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22 I FrontLine Magazine I May 2004

The three have now been classified surplusby the Department of National Defence aspart of the comprehensive FSX fleet reduc-tions. Disposal of the three CP-140A is to

conditionally commence in 2005/2006.The mid-2003 Pro ject Transform

notes that the Long Range Patrol fleet mustreduce from 21 aircraft to 16 in response toair force fiscal pressures but it did notreflect the increased maritime require-ments accruing from the post-Sept 2001environment.

Th e pr em atur e re ti re ment of theCP-140A is an opportunity to examine itssuitability as a SAR replacement for thenearly life-expired CC-130E Hercules,

utilized for SAR by 413 Transport andRescue Squadron at 14 Wing Greenwood,Nova Scotia, as the Arcturus has a higheravailability/serviceability rate than the

Aurora... and greater overall airframe life.By 2006, the CP-140As will have seen

only 13 years service and would only needa low-cost mini-AIMP (Aurora IncrementalModernization Project). According toindustry sources, few AIMP upgrades arerequired for the Arcturus SAR due to theavailability of post-AIMP spares.

The Arcturus SAR mini-AIMP projects

required would be: Navigation and Flight Instrument Moderniza-tion Project(Glass Cockpit); incl.AirborneCollision Avoidance System at C$4.167Mper aircraft;

Communications Management System atC$5.556M per aircraft; and

Data Management System atC$11.111Mper aircraft.

This works out to some C$26.5M per air-craft, compared to the C$160M for threeFixed Wing SAR [FWSAR].

The Arcturus SAR retains aircraft com-monality benefits for aircraft techniciansand flight crew, it also benefits from theexisting Aurora/Arcturus spares and sup-port structure at Greenwood. As York

University professor Martin Shadwickargues the premature disposal of the rela-tively new, and expensive Arcturus wouldbe astonishingly shortsighted. The severestrain on the Aurora (including the recentlyended Op Apollo commitment) could bepartially mitigated by retaining the

Arcturus until the AIMP is completed.In comparison, as shown in the table

on page 24, the Arcturus 85kt advantage indash-speed, 50kt advantage in cruise-speedfor faster searches, all especially useful inlengthy SAR ocean search, make it ideally

suited for SAR in Canadas vast Atlantic/Coastal Ocean areas of responsibility.

Speed is the determining factor inresponding to offshore SAR incidents, and

Arcturus SAR offers better performancethan the two FWSAR contenders. TheEADS-CASA C-295 has a 260 kts dashspeed while the Lockheed Martin/AleniaC-27Js dash speed is 325 kts. Both com-pare unfavourably to Arcturuss 350 ktscruise, 410 kts dash. Also, Arcturus can flyover 5,000 nautical miles [nm] withoutrefuelling, compared to some 3,000 nm for

the C-295 and C-27J.While the Arcturus SAR would cost

more per-year to fly than FWSAR (FWSARfuel consumption is 1/3 to 1/2 that of theCC-130 Hercules), its benefits far out-weigh the small yearly operations pre-mium (some C$6,138 less than AurorasC$30,170 flight-hour cost). More impor-tantly, it would free up an initial C$80Mthat could be applied to Future Strategic

Airlift (FSA) acquisition.From Greenwood, Arcturus SAR can

reach northernmost areas of Arctic SARRegion faster than FWSAR would fromComox, Winnipeg or Trenton. As

Transport Requirements Director, LColFrancois Fortin, notes the most criticalissue in SAR is to locate the crash site[and] get help to the scene fastest, becauseif a ship is going down, or you haveinjured people, you want to be overhead

ASAP especially pertinent for AtlanticOcean where cold-water hypothermia is amajor risk or northern-Arctic SAR.

A case for the

CP-140A Arcturus SAR

Three Arcturus aircraft were bought for C$254 million to augment the Aurora fleet for

Arctic and marine surface surveillance, Search and Rescue (SAR), drug interdiction, pilot

training. Fitted by IMP Aerospace for surface surveillance duties with the AN/APS-507

maritime surface surveillance radar (w\ digital Scan Converter), and an optical window in the

auxiliary escape hatch for handheld photography (instead of the Auroras belly-mounted

vertical camera system), and four observer stations with bubble windows, the Canadian Forces

(CF) took delivery of the three CP-140A aircraft between December 1992 and April 1993.

Arcturus is one of the brightest

stars in the sky and often

mistaken for Polaris.

Because the star is near thebear constellations

(Ursa major and Ursa minor)

the Greeks gave it a name which

means protector of the bears.

In a country with vast polar wastes,

the name is particularly apt.

I AIRFORCE REPORT CARD I by Mark Romanow

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CP-140A retention as Arcturus SARwould also allow resumption of regular

Arctic Sovereignty NORPATs (NorthernPatrols), while new FWSAR would not besufficiently capable in this role. A recentDND study noted CFNA (CF Northern

Area) is alarmed at the emerging reducedcommitment to demonstrating Sovereigntyover, and ensuring the security of, theCanadian Arctic an area that encom-

passes 40% of Canadas landmass and sev-eral strategic waterways.

It is widely expected that, by 2020,global warming will open up theNorthwest Passage for regular shipping,and an internal DND note to senior offi-cers affirms that circa 2020 the NorthwestPassage sovereignty issue will be playedout. Even General Ray Henault, Chief ofthe Defence Staff, confirms that the CF isconcerned about asserting Arctic Sovereignty.I think the possible movement of vesselsthrough the northern passages would be

one which would require us to perhapsadapt or adopt a different Sovereignty pos-ture or at least be able to monitor that typeof activity more intimately, he warns.

While long-endurance UAVs such asGlobal Hawk may be well-suited for

NORPATs, they come at an exhorbitantcost, exceeding US$50M each includingground stations, plus additional annualcontractor support costs, and wouldrequire some 100 CF personnel forsquadron operations. While this capabilitymay become necessary in the future, sup-plementing Arcturus SAR NORPATs, it ispresently unaffordable due to the numberof Global Hawk UAVs that would be

required a prohibitive US$500M initialacquisition cost.

For a cost of C$80M, Arcturus SARwould provide both an improved eastcoast SAR capability and a footprintCanadian Military presence, demonstrating

Arct ic Sovere ignty through increasedNORPATs. Ongoing increases in polar airtravel and projected increases in Arcticmaritime travel create the potential formore Arctic SAR incidents, including theincreasing risk of a major air disaster, as theCFNA Commander predicts 500 polar

flights daily before 2010.An internal business case analysis of

DNDs operational basis for Air MobilityFleet recapitalization, finalized one daybefore the unexpected April 2003 shut-down of the FSA project, affirmed the 23

CC-130E and H73 aircraft will be retiredduring the 2005-2012 period. To avoid anysignificant refurbishment costs to theCC-130E/H73s, its assumed that the FSAwill achieve full operational capability(FOC) between 2005 and 2009, and thatthe FWSAR will achieve FOC between2009 and 2012. However, the budgetannouncement of accelerated FWSARacquisition from 2005 seemingly ignoresDNDs timelines and intends to save theupgrade costs apportioned to 10 CC-130Esof about C$300M, all of which could beavoided if the aircraft are retired at ELE of2010. This also contradicts the 2002 DNDdocument AIR MOBILITY CONCEPT theFuturewhich stressed that due to a signif-icant shortfall in strategic lift capacity, theFSA acquisition must precede the newFWSAR acquisition. No CC-130 aircraftcan be retired from service until an FSAsolution is delivered. This, in fact, under-scores the importance of proceedingimmediately with the FSA acquisition, asCC-130E cost avoidance savings from FWSARreplacement are only realistic if an integralFSA capability is concurrently introduced.

Arcturus the constel lation is movingtowards the Sun at three miles a second andwill one day disappear from our view for-ever. Let us hope that Arcturus the aircraftwill not vanish from our skies as well.

Mark Romanow is afreelance writer and

Independent defence/geopolitical analyst withinterests in maintainingadequate defence capabilityfor Canada. He can be

reached at defencegeopol@sprint.ca

FL

CC-130E Hercules

Cost per flight-hour: C$14,736.00Endurance: 11 hoursMaximum dash-speed: 325 kts (602 km/h)Economical search speed: 300 kts (556 km/h)Loiter-speed: approximately 130 ktsCarries: 1 SKAD (Survival Kit Air Dropable)

CP-140A Arcturus

Cost per flight-hour: $24,032*Endurance: 17 hoursMaximum dash-speed: 410 kts (759 km/h)Economical search speed: 350 kts (663 km/h)Loiter-speed: 200 kts (379 km/h)Carries: 2 SKADs

April 2003 Arabian Gulf Region Four CC130 Hercules aircraft from the Tactical Airlift Detachment are seen from under a CP 140 Auroraaircraft from the Long Range Patrol Detachment. The CC130s transport military personnel and cargo in the theatre. The CP140 provides maritimesurveillance support and intelligence-gathering, in support of Operation Apollo, Canadas contribution to the campaign against terrorism.

*as per Aurora Amortization (C$5,337) from 2003-2004 Cost Factors Manual.

24 I FrontLine Magazine I May 2004