There is one more twist in the seemingly never-ending saga of the replacement of Canada's Sea King helicopters.
More than a year after announcing a four-year delay in the long-running project, Sikorsky has just acknowledged that it is facing another setback in the delivery of the first of 28 aircraft.
Details are scarce, but Sikorsky is saying it can't live up to the new schedule that was negotiated with Ottawa 14 months ago, and is unlikely to offer all of the promised equipment in the first round of deliveries.
"Sikorsky has advised the government of Canada of potential delays, and we're working to assess the implications of these potential delays," said Chris Hilton, a spokesman for Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose.
According to the initial contract signed in 2004, the Canadian Forces were to begin receiving fully compliant Cyclone CH-148s within four years, by 2008.
However, the government and Sikorsky announced at the end of 2008 that the first maritime helicopters would only come in 2010, and would not meet the full list of specifications in the contract. According to the deal, the first fully compliant helicopters would come in 2012, about eight years after the signing of the contract.
In a recent report, Sikorsky's parent company, United Technologies Corp., said it has launched a new round of discussions with Ottawa regarding the delivery of the first interim helicopters, scheduled for late this year.
"Sikorsky is in discussions with the Canadian government concerning an anticipated delay in completing certain elements of the specification for the interim aircraft," said UTC's annual report to the Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States.
A spokesman for Sikorsky refused to expand on its production problems. "As a matter of policy, we do not comment on discussions with customers," Paul Jackson said.
Mr. Hilton, however, said the Harper government "fully expects Sikorsky to live up to its legal obligations."
Before it awarded the $5-billion contract to Sikorsky in 2004, the government warned that it would impose as much as $36-million in penalties for late deliveries.
However, in the secret deal signed in late 2008 between Ottawa and Sikorsky, the government decided not to collect any of the penalties. In fact, it agreed to pay an extra $117-million to Sikorsky to obtain "leading-edge technology."
The Conservative government of Brian Mulroney had ordered new helicopters to replace the Sea Kings in 1992, but Liberal prime minister Jean Chrétien cancelled the purchase as soon as he came to office in 1993.