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Canadian Defence Procurement — updated and revised January 2004
Politics, Procurement Practices, and Procrastination:
the Quarter-Century Sea King Helicopter
Replacement Saga
Part 7 — Narrowing the Field for the
NSA and Racing for the Finishing Line
Shortly after issuing the ‘Solicitation of Interest’ for the New Shipboard Aircraft competition, the
Mulroney cabinet underwent another shuffle. The third defence minister was Perrin Beatty. Hopes were high,
Perrin Beatty was seen as a keener.
In a surprise move, Sikorsky withdrew its candidate from the competition. The Sea Hawk had never been DND’s dream Sea
King replacement – a small cabin size being the main complaint. But, Sikorsky
wasn’t admitting defeat. To some degree Sikorsky was now competing with its own interests. The company had
just bought a part of troubled Westland Helicopters and, at that time, this British partner in EH Industries
desparately needed for their new EH-101 to be a success.
In a way, Aérospatiale was in the opposite situation. The original Puma had been co-
produced with Westlands but Aérospatiale was free to develop their follow-on AS332F alone. They could combine all the benefits of modern avionics and powerplants
with all the advantages of a proven design. In contrast, Aérospatiale’s sole remaining competitor
for the NSA contract – the EH-101 – was wholely unproven. Aérospatiale had every reason to be
confident in their Sea King replacement but, the Ottawa rumour-mill suggested otherwise.
“The sea hath no king” but the New Shipboard Aircraft Project has a Winner !
The rumour-mill was right. In August 1987, defence minister Perrin Beatty announced that a decision had been
made on the New Shipboard Aircraft – Canada would purchase the EH-101. That DND had favoured the more capacious, more powerful EH-101 all along was
one of the worst-kept secrets in Ottawa. The new EH-101 may have been unproven but it sprang from two very
experienced naval helicopter builders. And the design appeared to have development ‘legs’ – the
EH-101 was certainly more than big enough to accomodate any amount of anti-submarine warfare equipment that DND
could ever dream of.
< Part 6 — Open for Business:
the Contenders for the ‘NSA’ (Continued)
> Part 8 — NSA and “...‘The Effects
of a Permanent Income On Thought’...”
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