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 6 — Open for Business: Contenders for the 'NSA' Requirement [ Part 2] 
The third contender for the DND 'New Shipboard Aircraft' Project was another European design – the entirely new EH Industries EH-101. This helicopter was larger than its rival
candidates. Indeed, the EH-101 was larger than a Sea King. Three turbshafts also made the EH-101 more powerful than other contenders.The EH-101 was jointly developed by Agusta in Italy and Westland in Britain. Both firms had licence-built Sea Kings in their respective nations. EH Industries [1] was formed in 1980 to market this multipurpose, medium-lift civilian/military helicopter. 
Although partly designed to replace Sea Kings, the maritime version of the EH-101 owed little to that earlier helicopter from a design point of view. The rotor diameters and cabin size of
both Sea King and EH- 101 were roughly the same but there the similarities ended. Unlike the Sea Kings, the new EH-101 didn't even pretend to be amphibious [2] and its rotor
blade design was based on those of Westland's Lynx.The use of three turboshafts is not unique (both Sikorsky and Aérospatiale fielded triple-engined helicopters earlier) but the arrangement chosen by EH Industries was unusual. The third turboshaft is positioned behind the rotor mast (as Sikorsky had done with the CH-53E ) but the EH-101's other two tubroshafts are splayed outward (the 3 engines forming a so-called 'arrowhead' arrangement. A significant difference from the Sea King and the two other NSA contenders is the EH-101's use of lateral air intakes for the turbines which are said to reduce icing problems for the engines. [1] In a 2000 merger, EH Industries became AgustaWestland which, in turn, became a sudsidiary of Finmeccanica SpA in 2004. The EH-101 is now marketed as AW101. [2] Sea Kings can taxi on their 'flying boat' hull and sponsons, but rely on flotation bags to stay afloat if on the water any length of time. EH Industries, Aérospatiale, and Sikorsky all now rely on flotation bags alone to gain improved aerodynamics. Next in this In Detail series > Part 7 – Racing for a NSA Project Finishing Line? CASR | In Detail | MHP Series Index | CH-124 Sea King | CH-148 Cyclone |