Canada to buy new military helicopters to respond to potential F-35 crashes in the Arctic

Article content

The Canadian military has plans to spend $18 billion on a new helicopter fleet which will have the job of responding to potential F-35 fighter jet crashes in the Arctic.

A senior Royal Canadian Air Force officer outlined the new project at the International Military Helicopter conference on Feb. 25 in the United Kingdom. Multiple types of new rotary aircraft will be needed to replace the Royal Canadian Air Force’s existing Griffon helicopter fleet, the conference was told. The officer added the helicopters will be used to conduct joint operations with the U.S. military as well as support Canada’s mission in Latvia.

Article content

“Canada also identified a need to be able to rapidly secure an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter crash site, should one go down in Canada’s Arctic,” Aviation Week magazine reported about the presentation.

The Canadian official was speaking under Chatham House rules, which meant that he could not be identified by name by the journalists who were present and reporting on the conference. However, in promoting the event the conference organizers pointed out that RCAF Brig. Gen. Brendan Cook, director general air and space force development, was the officer presenting on future Canadian military modernization efforts.

The Department of National Defence did not comment.

But it did provide to the Ottawa Citizen a copy of the presentation made by Cook to the U.K. conference. That document contained details of the plan to spend $18.4 billion over 20 years on new tactical helicopters which would also be used to support army and special forces units.

Cook’s presentation also noted Canada’s lack of infrastructure in the north and the Arctic.

The brigadier general pointed out that discussions about the new helicopters are expected to be held with the aerospace industry starting in the summer. Planned initial operational capability for the new fleet would be in 2033, the presentation added.

Article content

Article content

There were no details about when a contract might be awarded.

Concern about a Canadian F-35 crashing in the Arctic first emerged back to 2010 when critics of the Conservative government’s decision to buy the fighter jet pointed out that it only had one engine. That was seen as a potential drawback for operations over the far north.

At the time, critics noted the CF-18 fighter jets were selected by the RCAF because they had two engines, which provided added reliability.

When asked in July, 2010 about the potential of the F-35 engine failing over the Arctic, Peter MacKay, the defence minister of the time, responded to journalists: “It won’t.”

Canada is purchasing 88 F-35 aircraft from the U.S. at a cost of $19 billion. DND officials also confirmed the full life-cycle cost for the F-35 project would eventually tally $70 billion.

But some analysts are calling for that purchase to be cancelled. They point out that as the U.S. becomes increasingly hostile to Canada, the amount of control the Pentagon will have over Canada’s F-35 fleet is a significant strategic vulnerability. The U.S. will have full control over upgrades and software improvements necessary to keep Canada’s F-35 flying.

Article content

An increasingly erratic U.S. President Donald Trump threatened once again on Tuesday to economically harm Canada and annex the country as the 51st state.

CH-146 Griffon helicopters, originally ordered in 1992, play a key role for the Canadian Forces.

In January 2024, the Liberal government announced that it had awarded a contract worth more than $2 billion to Bell Textron Canada Limited to provide in-service support for the RCAF’s Griffon helicopters.

The in-service support contract would sustain the fleet until at least the mid-2030s, according to a Jan. 17, 2024 government news release. As Bell Textron Canada was the original manufacturer of the CH-146 helicopter and has exclusive ownership of all intellectual property rights pertaining to the fleet, the federal government had no other option but to award the contract to the firm.

The Canadian military operates 82 Griffon helicopters, flying out of 11 locations across the country.

In May 2022, Public Services and Procurement Canada awarded a separate contract worth approximately $800 million to Bell Textron Canada to perform the modifications required on the Griffon helicopters to keep them flying until at least the mid-2030s.

David Pugliese is an award-winning journalist covering Canadian Forces and military issues in Canada. To support his work, including exclusive content for subscribers only, sign up here: ottawacitizen.com/subscribe

Article content