Feds choose Airbus C295 for new search-and-rescue plane: sources

CTV National News: New rescue planes from Airbus Mercedes Stephenson reports on the new planes coming for military pilots who carry out search-and-rescue missions across Canada.

The federal government will choose the Airbus C295 to replace the military’s aging search-and-rescue planes, ending a drawn-out decision process launched over a decade ago, sources tell CTV News.

The decision will be formally revealed Thursday by Public Procurement Minister Judy Foote and Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan.

The ministers are expected to announce that European aerospace giant Airbus has won the contract for Canada’s next generation of search-and-rescue planes with its C295 design, beating out the Italian-made Spartan C-27J -- which was considered a frontrunner by many experts.

Sources told CTV’s Mercedes Stephenson that the Airbus bid came with a lower price tag. The planes are expected to be delivered by 2023, but it’s unclear how many planes are included in the purchase.

Canada’s search-and-rescue planes are pivotal resources during emergency situations. The aircraft must be able to fly close to the ground, endure harsh weather conditions and reach Canadians who require help in remote regions across the country.

But the air force’s current fleet of dated Buffalo and late-model Hercules planes are widely considered overdue for replacement. The planes continue to demand significant time and money to maintain, and, in one case, officials had to resort to raiding a museum to get a plane piece to keep an aircraft flying.

More than three years ago, the auditor general warned that search-and-rescue capabilities would soon be on life support and that new aircraft were desperately needed for the dangerous operations.

The Thursday announcement is expected to end a protracted search that began in 2002. The process hit a snag after the military was accused of adjusting its requirements to favour a particular design.