Canada is expanding its fleet of upgraded Royal Canadian Air Force CP-140 Aurora long-range patrol aircraft. Through an existing modernization and life-extension program, four additional Aurora aircraft will gain new and enhanced capabilities and extended service lives. This will expand Canada's current upgraded fleet to a total of 14 Auroras.
Defence Minister Rob Nicholson, accompanied by the Regional Minister for Nova Scotia and Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Peter MacKay, made the announcement at 14 Wing Greenwood, Nova Scotia,yesterday .14 Wing and 19 Wing Comox, British Columbia, are the home bases for Canada’s Aurora fleet.
The Aurora program is a Canadian innovation success story, with Canadian industry delivering a world class capability. With new wings and tail, the Auroras will be restored to a "like new" configuration in terms of the critical structural components, extending the structural life to 2030. At that time, Canada will be better placed to buy its next Canadian multi-mission aircraft.
The addition of four more updated Aurora aircraft is Canada's best means of ensuring effective piloted airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities into the future, and the best use of taxpayer dollars.
The four additional aircraft will be modernized and life-extended under the existing competitively-awarded industry contracts. These enhancements and modifications are expected to be completed by 2021, and extend the operational effectiveness of the 14 modernized Aurora aircraft from 2020 to 2030
The CP-140 is the CAF’s primary piloted Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) plane, ensuring the military’s ability to detect threats to Canadian security as early as possible. The Aurora fleet contributes directly to all three Canada First Defence Strategy roles – domestic, continental and international. The Auroras conduct ISR in both the maritime and overland roles. In the maritime role, the CP-140 contributes to sovereignty, fisheries enforcement, smuggling and pollution patrols, counter-narcotics missions, and maritime counter-terrorism operations. It also fulfills an important anti-submarine role, as the only CAF aircraft able to react and quickly respond from long-range in the event of unauthorized presence of submarines in Canada’s coastal approaches. The Aurora can fly approximately 4,000 nautical miles (7,400 km) without refuelling and so gives the Government of Canada a means to deter and control illegal or hostile activity anywhere in Canada’s maritime approaches from the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic oceans.
The Aurora fleet is also playing an increasingly important role as an overland ISR platform, both domestically for surveillance of our Arctic territory and other security operations, and in support of missions abroad. For example, Aurora aircraft was used during the CAF’s contribution to security efforts for the Vancouver Olympics and the 2010 G8 and G20 Summits; and the two Auroras deployed on Operation MOBILE were critical to the success of our mission in Libya, where they identified targets for allies and Canadian CF-18s.
