The helicopter deal from hell
The navy's 30-year drive to acquire modern choppers has been held hostage to political intrigue and buffeted by a $1-billion lawsuit. Now the latest would-be supplier, Sikorsky, will be years late delivering the first new helicopter, and is seeking hundreds of millions of dollars more to do the job. The project is at risk -- again.
No one could have doubted the importance of getting a bulletproof result in this $5-billion competition, which had long been poisoned by politics. On his first day in office in 1993, prime minister Jean Chrétien had ripped up a signed contract to purchase 28 navy helicopters and 15 search-and-rescue versions from E.H. Industries. Mr. Chrétien said the country could not afford "Cadillac" helicopters -- the EH-101s -- when the national deficit was so high.
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