The Canadian military has been going across the globe to keep its aging search-and-rescue airplanes flying, reiterating the desperate need for replacement aircraft following decades of delays and political squabbling.
We should have bought new DHC-5NG Buffaloes from Viking Air with some of the stimulus;
DHC-5NG? The Buffalo itself is the 5th option. Viking Air Ltd. external link now holds the type certificates for most of DeHavilland�s aircraft, including the DHC-5 Buffalo. The firm has recently enjoyed success with its revival of the legendary DHC-6 Twin Otter external link, and has offered to upgrade the existing CC-115 fleet, while producing new aircraft for the SAR program at its manufacturing facilities in Calgary and Victoria. The Buffalo�s old GE CT64-410-3 engines would be replaced by Pratt & Whitney Canada�s PW150 external link used in Bombardier�s Dash 8s and many other regional aircraft, and the planes would receive digital avionics suites and FLIR systems derived from the Series 400 Twin Otter.
I'd make some comment about relying on 47-year-old aircraft but then we've got the B-52 and no plans afoot to replace it and odds are that the B-52 will still be in service at the dawn of 2040.
Besides the USCG just took 14 of the USAF's C27J's. Where not going to give them back either. There a excellent SAR aircraft for us. I wish we did have a few Viking Twin Otter's in our AVDET's. For the RCAF this should be between the remodeled Buffalo and the C27J. Both are strong candidates with excellent credits for long rang Arctic SAR Ops. Stay clear although of the CASA, there a royal joke and POS. The USCG's HC144 is a CASA 235 and is fixed or repaired daily and a very serious POS in Combat SAR duty and HITRON.
http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/res ... ram-03350/
How the new DHC-5NG Buffalo stacks up against the C-27;
http://www.vikingair.com/uploadedFiles/ ... 202009.pdf
So many opportunities over the years to do the obvious yet government after government does not move on this. WTF will it take?