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Search and Rescue  –  FWSAR Industry Day  –  MERX LOI  –  July 2011 An Industry Day for the Fixed-Wing Search and Rescue Project: Or how to avoid FWSAR Alternative Service Delivery Proposals? Oh dear! With the Government of  Canada having signed a new, binding Arctic Search and Rescue Treaty and an independent review of  the  Fixed-Wing Search and  Rescue Project  Statement of  Operational Requirements (SOR), the pidgeons have come home to roost for the FWSAR Project Management Office,  Chief of Air Staff, and  the MND. This was all supposed to be in the bag. After the 2011 election, Peter MacKay and  the CAS, LGen Andre Deschamps, announced  FWSAR as their top procurement priority. That made it sound like they were ready to cut a cheque for the preferred 'candidate', the Italian-built Alenia C-27J Spartan. The trouble is, the NRC criticized the FWSAR Project's SOR by identifing assumptions that would skew a procurement decision. "[The] SOR is over-constrained to the extent that very few compliant solutions are possible." The constraints resulted from the Air Force's desire to maintain "the status quo: main operating base locations; CF crewing; and standby posture." In other words, the future FWSAR  'platform' would have to be fast and long-range enough to transit to any distance SAR areas from southern bases. FWSAR crew requirements are based on the current CC-115 Buffalo aircraft (but were not to be firmed up until the Definitions Phase ). This was odd since the most numerous current  FWSAR aircraft is the larger CC-130 Hercules. A single twin-engined aircraft type available off-the-shelf was assumed. The NRC notes that  'off-the-shelf ' is not defined  but DND assumes minimal difficulty in re-certifying this aircraft.  Yet that has rarely been the case in past. But it gets worse for DND, the CAS, and  the Directorate of  Aerospace Requirements. The NRC report attacks the SOR assumption that FWSAR aircraft would "be operated and maintained by... CF personnel" saying that  FWSAR's SOR should be "capability- based rather than platform-centric". The NRC report goes on to claim that "contracted support for...aircraft, aircrew, and maintenance... may lead to a lower cost solution and a more effective [SAR] response. A capability-based SOR should not preclude options such as having part of  the FWSAR capability contracted outside of the military...". [1] Ouch!  Just what DND wanted to avoid. The notion of an Alternative Service Delivery FWSAR by contractors first popped up (officially at least) in March 2011 at the end of a Senate Committee report, Sovereignty and Security in Canada's Arctic. If the NRC's ASD recommedation is being taken seriously, the Harper Tories have done something that no previous Canadian Government could: detect an obvious solution to FWSAR. [1] The NRC emphasizes that outside contracting "is already an existing practice in the rotary wing SAR community" refering to the CF's "frequent use of civilian rotary-wing aircraft operators...through a National Master Standing Offer for Air Charter Services". ________________________________________ CONSULTATIONS ON THE  FIXED-WING  SEARCH AND RESCUE PROJECT – MERX  Letters of  Interest ________________________________________ Reference Numbers              PW-$$BL-265-21577 Solicitation Numbers           W8475-110001/A Organization Name               Public Works and Government Services Canada                                                  Travaux publics et Services gouvernementaux Canada Source ID                               FD.DP.QC.10077.C2 Associated Components     No Dates Published     2011-07-20 Revised         — Closing         2011-08-15  11:59 AM  Eastern Daylight Saving Time  EDT Details Category     Aerospace GSINS          N1510:  AIRCRAFT,  FIXED WING Region of Delivery            Ontario Region of Opportunity     — Agreement Type                NONE Tender Type                       Letter of  Interest  ( LOI ) Estimated Value                  — Solicitation Method           — Notice Description CONSULTATIONS ON THE FIXED-WING SEARCH AND RESCUE PROJECT Trade Agreement:  NONE Tendering Procedures: — Attachment: None Competitive Procurement Strategy:  N/A - P&A/LOI Only Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement: No Nature of  Requirements: Letter of  Interest   FWSAR consultation   August 2011 Industry consultation day on August 16, 2011 for the Fixed-Wing Search and Rescue (FWSAR) Project BACKGROUND On July 14, 2009, the Government of Canada sought the Canadian Defence and Aero- space industry's feedback on the high-level considerations for Fixed-Wing Search and Rescue (FWSAR) requirements. This feedback was thoroughly reviewed by the Dep- artment of National Defence (DND), Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) and Industry Canada (IC). Following this consultation, the [GoC] engaged the National Research Council...(NRC) to conduct an independent review of the FWSAR Statement of  Operational Require- ments (SOR). The proposed operational requirements for the replacement of the exist- ing Search and Rescue capability were subsequently amended. INVITATION The [GoC] is now ready to engage industry representatives on August 16, 2011, in the National Capital Region, on the next steps to achieve the best approach to deliver FWSAR capability. Industry representatives interested in the FWSAR project must confirm their attend- ance by contacting the undersigned before August 15, 2011, at 11:59AM. Attendance at this event is strictly reserved to properly registered industry representatives. [...] OBJECTIVES The Government of Canada will consider all options to ensure the best possible SAR service to Canadians and best value for taxpayers. The main goals of this consultation include: reviewing project status; reviewing the updated requirements; and seeking Industry opinions on Alternate Service Delivery options. During the consultation, Government of  Canada officials will discuss the outcome of the NRC independent review [ of  the FWSAR SOR ...] , and provide a summary of the revised key requirements followed by a discussion on potential [substitute] procure- ment approaches for FWSAR including Alternate Service Delivery options. Subsequent to the plenary information session, one-on-one meetings with individual firms will be offered, if requested, to discuss and answer specific questions. Partici- pants will be invited to prepare discussion papers on the possible approaches avail- able to procure FWSAR capability.  Industry will be given four weeks following the consultation session to provide their feedback. We look forward to your participation. Contact: Bruno Potvin Contract Manager... Fixed-Wing Search and Rescue Defence & Major Projects Sector (819) 997-9026 E-mail: bruno.potvin@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca Delivery Date: 16/08/2011  [...]