is actually totally unclear for me why and what is modified in the "Special Canadian Edition" of the C295.". This was simply an attempt to answer that question.

I don't know what platform the Russians use for this role, but presumably it also would have a bunch of specialist equipment to deal with the extreme operating environments. I'm not aware of any aircraft that was designed from the ground up as a SAR mission optimized aircraft, so that mission needs to be added to an existing platform and that requires modifications, which, in the case of the C295, were pretty extensive. Most things built for Canada need to be modified to perform in our environment, which can see temperature extremes from -60C to +45C, and with every form of precipitation imaginable. It's not surprising that such a highly modified platform would have some teething pains.
Yes, thank you for your explanation and sharing the links.
The improvements for the CC-295 demands a lot of time and funds, but these efforts will improve the whole C295 platform and can be used for other customers too.
 
Top