March 23, 2010, Ottawa – Five Canadian aerospace companies have been awarded contracts worth $617 million as part of a deal between the Department of National Defence and U.S. aircraft giant Lockheed Martin.
The companies are Montreal-based CAE, Cascade Aerospace from Abbotsford, B.C., IMP Aerospace from Enfield, N.S., Standard Aero from Winnipeg, and the HAAS Group from Oshawa, Ont. in December 2007, the federal government announced the purchase of 17 C-130J transport aircraft from Lockheed Martin, to replace the existing fleet of Hercules, considered the workhorses of the air force.
Monday's announcement is the first of Lockheed Martin's in-service support contracts for the CC-130J Hercules, under the so-called Industrial and Regional Benefits Policy.
According to the policy, winning bidders of major defence contracts must provide Canada with new business activities equal to 100 per cent of the contract value.
Industry Minister Tony Clement said the new investments ``will bring jobs and economic growth to communities all across the country.''
"Canada's IRB policy has ensured ... that all regions of our country will benefit from this and all other major defence procurements by the Government of Canada'' said Clement.
The Canadian aerospace sector, which is largely concentrated in the Montreal area, employs more than 80,000 people across Canada.
Clement said Lockheed Martin will be announcing the remainder of its IRB obligation - for a total of $2.3 billion - in the ensuing years.
Clement also said that deliveries of the aircraft fleet are expected to begin in June 2010, six months ahead of schedule.
Many of the air force's 1970s and 1980s vintage Hercules are near the end of the service life. The planes are used for search and rescue, hauling troops, as well as for supply drops at far-flung
desert bases in Afghanistan.
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