Canada Continues CH-148 Deliveries with Sikorsky Deal

The Canadian government has decided to continue delayed deliveries of the Sikorsky CH-148 maritime helicopter.

The decision announced on 3 January means ends months of internal debate over whether to cancel the Canadian dollar (C$) 5 billion ($4.7 billion) programme and perhaps acquire a new aircraft.

The government first decided to buy the military derivative of the S-92 helicopter in 2004 to replace Boeing CH-124 Sea Kings on Halifax class ships.

Sikorsky was originally due to deliver the first aircraft in 2008, but development delays and contractual disputes has postponed the programme by several years.

A new agreement between Ottawa and Sikorsky on 31 December will allow Sikorsky to deliver enough aircraft by 2015 to allow the Canadian armed forces to retire the CH-124 fleet.

Those aircraft will continue receiving upgrades until the CH-148 fleet is considered fully capable of meeting the Canadian requirements in 2018.

“Sikorsky has committed to deliver the needed helicopter capability at no additional cost to Canada,” says Diane Finley, minister of public works and government services.

Moreover, Canada will only pay Sikorsky as aircraft deliveries are made, Finley says.

Sikorsky also has agreed to pay $88.6 million to the Canadian government as a penalty for delayed deliveries.

“We recognise that we and our sub-contractors must do better. We have completely restructured our approach, and added considerable new resources and technical expertise,” says Sikorsky chief executive Mick Maurer.

The agreement came after the Canadian government searched for alternatives to the CH-148. Hitachi Consulting was commissioned to determine the “viability” of the programme, which recommended a structure and governance model. [via]