Air force considers 2008 budget cuts for aircraft fleet

[CD]

Air force considers 2008 budget cuts for CF18s, Hercules, Aurora, Sea Kings

9 Aug, 4:27 PM

OTTAWA (CP) - Canada's air force is looking at cutting the operating and maintenance budgets of some of its frontline aircraft next year in a fiscal pinch that defence insiders blame on new heavy-lift C-17 transport aircraft and the war in Afghanistan.

Senior planners at the 1st Canadian Air Division are studying a proposed a 32 per cent reduction in money used for fuel and spare parts for the CF-18s, the C-130 Hercules, C-140 Auroras and the Sea Kings, defence sources told The Canadian Press.

"That's a damn significant hit," said one source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"The staff in Winnipeg, the air force staff, are currently doing the staff checks to find out what the impact will be of those cuts."

The reductions, which are being considered for the next budget year, would vary depending upon the fleet, but another defence insider said: "You're basically looking at a one-third cut in operating budget."

An official at National Defence headquarters confirmed the study is underway, but described it as a paper exercise, meant to give commanders a better sense of what is possible.

Jeremy Sales said no final decision has been made, and would not comment on numbers.

"This exercise in no way foreshadows or pre-judges any decision on fleet funding and, in fact, no decision on this will be taken until the fall," he said Thursday.

"Every year this planning is conducted for all of the aircraft fleets in order to provide operational commanders and senior management information about the potential effects of budget restraints due to evolving circumstances. The important thing to note here is that the safety of the aircraft and crew are never compromised."

The number-crunching may go on every year, but it is the size of the proposed cut that has air force insiders worried.

"We've been cutting back our national procurement funding for years," said an air force source. "The military is supposed to be about readiness. When you're cutting back your spares, you're cutting back your readiness, your ability to respond."

The Hercules fleet may get away relatively unscathed because it contributes a handful of the hardy medium-sized transports to operations in Afghanistan, including dangerous supply-drop exercises at far-flung desert outposts. If cuts are to be made, the sources said, it would involve C-130s based in Canada.

This comes at time when the overall cost of Canada's involvement in the war is rising. Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor revealed in May the estimated bill for the country's military mission is expected to top $4.3 billion by the time it is scheduled to end in February 2009 - increase of $400 million over previous forecasts.

When it comes to the overall operating and maintenance budget, the Conservative government has pumped more money into the air force. But the fight over how that cash is divided among the various fleets will intensify with the arrival of four C-17 Globemaster heavy-lift transports over the next 12 months.

The Boeing-built aircraft, capable of carrying 77,000 kilograms of cargo, has a wing span of 51.7 metres and a fuel capacity of 134,000 litres. The first transport will arrive in Abbotsford, B.C., on Saturday before making a cross-country trek to its new home at Canadian Forces Base Trenton, Ont.

"This thing burns a hell of a lot of gas," said the air force source. "Well, where do you get the gas? You take it away from the other fleets because you only have so much money."

Trimming the operating budget for the Sea Kings is not considered a deal within the air force because the aging chopper is expected to be replaced next year by the new Sikorsky-built CH-148 Cyclones.

But the reduction of fuel and spares for the Hornets, Hercules and Auroras could impact training time and patrols.

Purchasing the C-17s was a promise made by the Conservatives in the last election campaign and was justified by citing the need to move Canadian troops and equipment around the world to trouble spots without having to rely on allies or rented transports.

Aside from the $3.4-billlion price tag for the heavy-lift planes, the air force has found it was been saddled with a number of other expenses - some of them of unexpected.

New extra-large hangars will be constructed at Trenton and special-cargo handling equipment needed to be purchased. Officials also discovered they required a bigger firetruck to accommodate the 16-metre-high plane. That has led to the expansion of the fire hall because the new truck is too big.

[North Shore]

And yet I read in the paper that we are running a budget surplus again this year, and tax cuts are being considered? Why not leave the tax rates as is, adn just apply the surplus to the military, if that is what we, as a society, value?

[groundpilot]

O'Connor denies budget cuts needed for new cargo planes:

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/08/ ... ml?ref=rss

[Expat]

What kind of nerds are running our country and our Armed Forces?
Canada is becoming a joke, much like New Zealand, on the international scene.

[Mark_space]

Are you in the big, hot, and dusty, or in the computer room in Mirage...