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The group of companies that lost the competition for Canada’s new search-and-rescue aircraft is going to court to try to overturn the contract.

Procurement Minister Judy Foote and Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan announced on Dec. 8 that the government had selected the Airbus C295W aircraft as its new fixed-wing search-and-rescue (FWSAR) aircraft. The RCAF will receive 16 C295Ws.

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But the losing bidder in the competition, a group called Team Spartan, wants the contract with Airbus, already signed, to be overturned.

An application for judicial review has been filed in the Federal Court, Team Spartan said in a Feb. 23 news release.

“Team Spartan’s main allegation is that the selected airplane is unfit to safely perform certain key Search and Rescue tasks and missions required by Canada and should have been, therefore, disqualified,” it said in the release.

Team Spartan, led by the Italian aerospace firm Leonardo, was offering Canada its C-27J aircraft. The group wants the court to issue “an order requesting that Canada cancel the contract with Airbus and award same to Leonardo.”