MILITARY
Aging aircraft won't be replaced quickly
Armed Forces' search-and-rescue fleet will have to keep flying at least until 2014, federal documents show
MURRAY BREWSTER
The Canadian Press
April 14, 2008
OTTAWA -- Canada's geriatric fleet of fixed-wing search and rescue aircraft, originally ordered replaced five years ago, will have to keep flying until at least 2014 and possibly longer, federal budget documents have revealed.
The military has been struggling to keep its 40-year-old twin-engine Buffalos in the air along the west coast, where their slow speed makes them ideal for searching mountain ranges.
Opposition critics say the unacceptable delay in replacing the six aircraft - which face frequent downtime because of a looming shortage of spare parts - makes a mockery of the Conservative government's self-titled Canada First defence strategy.
"It's laughable," said New Democrat defence critic Dawn Black, a British Columbia MP. "Search and rescue is becoming the orphan-child of the Canadian Forces in terms of equipment."
he military relies on both the Buffalo and an aging flight of C-130 Hercules cargo planes for fixed-wing search. In addition, there are 14 CH-149 Cormorant helicopters, which have had a spotty in-service record because of a shortage of spare parts.
Ms. Black said the Conservatives' procrastination over the Buffalo has started to look a lot like the former Liberal government's decade-long replacement program for Sea King helicopters.
"They are just so preoccupied with the war in Afghanistan that nothing else really registers," said Ms. Black, whose party was adamantly opposed to the extension of the Afghan mission.
Full story
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080414.SEARCH14/TPStory/National
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