New (someday) maritime helicopter: Cyclone deliveries continue to go counter-clockwise

Some two months ago:

CH-148 Cyclones: There are delays and then there are, er, delays

A "slight delay" in the process of making a less-than-fully capable helicopter operational. Whoopee!

From August 2009:

Cyclone still forming: Now we'll have "interim maritime helicopters"

And now:

SLIGHT DELAY IN CYCLONE MARITIME HELICOPTER SEA TRIALS BUT TESTS TO START IN JANUARY GOVERNMENT CONFIRMS

Sea trials for the new Cyclone helicopter will take place before the end of January on the east coast, Defence Watch has been told...

Today's ridiculous reality that is certainly no laughing matter:

Sikorsky faces more setbacks in delivery of new helicopters

Manufacturer unable to live up to revised deal signed in 2008, which would see initial delivery of 28 helicopters this year

There is one more twist in the seemingly never-ending saga of the replacement of Canada's Sea King helicopters.

More than a year after announcing a four-year delay in the long-running project, Sikorsky has just acknowledged that it is facing another setback in the delivery of the first of 28 aircraft.

Details are scarce, but Sikorsky is saying it can't live up to the new schedule that was negotiated with Ottawa 14 months ago, and is unlikely to offer all of the promised equipment in the first round of deliveries.

“Sikorsky has advised the government of Canada of potential delays, and we're working to assess the implications of these potential delays,” said Chris Hilton, a spokesman for Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose.

According to the initial contract signed in 2004, the Canadian Forces were to begin receiving fully compliant Cyclone CH-148s within four years, by 2008...

The sea trials ain't started either. Here's the prime reason for this total balls-up, from a December 2008 post:

...
Canada, under the Liberals for political reasons (i.e. no more EH101s, not that that aircraft turned out that well, more here), bought a military version of a civilian helicopter that no other country has yet bought--and it's only just flown for the first time! Contract didn't work out too well, did it? So now we're eating the costs because there's nothing else to do. But don't forget the Conservative government has promised to improve defence procurement (from Update at link):

The Speech from the Throne also said this about defence procurement:

Fixing procurement will be a top priority. Simpler and streamlined processes will make it easier for businesses to provide products and services to the government and will deliver better results for Canadians. Military procurement in particular is critical: Canada cannot afford to have cumbersome processes delay the purchase and delivery of equipment needed by our men and women in uniform.

I answer: "Oink!" (with the CF now promoting rooting themselves). More on the Cyclone debacle here, where I wrote:

There should be a formal investigation, with the results made public, into how Sikorsky won the competition [lots of pork--"Benefits for all Canadians"]--and into the subsequent management of the project. I think it disgraceful that the Liberal government of Paul Martin, the CF, and Public Works chose in 2004 to buy a paper aircraft--that still has no other buyer, an aircraft that in reality simply could not meet the contract's terms without major changes to the original specifications of the machine...

As far as I can see the Conservative government still in fact has done nothing concrete to improve or streamline procurement. Some "top priority". Shame on them. And I don't think the coming budget crunch will help things much.