The business jet maker joined forces earlier this year with U.S.-based General Dynamics on a surveillance aircraft with submarine-hunting technology. Both partners are calling on the federal government to launch an open procurement process to supplant the14 CP-140 Aurora maritime patrol planes, built by Lockheed Martin and set to retire in 2030 after a half-century of service.
That total is one Bombardier can compete with, said Bombardier vice-president of public affairs Pierre Pyun. “We are absolutely convinced of that,” he said in French, though the company declined to name a price.“For us to be able to put forward a price, there would have to be a request for proposals, then there would have to be specific requirements,” he told reporters during a presentation last week at the Bombardier plant in Montreal.
The federal government has said it is still weighing its options for the multibillion-dollar contract.The Procurement Department in February 2022 issued a letter of request for an offer on 16 Poseidons, sent via the U.S. government’s foreign military sales program. The government said in an email that ask “does not commit Canada to purchasing the P-8A Poseidon and the project remains in options analysis.