Defence Procurement – Maritime Helicopter Project – Updated to July 2004 Politics, Procurement Practices, and Procrastination: the Quarter-Century Sea King Helicopter Replacement Saga Stephen Priestley, CASR Researcher [ Update: This In Detail article was first published in June 2003. A decade later, the CH-124 Sea King maritime helicopter is still in service. In 2004, the CH-148 Cyclone was chosen as a replacement. However, it is anyone's guess as to when operational Cyclones will be available to replace the clapped-out CF Sea Kings. How have we arrived at this sorry state of affairs? Peter MacKay, the current MND has described the Maritime Helicopter Project the "worst procurement" effort in Canadian history. In hopes of detecting root causes for maladies of that Maritime Helicopter Project procurement, this article traces the origins of the project and the decisions made by both DND and the various governing parties beginning a staggering 36 years ago.] Part 13 — NSA: Simultaneously Running Out of Time, Options, and Alternatives By cancelling the CF EH-101 helicopter order outright, the Liberal government left themselves with no room to manoeuvre. Granted their options were few but trying to re-negotitate the contract with EH Industries couldn't have hurt. Replacing the CH-148 Petrel and CH-149 Chimo order with 'green' EH-101s may not have been politically palatable enough. Another option might have been to try to substitute a smaller, less expensive naval helicopter built by one of EHI's parent companies. 
Such a deal would be extremely difficult to negotiate but, had it been successful, Westland's Sea Lynx would be the most
likely candidate. Although the Sea Lynx is not equivalent to the cancelled Petrel, the smaller aircraft has proven itself as a NATO shipboard helicopter — including
as an ASW companion to the EH-101.
The only other alternative available from one of EH Industries' parent companies was the new Agusta AB412. While this helicopter was far less suitable from DND's point of view [1], it would
also be very difficult politically – a virtually-identical helicopter was being built in Quebec as the CH-146 Griffon.Rage Against the Machine — a 'Clash of Titans' or Just Plain Stubbornness? Jean Chrétien was still dead set against what he saw as the "Cadillac" winner of the NSA. Not buying Petrels was just fine with his new Minister of National Defence, David Collenette, whose department was feeling the pinch from Finance Minister Paul Martin. [2] There was not going to be much flexibility at the political end. But, once the NSA die was cast, it was up to DND planners to offer up alternatives. So, what happened? The CF Sea Kings still needed replacing but the Petrel was no more. And yet, DND seemed to have had no NSA contingency plan. Mr. Chrétien had promised during the election campaign that their 'Cadillac' NSA order would be cancelled. And few Canadians were predicting anything but a Liberal landslide in 1993. Many were the complaints from DND about their years of work on Sea King replacements wasted by the government but few were the suggested alternatives. [1] Although Agusta's AB412 may have been unsuited to CF requirements, there were serious suggestions made that DND should consider CH-146 Griffons – the Canadian-made version of the Bell Model 412, for shipboard duties. See Sidebar. [2] As Collenette said of DND budget cuts at the time: "The new policy respects the government's commitment to reducing deficit". Perhaps, but the decision to simply cancel the NSA contracts did not turn out to be very fiscally responsible. Next in this In Detail series > Part 14 – 1994 White Paper and SAR Helicopters CASR | In Detail | MHP Series Index | CH-124 Sea King | CH-148 Cyclone |