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 7 — Narrowing the Field for the NSA and Racing for the Finishing Line Shortly after issuing the 'Solicitation of Interest' for the New Shipboard Aircraft competition, the Mulroney Cabinet underwent another shuffle. The third defence minister was Perrin Beatty. Hopes were high, Perrin Beatty was seen as a keener. 
In a surprise move, Sikorsky withdrew its candidate from the competition. The Sea Hawk had never been DND's dream
Sea King replacement – a small cabin size being the main complaint. But, Sikorsky wasn't admitting defeat. To some degree Sikorsky was now competing with its own
interests. The company had just bought a part of troubled Westland Helicopters and, at that time, this British partner in EH Industries desparately needed for their new EH-101 to be a success.
Aérospatiale was in the opposite situation in a way. The original Puma was co-produced with Westlands but, with the advent of the EH-101, Aérospatiale was free to develop their
AS332F alone. All the benefits of modern avionics and powerplants could be combined with the advantage of a proven design.
In contrast, the EH-101, Aérospatiale's sole remaining competitor for a NSA contract, remained wholely unproven. Aérospatiale had every reason to be confident in their Sea King
replacement candidate's victory. But, the Ottawa rumour-mill suggested otherwise."The sea hath no king" ... but the New Shipboard Aircraft Project has a Winner ! 
The rumour-mill was right. In August 1987, Defence Minister Perrin Beatty announced that a decision had been made on a New Shipboard Aircraft – Canada would purchase the
new EH-101. That DND had favoured the more capacious, more powerful EH-101 all along was one of the worst-kept secrets in
Ottawa. The new EH-101 may have been unproven but it sprang from two very experienced naval helicopter builders. And the design appeared to have development 'legs' – the EH-101 was certainly
more than big enough to accomodate any amount of Anti-Submarine Warfare equipment that even DND could ever dream of.Next in this In Detail series > Part 8: Effects of a Permanent Income on Thought CASR | In Detail | MHP Series Index | CH-124 Sea King | CH-148 Cyclone |