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Aviation History
1975
1975 - 2196.PDF
562 FLIGHT International, 16 October 1975 lllllil Canadian market battle intensifies WITHIN days of a similar announce ment by McDonnell Douglas, Grurpman has made its proposal to the Canadian Government on a new air-superiority fighter for the Canad ian Armed Forces. Both companies' proposed deals involve an order for 127 aircraft (McDonnell Douglas CF- 15 or Grumman CF-14) and the re organisation of the Canadian airframe industry. As briefly recorded in Flight last week, page 523, McDonnell Douglas would turn over all plant, equipment, assets and business of its subsidiary, Douglas Aircraft of Canada (based at the old Avro Aircraft plant at Malton, Toronto), to a new company which would include the de Havilland Canada plant at Downsview and the Canadair plants at Cartierville, Que bec. The new combine, Canadian Aerospace Ltd, Would have an average labour force of 7,400 until 1985 at least. The de Havilland plant is al ready owned by the Canadian Govern ment, which also has an option— expiry date for which has just been postponed from October 15 to Decem ber 4—to buy Canadair from General Dynamics. The McDonnell proposal is based on a purchase of 127 Eagles and the price depends on the USAF's com pleting its planned procurement of 749 F-15s. The Canadair plants would be transformed into an advanced, computer-controlled machining centre capable of manufacturing F-15 fins and tailplanes, creating about 2,000 new jobs. Some 20 per cent of all F-15 airframes would continue, from 1978 onwards, to be made by Canadian Aerospace. Although not part of the proposed new company, Bristol Aerospace of Winnipeg (Defence Minister Richard son's constituency) would gain about 500 new jobs and a further 600 would be created elsewhere in the Canadian industry. The new combine would, says McDonnell Douglas, be profitable for the next decade on the CF-15, the Canadair CL-215, the DHC-7, Twin Otter and Buffalo, and also the DC-9 and DC-10, the wings and other com ponents of which are made by Doug las of Canada. Canadian Aerospace would inherit DC-9 and DC-10 tooling at no cost, its value being estimated at $205 million in 1976 replacement prices. Having previously maintained a low public profile, Grumman quickly re sponded to the McDonnell announce ment by revealing its own plans. The former company says that if 127 Tom cats were ordered 4,000 jobs would be created at Canadair, plus a further 4,000 in other Canadian companies. Grumman is already planning to move work to Canadair, including fins for the EF-111 electronic-countermeasures derivative of the General Dynamics aircraft. (Grumman, following its highly successful development of the EA-6B Prowler, was awarded the EF-111 contract; Canadair has for some years been building F-lll fin components for sister company GD at Fort Worth.) Additional work for Canadair would include airframe com ponents of the A-6E Intruder. Grum man would invest in the reorganised Canadian industry by taking a minority equity interest. Whether the Canadian Armed Forces will in fact choose either the Eagle or the Tomcat is another matter, and it is entirely possible that the GD F-16 or a land-based Northrop/McDon nell Douglas F-18/Cobra II could be selected. The position of McDonnell Douglas in the latter event has not been clarified. Northrop would, how ever, be a prime contractor for any land-based derivative of the F-18 and has so far made no announcement of involvement in the Canadian deal. General Dynamics—in the process of selling Canadair to the Canadian Government—has understandably not commented, other than to say that it has made no proposal on how it might be involved in the reorganised indus try. There could still be yet other con tenders, especially if notice is taken of some of US Defence Secretary Schlesinger's recent remarks. Visiting Ottawa to discuss the current review of the Canadian Armed Forces, he was cool towards the prospect of Canada's buying any fighter replace ment for its CF-lOls and CF-104s, playing down the Soviet bomber Dutch patrol problem The planned disbandment of the Dutch Navy's No 320 Sqn, equipped with SP-2H Neptunes, is meeting growing opposition throughout the country. Disbandment, announced by Defence Minister Henk Vredeling in his comment on the 1976 defence bud get, is scheduled for January 1. That the proposal might be overruled by a majority in the House of Representa tives (Tweede Kamer) has become a real possibility as several of the large political parties have voiced their dis sension. The squadron, formed in Britain during the Second World War, is part of Nato's maritime patrol force and is assigned to duties in the eastern Atlantic. Some of No 320's aircraft are also based in the Dutch Antilles, rotating between their home base at Valkenburg, near Leiden, and Dr Albert Plesman airport on the island of Curacao. The obsolescent Neptunes were in fact due for replacement from 1977 and, although the Navy's choice was never officially published, it was a threat to North America. Well equipped ground forces in Europe would, he said, be the most illustrious contribution Canada could make to Western security. As for the LRPA (Long-Range Patrol Aircraft) programme, a recent television statement by Canadian Defence Minister Richardson may prove to be significant. It had until recently been strongly felt in Ottawa that the Boeing 707-ASW was highly favoured to win, and not only by the Armed Forces. But Richardson talked of the merits of an off-the-shelf pur chase as opposed to an LRPA tailored specifically to Canadian requirements and said that the P-3C Orion would be a suitable aircraft for the anti submarine warfare and maritime re connaissance roles. Defence Secretary Schlesinger also poured cold water on attempts to buy an all-jet replacement for the Argus, quoting the US Navy's preference for the Orion's economical turboprop performance over the speed of a jet-powered aircraft. Both Lockheed's and Boeing's pro posals on the LRPA, which had been due to expire on August 2, have been extended to December 2. Industry sources say that the Lockheed price at least has risen from the earlier estimated $700 million as a result. One report says that the Canadian Cabinet has narrowed its selection to the 707- ASW and only one of the three pro posals submitted by Lockheed, and has rejected the so-called Phoenix pro posal under which a number of Dash 7Rs would have been bought to supple ment a reduced number of LRPAs. more or less open secret that the P-3C Orion was preferred. US Congressional approval was given for a price quota tion on an initial batch of four air craft, gradually to be extended to 13, and funds were allocated in the 1976 Dutch budget. The replacement pro gramme was an integral part of the 1974 defence White Paper. Plans to postpone the replacement emerged this summer but only recently has it become known that not only is the postponement regarded as indefinite, but the present squadron is to be disbanded. As an immediate protest, on the day after the budget presentation four of the Neptunes made a low-level formation flight over the Government buildings in the Hague, an action for which the Navy was reprimanded by Vredeling. Sources suggest that if the Orion plan does not come to fruition, pres sures will be brought to bear to hasten development of the Fokker-VFW F.27MR for the home market. The aircraft, a prototype of which is due to fly in January, would be purely for
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