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Canadian special forces will receive the first of a new fleet of helicopters starting in 2033, followed by other rotary aircraft to be ordered later for army units.
The federal government will start consultations with defence firms in the coming months on the new project, the Department of National Defence confirmed to the Ottawa Citizen.
The new aircraft will replace the existing fleet of CH-146 Griffon helicopters which are currently used to support the Joint Task Force Two special forces unit in Ottawa and special forces units in Petawawa and Trenton, Ont.
The Canadian Forces and DND declined to provide information on how many helicopters will be purchased in total.
“The first phase of the work is targeting the procurement of new helicopters to support the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command,” DND spokesperson Andrée-Anne Poulintold the Ottawa Citizen. “The second and third phases would procure Attack Reconnaissance and Medium Lift capabilities to support the Canadian Army.”
The Canadian military hopes to have the first of a new fleet of helicopters operating by 2033, according to a briefing obtained by the Ottawa Citizen.
The fleets will be fully operational by 2038.
The project, dubbed Next Tactical Aviation Capability Set or nTACS will see a “return to a balanced fleet concept,” according to the military briefing. More than $18 billion has been earmarked for the new helicopters.
The acquisition will address gaps in firepower, reconnaissance and surveillance as well as mobility, the document prepared for the aviation industry noted.
The Canadian Forces and DND declined to provide details on when a contract might be awarded.
But Lt. Gen. Stephen Kelsey, Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, told the House of Commons defence committee Dec. 4 that at this point the military is only focused on buying a new helicopter for special forces.
The Canadian Forces and DND declined to answer why the project was being geared initially only for special forces.
CH-146 Griffon helicopters , originally ordered in 1992, play a key role for the Canadian Forces.
In January 2024, the Liberal government announced that it had awarded a contract worth more than $2 billion to Bell Textron Canada Limited to provide in-service support for the Griffons.
The in-service support contract would sustain the fleet until at least the mid-2030s, according to a Jan. 17, 2024 government news release. As Bell Textron Canada was the original manufacturer of the CH-146 helicopter and has exclusive ownership of all intellectual property rights pertaining to the fleet, the federal government had no other option but to award the contract to the firm.
The Canadian military operates 82 Griffon helicopters, flying out of 11 locations across the country.
In May 2022, Public Services and Procurement Canada awarded a separate contract worth approximately $800 million to Bell Textron Canada to perform the modifications required on the Griffon helicopters to keep them flying until at least the mid-2030s.
A Canadian Forces briefing note obtained by the Ottawa Citizen through the Access to Information Act showed the military looked at replacing the Griffons in 2012 but delayed those plans because of other procurement priorities.
In 2015 military leaders once again considered moving forward with a helicopter replacement project but instead opted for the life extension program, the documents noted.
However, with the influx of billions of dollars of new money for DND and the Canadian Forces from the Liberal government the project can proceed at full speed.
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