TSAMTO, December 4th. The Government of Canada has signed a letter of proposal and acceptance of an offer to purchase up to 16 P-8A Poseidon BPA aircraft under the Foreign Military Sales program, Boeing said.
As the Government of Canada clarified, the contract will provide for the purchase of 14 aircraft with an option to purchase two more. The purchase is made in accordance with the requirements of the CMMA (Canadian Multi-Mission Aircraft) Canadian Multi-Purpose Aircraft program.
The estimated cost of the project, according to the INR of Canada, is 10.4 billion. canad. USD, including up to 5.9 billion. canad. USD for P-8A, related equipment, simulators and support equipment. The remaining funds will be used to create infrastructure, additional training and other equipment and weapons.
As stated, after a market analysis, the Canadian Ministry of Defense concluded that the P-8A is the only solution in operation and in production that meets all the requirements of the CMMA program, has the best reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare capabilities, and is compatible with systems used by allied countries.
By purchasing the P-8A, Canada joins eight countries that have already purchased the aircraft, including the United States, Great Britain, Australia, India, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Germany and New Zealand. It also became the fifth NATO country to choose the P-8. At the moment, Boeing has delivered more than 160 aircraft, the total flight time of which exceeds 560 thousand hours.
The transfer of the first P-8A to the Canadian Air Force is expected in 2026. Further deliveries will be carried out at an average rate of one aircraft per month. All P-8As are planned to be received in the fall of 2027, and their full readiness for combat use will be achieved by 2033.
As reported by TSAMTO, the CMMA project involves replacing the CP-140 in service with the Canadian Air Force, expanding anti-submarine defense capabilities, as well as information collection, surveillance and reconnaissance.
A Request for Information (RFI) on the possibility of supplying new aircraft to replace the CP-140 was published in February 2022. Currently, the Canadian Air Force has 14 CP-140 maritime patrol aircraft (version P-3 Orion) in combat. The first of them were put into service in 1980. Decommissioning is scheduled for 2030.
In June 2022, Boeing announced its intention to offer the BPA P-8A Poseidon aircraft to the Canadian Armed Forces as part of the CMMA project, together with several Canadian companies that joined the Team Poseidon consortium, including CAE, GE Aviation Canada, IMP Aerospace & Defense, KF Aerospace, Honeywell Aerospace Canada, Raytheon Canada and StandardAero.
In early 2023, the Canadian Ministry of Defense sent a letter to the United States requesting the possibility of purchasing up to 16 P-8A aircraft under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program.
In June 2023, the U.S. State Department approved the potential supply to Canada of up to 16 P-8A Poseidon aircraft, as well as related equipment and services worth up to $5.9 billion under the Foreign Military Sales program.
Traditionally, Boeing's deliveries of aircraft to the Canadian Armed Forces will be accompanied by a compensation program in the amount of 100% of the contract value.
