Stewart Penney/LONDON
Canada is planning to issue "basic vehicle" (BV) and "integrated mission system" (IMS) specifications this month for its long-standing Maritime Helicopter Programme (MHP).
MHP is targeted at replacing Canada's 30 ageing Sikorsky CH-124/ASea Kings, with a deal covering 28 machines. It is worth around C$2.9 billion ($1.9 billion).
Release of the specifications will be followed by a draft BV pre-qualification letter next month and the start of pre-qualification in July. The formal request for proposals (RFP)will be issued in December, with bids due to be submitted by next March, leading to a planned contract award in August 2002. The pre-qualification process is intended to eliminate non-compliant bids at an early stage.
Canada's Department of National Defence (DND) says the EH Industries (EHI) EH101, Eurocopter Cougar Mk2, NH Industries NH90 and Sikorsky S-92 are the airframe candidates.
The competition for the IMS lags behind the helicopter, with a pre-qualification letter not due to be issued until September. A formal RFP will be released in August next year and bids should be submitted by the following November. The contract award is scheduled for April 2003.
The DND says the four helicopter manufacturers and BAE Systems, Boeing, Computing Devices Canada, EADS Germany, Kaman Aerospace, Litton Systems Canada, Lockheed Martin Canada, Raytheon and Thales Systems Canada are potential IMS providers.
A number of teams have already formed to compete for MHP - EHI has linked with Boeing, Bell Helicopter Textron and CAE, while Sikorsky has teamed with Lockheed Martin and Canada training course and software provider LearnStream.
The DND says it will pursue a BV and IMS which is "to the extent practical" an off-the-shelf solution, but it adds that no available system fully meets the specification.
Canada is considering the use of unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) to patrol the country's coastlines to compensate for cutbacks in manned patrols. The air force requested funding at the end of April for a UAV study which is expected to last three or four years, with UAVs entering service after 2005. The air force is expected to begin trials with a medium altitude endurance class UAV such as the General Atomics Predator.Source: Flight International
