June 17, 2020 |
Local,
Aerospace
David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen
The cost of modernizing the planes used by the Snowbirds aerobatic team has more than doubled and could end up costing more than three times the original amount because of the needed upgrades.
The Department of National Defence had budgeted $26 million to keep the Snowbirds aircraft operating until at least 2030, according to a briefing provided to aerospace industry representatives last year in Ottawa and obtained by this newspaper.
DND officials couldn't explain Monday the difference in the cost estimates but when aerospace industry representatives were briefed last year the project at that point included modernizing aircraft avionics. The project details on the DND website have added a new ejection seat as well as modernized communications and navigation equipment for the Snowbirds CT-114 Tutor jets.
Questions about the ejection seats in the Tutor aircraft fleet emerged after Capt. Jennifer Casey, the team's public affairs officer, died on May 17 when the Snowbirds aircraft she was a passenger in crashed in Kamloops, B.C. Video of the incident appears to show Casey and Capt. Richard MacDougall, the pilot of the CT-114 Tutor aircraft, eject from the plane shortly before it slammed into the ground. MacDougall survived with serious injuries.
A Canadian Forces flight safety team has focused its investigation into the crash on a possible bird strike as well as on the performance of the aircraft's escape system, the team noted in a statement. A witness at the crash scene claimed that Casey's parachute did not open.
The Canadian military knew in 2016 the ejection seat on Snowbirds aircraft needed to be upgraded but it acknowledged it is still only in the early stages of modernizing that system. The Royal Canadian Air Force has now started a project to upgrade the parachutes on the ejection seats.
During the briefing last year, aerospace industry officials were told a request for bids to upgrade the Tutor jets would be issued next year. A contract would be awarded that same year, the briefing noted.
The first of the upgraded CT-114 Tutors would be ready for the Snowbirds in 2022, according to the industry briefing. The project would be finished by 2025 with all upgraded planes delivered by then.
“The project will life extend the CT-114 Tutor until the year 2030,” industry officials were told.
The avionics upgrade is required if the planes are to continue flying in North American airspace.
The Department of National Defence stated in an email to this newspaper that the analysis of what is needed for the aircraft modernization is almost complete. “The project is progressing into definition where design, engineering and prototyping will take place over the next 18 months,” the email noted.
The cost to modernize the Tutors pales in comparison with the proposed price tag for replacing the aircraft. That project could cost between $500 million and $1.5 billion, according to the DND.
The planes have been in the Canadian Forces inventory since 1963 and have been used by the Snowbirds since 1971. The Tutors were supposed to have been retired in 2010, but that date was then extended to 2020. The latest extension allows the aircraft to fly until at least 2030.
The Royal Canadian Air Force, however, is facing a potential dilemma with replacing the aircraft. The federal government has indicated it wants the aerobatic team to continue operating and the Snowbirds are seen as a key public relations tool for the military.
But some in the Canadian Forces have privately questioned spending money on the Snowbirds because they do not directly contribute combat capabilities to the air force.
https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/modernization-program-for-snowbirds-aircraft-jumps-in-price
