The delivery to the Canadian military of the U.S.-built fleet of P-8 surveillance aircraft has fallen three years behind schedule.
All 14 aircraft from U.S. defence firm Boeing were supposed to be delivered by the fall of 2027, according to the federal government’s original announcement in 2023 for the $10-billion project. That final delivery date was later changed to 2027-2028 on the Department of National Defence’s website.
But now DND has acknowledged even further delays.
“Fourteen aircraft are expected to be delivered by 2030,” DND spokesman Nick Drescher Brown confirmed to the Ottawa Citizen. “Delivery of the first aircraft has been delayed from 2026 to 2027 due to a labour disruption at the Boeing Company in September 2024, which impacted production timelines for all future CP-8 Poseidon aircraft.”
More than 33,000 Boeing machinists in the U.S. went out on strike from Sept. 13, 2024 to Nov. 4, 2024, a move that put a stop to production of a number of aircraft types, including the P-8.
DND announced Feb. 19, 2026 in a social media post that production of Canada’s first CP-8A Poseidon had reached its first milestone with the joining of the fuselage and other major sections. The plane is being built at Boeing’s facility in Wichita, Kan.
Drescher Brown said, in preparation for the delivery of the first CP-8A, work on upgrading facilities such as hangars is underway. “RCAF personnel have been embedded with the Royal Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force, the Royal New Zealand Air Force, and the United States Navy to gain operational experience on the P-8A before its arrival in Canada,” he added. “This proactive approach mitigates many of the impacts of any aircraft delivery delays.”
The new aircraft will replace the CP-140 Aurora fleet which will be retired in 2030, Drescher Brown added.
The Liberal government’s decision in November 2023 to proceed with a sole-source purchase of the Boeing aircraft was seen as a significant win for U.S. industry and a boon for American aerospace workers.
The RCAF leadership had rejected a made-in-Canada solution based on Bombardier aircraft as being too risky. The RCAF argued it needed to further integrate into the U.S. military system and the P-8 would allow seamless interoperability with the U.S. and other allies who fly the same plane.
The Canadian government was also under pressure to pick the U.S. aircraft. At the time, the United States ambassador to Canada, David Cohen, had sent a letter to Liberal cabinet ministers urging them to move ahead with the sole-source deal.
Cohen’s letter was sent to various ministers, including then Treasury Board president Anita Anand, whose organization was examining the funding proposal for the P-8 acquisition.
Originally there was supposed to be an open competition to buy a new multi-mission aircraft to replace the RCAF’s Aurora CP-140 planes.
But that was abandoned and, in March 2023, Public Services and Procurement Canada stated the P-8 was the only aircraft to meet the military’s needs.
During parliamentary hearings in 2023, government officials acknowledged to MPs that they did not examine other potential aircraft in depth or engage in discussions with firms other than Boeing.
The sole-source plans did face pushback from MPs and the premiers of Ontario and Quebec, who argued that Canadian firms should be considered. In addition, questions were raised by MPs and domestic aerospace firms about why standard procurement rules were altered for such an expensive project.
Ottawa-based General Dynamics Mission Systems, as well as Bombardier, which has locations in Quebec and Ontario, objected to the plan to award the sole-source deal to Boeing.
On Nov. 9, 2023, the House of Commons committee on national defence called on the federal government to hold a competition for the CP-140 Aurora replacement instead of awarding a sole-source contract to Boeing. But the Liberal government rejected that recommendation.
The estimated cost for the project is $10.4 billion, which includes up to $5.9 billion (U.S.) for the P-8s, associated equipment, training devices and sustainment set-up. The balance will cover additional investments in simulators, infrastructure and weapons, according to the federal government.
David Pugliese is an award-winning journalist covering Canadian Forces and military issues in Canada. To support his work, including exclusive content for subscribers only, sign up here: ottawacitizen.com/subscribe
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