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Lost hikers or stranded fishermen could find themselves being rescued by helicopters once designed to transport U.S. presidents.

The Department of National Defence had been insistent that the presidential helicopters, purchased in 2011 for spare parts for Canada’s current search-and-rescue choppers, would never be used as actual aircraft.

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But in an about-face, the military and DND now acknowledge they are looking at doing just that.

Defence sources say senior officers inside the Royal Canadian Air Force have successfully argued that since the $3-billion helicopters, known as the VH-71, were airworthy, it didn’t make sense to strip them down for parts. They are pushing for the aircraft to be added to the RCAF flight line.

When Barack Obama came to the presidency, he balked at the high cost of the VH-71 helicopter program, which had been started under former president George W. Bush. Around $3 billion had already been spent and the program was expected to more than double in price.