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February 13, 2019 | Local, Aerospace

Les premiers F-18 australiens usagés arriveront au Canada dans les prochains jours

Ottawa commencera à prendre possession des avions de chasse d'occasion australiens dès la mi-février, a appris Radio-Canada. Deux F-18 sont attendus à la base de Cold Lake en Alberta. Et tout indique que le reste des 25 appareils achetés par le Canada sera livré... par avion.

Un texte de Marc Godbout

La livraison commencera le 16 février, confirment des sources proches du dossier. C'est quelques semaines plus tôt que prévu.

Deux des F-18 australiens que doit recevoir le Canada se trouvent au Nevada, aux États-Unis. Les chasseurs participent à un entraînement aérien et se poseront par la suite à Cold Lake.

La Défense nationale ne veut pas dévoiler la date de leur arrivée au pays, mais confirme que les deux appareils sont dans la région de Las Vegas.

Les deux premiers appareils devraient arriver ce mois-ci. Ils devraient être intégrés aux opérations plus tard cette année.

Ashley Lemire, ministère de la Défense nationale

Une fois à la base de Cold Lake, les deux avions de chasse de l'Australie seront confiés au Centre d'essais techniques de l'Aviation royale canadienne pour y subir des évaluations. Ils seront par la suite reconfigurés.

Et 18 appareils viendront compléter la flotte actuelle de CF-18, les autres seront utilisés pour des pièces de remplacement et la formation des mécaniciens et des techniciens.

Livraison par avion?

Selon nos informations, le scénario privilégié par Ottawa pour apporter ces avions de chasse au Canada n'est pas de les faire voler de leurs propres ailes, mais de les transporter à bord d'un avion-cargo.

Des sources ont indiqué à Radio-Canada que la Défense nationale souhaite « très sérieusement » noliser un appareil Antonov qui peut transporter deux appareils à la fois. Les avions de chasse seraient livrés à Mirabel, où se trouvent les installations de l'entreprise L3 MAS qui devra assurer l'entretien des F-18 australiens.

Faire voler ce type d'avion de chasse coûte au minimum 30 000 $ de l'heure. Les placer dans un Antonov permettrait d'éviter, par exemple, de nombreux ravitaillements en carburant entre l'Australie et le Canada. Mais cette solution serait-elle plus rentable?

Le ministère de la Défense nationale refuse de confirmer quoi que ce soit. « La méthode de livraison pour les autres aéronefs doit encore être confirmée », précise Ashley Lemire, dans une réponse écrite.

« Les livraisons d'avions restants d'Australie auront lieu à intervalles réguliers jusqu'à la fin de 2021 », ajoute-t-elle.

Dans la capitale australienne, Canberra, on ne veut rien dévoiler. « Les conditions de vente des aéronefs et des articles associés, y compris les informations sur les aéronefs et les calendriers de livraison, sont traitées à titre confidentiel », explique le ministère de la Défense.

Plus tôt dans son mandat, le gouvernement Trudeau avait opté pour une solution provisoire, soit l'achat de 18 nouveaux chasseurs Super Hornet de Boeing. Mais dans la foulée du conflit commercial entre le géant américain et Bombardier, Ottawa avait plutôt opté pour la solution australienne. Le programme coûtera 500 millions de dollars, dont 90 millions pour l'achat des appareils.

La saga inachevée

En campagne électorale, les libéraux de Justin Trudeau avaient voulu se dissocier du plan conservateur d'acquérir les coûteux F-35.

Dans leur programme, ils s'étaient engagés à « lancer immédiatement un appel d'offres ouvert et transparent pour remplacer les CF-18 ».

Or, le gouvernement n'a toujours pas demandé officiellement aux grands joueurs de l'industrie de soumissionner pour livrer les 88 nouveaux avions de chasse. Il ne devrait enclencher cette étape qu'au printemps, à quelques mois des élections, de sorte que le Canada n'aura pas de nouveaux chasseurs avant au moins 2025.

https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1151514/avions-f-18-australie-canada-cold-lake-appareil

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