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CP-140 Aurora

bartbandyrfc said:
WPA,

Lastly, a country like Canada cannot afford to do large scale "from the ground up" development of a military aircraft.  Bombardier is a business, and it is not in the habit of throwing money down the toilet.
Bart

I don't know as long as the government is throwing money down Bombardier toilet they will be happy to spend the next decade building that Tempo into a MBT.
 
bartbandyrfc said:
So why not do something smart instead.  The US government is funding the development of a robust and highly proven airframe to make the P-8.  The 737 is a strong, powerful and exceptional reliable airplane, not a stretched to the limit hybrid of a business jet like the CRJ.   They USN is fronting all the R&D costs, and when the design has been proven and the risks associated with the venture have been eliminated, the US government is more than willing to sell us the plane at production cost.   This makes great feduciary sense; the CRJ LRPA, not so much.

Please don't misundestand me; I welcome your ideas and your keen support for a new LRPA.  But the CRJ is, pure and simple, a bad choice.  Being a cynic, becuase it is such a bad choice I can assume that it's probably just what the government will end up buying.  

Bart


Right on, +1, I agree, thanks for the input, etc etc.  :)
 
I have a question for you guys i know Bombardier is planning to build a C series plane. I would like to know is how does it compare to 737 in size. does anyone know what price bombardier is going to ask for the C series plane. I know that would not include the cost of making it to military spec's of course.
 
Kicking it Up a Notch: Poseidon’s Unmanned BAMS Companion
22-Apr-2008 20:56 EDT
Article Link

BAMS Operation Concept
The world’s P-3 Orion fleets have served for a long time, and many are reaching the end of their lifespans. In the USA, and possibly beyond, the new P-8 Poseidon Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft will take up the P-3’s role. While the P-8’s base 737-based airframe offers strong service & maintenance arguments in its favor, the airframe is expensive enough that the P-3s cannot be replaced on a 1:1 basis.

In order to extend the P-8 fleet’s reach, and provide additional capabilities, the Poseidon is expected to work with at least one companion platform under the BAMS (Broad Area Maritime Surveillance) and/or PUMAS (Persistent Unmanned Aerial Surveillance) programs. The BAMS UAV competition is widely seen as a fight between Northrop Grumman’s high-flying, jet-powered RQ-4 Global Hawk, and General Atomics’ turboprop-powered Mariner (a cousin of its MQ-9 Reaper); but Boeing entered an optionally unmanned G550 business jet.

This DID FOCUS Article explains the BAMS concept, the program’s key requirements, and its international angle. We’ll also cover ongoing contracts and key events related to the program… including the recent announcement of a winner.

Next-Gen Maritime Patrol Systems: Issues and Options
BAMS: Requirements and Missions
BAMS: The International Angle [updated]
BAMS: The Industry Team [new]
BAMS: Contracts & Key Events [updated]
Additional Readings & Sources
More on link
 
ASLEP (Aurora Structural Life Extension Project) has now been aproved by the Treasury Board.
 
CDN Aviator said:
ASLEP (Aurora Structural Life Extension Project) has now been aproved by the Treasury Board.

Do you know if they are right back to completing the whole project, or a scaled down version as mentioned, or what?
 
GAP said:
Do you know if they are right back to completing the whole project, or a scaled down version as mentioned, or what?

I dont have the details yet.......

As well, the AIMP Block 3 prototype is back in Texas for system integration.
 
My spies in RUMINT (ZX) have heard that Blk III has been postponed for another year.  :'(  I just don't know how much more of this good news I can take!

Anyone have any concrete details confirming/squashing such news?
 
duffman said:
My spies in RUMINT (ZX) have heard that Blk III has been postponed for another year.   :'(  I just don't know how much more of this good news I can take!

Anyone have any concrete details confirming/squashing such news?

POSS HIGH 3.  Everyone will know more in about two weeks.  Don't despair yet, but there is a good chance that there will be a delay.

Ask your CO at morning brief for an update. 
 
An update for the Aurora crewmen here, though this is probably not news to them already:

Canada Orders P-3 ASLEP Kits
http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/Canada-Orders-P-3-ASLEP-Kits-05187/

On Nov 18/08, the Government of Canada awarded a USD$ 156 million contract to Lockheed Martin for 10 structural life extension wing kits. Each kit includes all-new outer wings, center wing lower surface assemblies, horizontal stabilizers, wing and horizontal stabilizer leading edges, and various items for the Canadian Forces’ CP-140 Aurora (P-3 Orion) maritime patrol aircraft. These items will be used by Canada’s Aurora Structural Life Extension Program as needed, and are designed to give the Canadian Forces an additional 15,000 flight-hours of service life per plane. Aging aircraft can develop unpredictable faults, but if this effort is successful, it could extend the planes’ in-service time by 15 years or more.

Canada becomes the 4th customer under the Lockheed Martin P-3 ASLEP program, which is part pf an array of agreements that include the AIMP upgrade program, and the OWSM long-term maintenance contract. Other ASLEP customers include Norway, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the U.S. Navy; A proposal for Taiwan’s P-3 fleet is also in progress.

Canada’s Industrial and Regional Benefits Policy applies to this contract, meaning that Lockheed Martin will generate one dollar of economic activity in Canada for every dollar it receives from the contract.
 
Tue, Sep 24, 2013 – Jill Krop gets a rare tour of a CP-140 Aurora, one of the Royal Canadian Air Force’s long-range patrol aircraft located at CFB Comox with 407(Demons) Long Range Patrol Squadron.

Video Link
 
Thanks for sharing the video, I have been thinking about CTing to this trade for awhile now.
 
Which trade?  There are 1 NCM (AES Op)  and 2 Officer (Pilot, ACSO) MOSIDs in that video. 
 
Eye In The Sky said:
Which trade?  There are 1 NCM (AES Op)  and 2 Officer (Pilot, ACSO) MOSIDs in that video.

I should of been more clear. Aes Op Is the trade I am looking at.
 
Eye In The Sky said:
I highly recommend it.

Good to hear, what I have read about this trade here and on aesoplounge it looks a really good trade. Everyone recommends it and there seems to be very few people unhappy with their choice. It looks like a really challenging hands on trade with lots of opportunity for travel.  I am going to put in my CT-OT in January and hopefully it will come through around the time my degree is finished. 
 
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/national/Feds+shelve+plans+military+patrol+airplanes/9505582/story.html?fb_action_ids=10201505920915185&fb_action_types=og  The last line is a nice summary.  ;D

Feds shelve plans to buy new military patrol airplanes

Will spend $2 billion to maintain current fleet to 2030


OTTAWA — The federal Conservative government’s centrepiece defence strategy has taken another hit as plans to buy a new fleet of airplanes to patrol Canada’s coasts and its Arctic territory by 2020 have been effectively shelved.

Instead, documents tabled in the House of Commons on Thursday say the government will invest more than $2 billion to keep its existing Aurora maritime patrol aircraft flying until 2030, by which point the planes will be nearly 50 years old.

The move further hollows out the Conservatives’ so-called Canada First Defence Strategy, which is being rewritten after officials declared it unaffordable only three years into what was supposed to be a 20-year run.

News of the decision also comes just days after Finance Minister Jim Flaherty revealed the government is deferring $3.1 billion in planned military equipment purchases to future years, which will help it balance the budget starting next year.

It isn’t clear whether any of that money had originally been intended to purchase new surveillance aircraft.

Purchased in the early 1980s and intended to detect and destroy Soviet submarines prowling Canada’s three coastlines, the CP-140 Auroras have since been used to provide the military with “eyes in the sky” at home and overseas.

Packed with sensors, they have flown sorties over the Persian Gulf, provided Canadian and allied forces with important intelligence during the 2011 war in Libya, and provided search-and-rescue assistance during recent flooding in Manitoba.

The Auroras underwent a 10-year, $1.6-billion upgrade starting in 1999 to keep them flying to 2020, at which point the Conservative government had planned to purchase 10 to 12 replacements as part of its $240-billion defence strategy.

But budget estimates tabled Thursday said the government has scrapped that plan and instead will “extend the lifespan of the 14 existing aircraft until 2030,” at a total cost of $2.13 billion.

A spokeswoman for Defence Minister Rob Nicholson said it was the air force’s idea to put off the purchase and upgrade the Auroras instead.

“The augmentation of the Aurora fleet will extend the lifespan of these aircrafts to provide service at the best value for taxpayers,” spokeswoman Johanna Quinney said in an email.  “The Aurora is one of the most capable long-range patrol aircrafts in the world and the retrofit will be completed in Canada.”

Air Force Association of Canada national president Terry Chester, who flew Auroras when he was in the military, said he had “mixed feelings” about the decision.

His association, which represents about 7,000 retired forces personnel and associates, had called on the government to continue using the airplanes through 2030 as there had been concern replacements wouldn’t be purchased in time.

But Chester also acknowledged that while he didn’t have concerns about the safety of the Auroras, the older an aircraft gets, the more expensive it is to maintain and operate, and the greater the chances it won’t be available when it’s needed.

The move is likely the latest signal the government is considering a significantly pared down defence strategy as it tries to match what the Canadian Forces needs with its desire to balance the budget.

The Canadian Army in December announced it was pulling the plug on plans to spend $2 billion on new armoured vehicles, while there have been calls to reduce the size of the Canadian military from its current strength of 68,000 full-time members and 27,000 reservists.

David Perry, a defence analyst at the Conference of Defence Associations Institutes, said he expects to see more such decisions to continue using existing military equipment rather than purchasing replacements in next few years.

We’ve got a lot of old stuff,” he said.

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January 25, 1979 – The first Canadian Forces CP-140 Aurora maritime patrol aircraft rolled out at Lockheed, Burbank, California.




 
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