Air Force still needs a lot more

The Chief of the Air Staff gives his views (full text subscriber only).

Lieutenant-General Steve Lucas told the National Post yesterday the purchases of new heavy transport planes, fleets of new helicopters and replacements for the military's Hercules cargo planes are a good beginning, but more will soon be needed...

Ottawa announced in June that it will buy 16 CH-47 Chinook heavy lift helicopters and four C-17 Globemaster cargo jets for a total cost of $8-billion. Another 17 aircraft will be bought to replace Canada's C-130 Hercules transport planes for about $4.9-billion.

That comes on top of a 2004 announcement to buy 28 new ship-borne helicopters for $5-billion, a contract that has been mired in legal action since the Sikorsky S-92 won the competition...

But he said he will eventually need even more planes, including new search and rescue aircraft, replacements for the CF-18 fighters, new surveillance aircraft and ground attack and medical evacuation helicopters -- all within the next decade.

"I still believe that we are going to need escort helicopters for our Chinooks for example ... with both a sensor package and a 'shoot' capability," he said, "followed by probably something like joint strike fighter, long-range patrol aircraft ... or some other surveillance platform."..

Lt.-Gen. Lucas said he is enthused at the prospect of introducing so many new aircraft into service, starting with the giant C-17 cargo planes which will be delivered to Canada within the next year [my emphasis MC]...

Chinook heavy lift choppers are to be delivered to the Canadian Forces by 2010, and Lt.-Gen. Lucas added: "We're looking at introducing that particular platform in theatre [in Afghanistan] even sooner."

And he said the air force will eventually send its own attack aircraft to Afghanistan to support the 2,300 Canadian soldiers now there on the ground. "I would like to see us make that contribution," he said. "At some point in time I think we'll be called forward: I just don't know when that time might be."

So perhaps CF-18s will go to Asftan after all. Current Air Force aircraft are shown here.