The Cyclone helicopter saga offers a painful reminder of what happens when procurement decisions prioritize optics over operational outcomes

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By Tom Lawson and Gaëlle Rivard Piché

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As the Liberal government proceeds with its review of the F-35 acquisition, it finds itself trying to balance two competing impulses: the strategic necessity to replace the aging CF-18 fleet with the most capable fighter available — Lockheed Martin’s F-35 — versus a reluctance to purchase yet another product from the U.S. defence industry. Before making a final decision, it would be wise for the government to reflect on a previous Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) procurement — one that offers a cautionary tale about what can happen when political discomfort trumps operational need.

In 1992, the Progressive Conservative government signed a $4.8-billion contract with a European consortium to replace the aging Sea King helicopters deployed aboard Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) ships. For purely political reasons, when the Liberals came to power the following year, they cancelled the deal — incurring $500 million in termination penalties — and set out to find a more politically acceptable solution. That search dragged on for over a decade, culminating in a 2004 contract with Sikorsky to procure 28 CH-148 Cyclone helicopters.

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What the government failed to realize — or chose to overlook — was that Sikorsky was not offering a ready-made military platform. Instead, it proposed to adapt its civilian S-92 model into a maritime helicopter fit for military use, with the hope of replicating the........

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