New fixed-wing SAR aircraft mise-en-scène

Update reality: After more than six years as a high priority (see 5) below) we have this--note the IRB in the title:

Potential Major Crown Projects that will have IRB requirements
...

Fixed-Wing SAR – Search and Rescue
Client Department:	Department of National Defence
Prime Contractor:	To be determined
Company Contact:	To be determined
Industry Canada Manager:	Howard Wong 613-954-8336 Brian Botting 613-954-3328
Contract Period:	To be determined
Description:	Replacement of 10 Hercules and 6 Buffalo aircraft used in a Search-and-Rescue role.

...

This and that, chronologically, as to how things stand in the seemingly endless saga; read 'em and weep:

1) David Pugliese's Ottawa Citizen blog:

FIXED WING SAR IN A HOLDING PATTERN WHILE OTHER COUNTRIES PURCHASE C295s AND C-27Js

There is still no word from the Defence Department on the way ahead for the Fixed Wing Search and Rescue project.

The official line from the government is that it is studying a National Research Council report on the FWSAR project. Defence Minister Peter MacKay, however, has suggested he will follow whatever recommendations are made in regard to aircraft requirements by the Air Force...

2) DND/CF backgrounder:

Canadian fixed-wing search and rescue

BG–10.005 - March 18, 2010
...
As a part of the Canada First Defence Strategy, the replacement of Canada's Fixed Wing Search and Rescue (FWSAR) fleet is a high priority for the Government.

ACQUIRING A NEW FWSAR AIRCRAFT

Approximately every 30 years, new aircraft must be acquired to allow dedicated SAR crews to continue providing their essential service. As aircraft age, they reach a point where the cost and effort associated with maintenance increase significantly, resulting in decreased availability. The Hercules and Buffalo aircraft being used in this role today entered service in the mid-1960s. While the addition of the new C-130J Hercules for the Tactical Air Transport mission will allow the retirement of the older CC-130E models and the use of the newer CC-130H models in the interim, the recent life extension initiatives for the Buffalo fleet ends in 2015.

Efforts are underway to acquire a new FWSAR capability to allow the retirement of the Buffalo aircraft as quickly as possible. A FWSAR project office at the Department of National Defence (DND) was established; and, in 2004, a Statement of Requirements (SOR) was drafted. The SOR outlines the technical aspects that an aircraft requires to effectively carry out SAR missions in Canada’s harsh operating environment...

In July 2009, in an effort to move forward with the FWSAR procurement, the Government of Canada requested industry’s feedback on the high level considerations for FWSAR requirements, which were detailed during the FWSAR Industry Day. Industry was given 60 days to comment. The submission period concluded on September 15 and DND, Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC), and Industry Canada (IC) reviewed the submissions from industry. This demonstrated the Government’s commitment to an open dialogue with industry and helped assess the Canadian industrial ability to support the procurement of a new fleet.

Following consultation with the aerospace industry, the government engaged the National Research Council (NRC) to conduct an independent review of the FWSAR SOR. The final report was received from the NRC in March 2010 and officials from DND, PWGSC, and IC are reviewing the report’s findings and recommendations. The report’s findings, as well as industry’s feedback, will complement the work already done by DND to ensure the best possible solution for Canada’s complex SAR environment.

THE ENVIRONMENT

Canada is one of the most challenging countries in the world in which to conduct Search and Rescue (SAR) operations. With the world’s second largest land mass surrounded by the longest coastline, the area to be covered is immense: approximately 18 million square kilometres. As shown in Figure 1, the Canadian SAR region far exceeds that of all Western European countries combined. The geography Canadian SAR Region ranges from the Rocky Mountain peaks, to vast territorial waters, to Arctic tundra, most of which is sparsely populated with little infrastructure. Weather can be extreme and temperatures vary from -50C to +40C and beyond. All of which place enormous demands on the people and equipment that must work in this environment. In terms of SAR, these demands are unique to Canada.

Figure 1. Comparison of Canada’s SAR Area of Responsibility to Western Europe.

In 1947, the Department of National Defence (DND) was assigned primary federal responsibility for providing aeronautical SAR services across Canada. The aeronautical SAR service provided by the Canadian Forces is an essential component of the overall National SAR Program, which includes resources contributed by the Canadian Coast Guard, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provincial and municipal police forces, the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association (CASARA), and many others.

Canada’s vast area is divided into three Search and Rescue Regions (SRR) as shown in Figure 1, with Joint Rescue Coordination Centres (JRCC) located in Halifax, NS; Trenton, ON; and Victoria BC. The JRCCs are staffed by Canadian Coast Guard and Canadian Forces’ personnel who can call upon any SAR resources in their area to respond to incidents of distress 24 hours/day, 7 days/week, 365 days/year. Each year, JRCCs handle an average of 8,000 air and marine SAR cases. In 2008, the JRCC handled 9,097 SAR cases across Canada. On average, Canadian Forces SAR aircraft conduct over 1,000 missions per year.

Canadian Forces primary SAR crews and aircraft are based in:

• Gander, NL (Cormorant helicopters);
• Greenwood, NS (Cormorant helicopters and Hercules fixed-wing aircraft);
• Trenton, ON (Griffon helicopters and Hercules fixed-wing aircraft);
• Winnipeg, MB (Hercules fixed-wing aircraft); and
• Comox, BC (Cormorant helicopters and Buffalo fixed-wing aircraft).

However, any Canadian Forces aircraft can be called upon to conduct SAR operations when required. Particularly, Griffon helicopters based in Goose Bay, NL; Bagotville, QC; and Cold Lake, AB, often conduct SAR missions in addition to their primary role. The Canadian Forces Twin Otter aircraft fleet based in Yellowknife, NWT is often similarly tasked as a secondary FWSAR resource. As shown in Figure 2, the current mix of helicopter and fixed-wing SAR aircraft are strategically located to maximize the level of SAR service where it is needed most, given the resources and base locations across Canada.

Figure 2. Location of Primary Canadian Forces SAR Aircraft and Distribution of Incidents involving FWSAR Response from 1998 to 2001. (ORD Technical Report TR 2005/03)...

CANADA’S INDUSTRIAL AND REGIONAL BENEFITS (IRB) POLICY

Canada’s Industrial and Regional Benefits (IRB) requirements for procurements such as FWSAR are applied in a manner that does not affect the Department of National Defence’s operational requirements [if you believe that...]...

3) Torch post (with further links):

New fixed-wing SAR aircraft: "DON’T HOLD YOUR BREATH."

4) Defense Industry Daily round-up:

Rescue Required: Canada’s Search-And-Rescue Aircraft Program

5) Torch post, March 17, 2006 (CF links no longer work):

Somehow aircraft just don't get purchased

This from the federal Budget, March 23, 2004, The Importance of Canada's Relationship to the World:

Another major priority for Canada’s military is the purchase of modern Fixed Wing Search and Rescue aircraft (SAR) to replace older Hercules aircraft and Canada’s fleet of Buffalo aircraft. Under Defence’s current plan, deliveries of the new aircraft will begin much later in the decade. This budget sets aside non-budgetary resources to allow the Department of National Defence to move this acquisition forward in time without displacing other planned capital investments. By doing so, the Government will accelerate the process so that deliveries of the replacement SAR planes to Canada’s military can begin within 12 to 18 months [emphasis added]...

Politics, politics, all is politics--I mean those beloved (dreaded) IRBs. And now the budgetary crunch, crunch, crunch.