Industry applauds government’s purchase of military planes

January 28, 2008

Both the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI) and the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada (AIAC) voiced their support of the federal government’s decision to purchase 17 new C-130J Hercules transport planes for Canada’s military.

CADSI president Tim Page said it’s “an important opportunity to nurture and develop domestic industrial capabilities and competencies in economic, military and trade areas of strategic national importance to Canada.” He added that the purchase “will provide meaningful, value-added engineering work for Canadian defence and aerospace companies for the next twenty years.”

Canadian industry will perform in-service work in Canada including test and evaluation, maintenance, repair and overhaul, training, design improvements and implementation. Page said that, “except for program oversight, final design authority, initial spare parts and quality assurance, Canadian industry expects all other work to be performed in Canada by existing defence and aerospace contractors.”

According to the AIAC, aerospace procurements of this size and scope come once in a generation. Properly managed, their contribution to the growth, diversification and global competitiveness of Canadian aerospace companies will be significant. “The economic benefits from this announcement will be felt in communities right across Canada,” AIAC president Claude Lajeunesse said. “Our aim is to ensure that this substantial defence investment enhances the global competitiveness of Canada’s aerospace firms operating across the defence, space, and commercial sectors.”

The government will create an industry-government consultative body to assure that the scope of work to be performed in Canada and the required IP meets the government's commitments to Canadian defence contractors.
www.lockheedmartin.com/products/c130
www.defenceandsecurity.ca
www.aiac.ca