Last week was a busy one in aerospace circles. The Paris Air Show brought aerospace companies from around the world together to pitch their latest projects, make deals and sign contracts. Airbus announced its X6 heavy-lift helicopter concept — and hinted that it’s interested in buying rival firm Sikorsky.

Seems that Sikorsky — a company name that’s almost a synonym for ‘helicopter’ — has a parent company, UTC, that wants out of the helicopter business altogether, so it can focus on pharmaceuticals and its other business interests. And UTC is in a tearing hurry, having stated it wants to exit aerospace within 60 days.

So it’s a Sikorsky fire sale. Many analysts believe that Airbus will make a bid, but it’s known that UTC is expecting a bid from Boeing as well.

Why should you care? Well, Sikorsky builds both commercial and military helicopters — including the Cyclone helicopter, the replacement for our geriatric Sea King helicopters, which are now over 50 years old and decades past their best-before date. The procurement process to replace them has been the most badly-managed this country has ever seen — “the worst procurement in history”, to use former defence minister Peter MacKay’s words. Sikorsky finally started delivering Canada’s new Cyclones last week, only years behind schedule. First delivery was supposed to be in 2008 and full delivery in 2011.

With the delivery imminent, the RCAF created a Twitter storm with comparisons of the Cyclones’ abilities to that of the decrepit Sea Kings. (Not really a fair comparison — kind of like putting a Audi up against a horse and cart.) But just in case you were worried the procurement process was suddenly going smoothly, I’ll note that RCAF is accepting the delivery of helicopters that still aren’t finished. The Cyclone won’t be able to perform all of its required functions; those will be addressed in later upgrades.

The issue with the engine may be the least of the Cyclone’s headaches — and I mean that literally. The issue with the engine may be the least of the Cyclone’s headaches — and I mean that literally.

Internal DND documents leaked to the media indicate the military is also concerned about the engine’s performance — that it might turn out to be insufficient for what the Canadian Forces have in mind for them. The Cyclone was the victim of what people in procurement call “requirements creep”: extra equipment and requirements were added on, increasing the helicopter’s weight. New engines had to be designed and certified by General Electric for the Cyclone; it now appears that concerns are arising over their performance.

The issue with the engine may be the least of the Cyclone’s headaches — and I mean that literally. Industry officials tell me that based on experience with the helicopter’s civilian version, the S-92, the Cyclone may generate enough noise and vibration in flight to pose a threat of hearing loss to pilot and occupants. The S-92 also has suffered problems with its main gearbox. Those issues should have been fixed by now; the federal government reportedly opted to forgo the mandatory requirement that the helicopter be capable of flying for 30 minutes without oil in the gearbox (Defence Minister Jason Kenney has since insisted the Cyclones can meet the 30-minute standard).

There’s another problem: spare parts. Canada only ordered 28 Cyclones, to be designed and built by Sikorsky. The only other customer that was interested in them, the German navy, has since backed out. Equipment that’s in wide use is easier to find replacement parts for; the MH-60 Seahawk, for example, is being used by the U.S. Navy, Denmark, Saudi Arabia and many other nations. Hundreds of these helicopters have been sold — so spare parts are not an issue. But with just 28 machines on hand, finding spare parts quickly for the Cyclones could be difficult.

All of these concerns about the service life of the Cyclones will be compounded by the sale of Sikorsky. The company will go through a restructuring process which, most likely, will result in the loss of personnel who know how the Cyclone was developed. How will the sale affect the longevity of Canada’s Cyclones? The worst procurement project in our history isn’t out of the woods yet.

Stewart Webb is the editor of DefenceReport. He holds an MScEcon in Security Studies from Aberystwyth University and a BA in Political Science from Acadia University. @StewartWebb1 [email protected]

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