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http://www.canada.com/national/story.asp?id=8F52D39C-5B60-4E25-B4B0-B2E59282CCC6
Troops will move on leased giant Antonov cargo planes
Sheldon Alberts
The Ottawa Citizen
Friday, June 13, 2003
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The Canadian military is turning to Ukraine to help find long-range transport planes to haul equipment for overseas missions, Defence Minister John McCallum announced on yesterday.
The lease agreement came on the same day as the announcement of a major restructuring of NATO forces in Europe that will see the number of headquarters cut to 11 from 20.
The move is part of an effort by the 19-nation Alliance become a more responsive military operation capable of responding to the threat of terrorism around the world.
"It is a major structural change. It involves something like a 30-per-cent reduction in the NATO personnel," said Defence Minister John McCallum by telephone from NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
"Basically, I would characterize it as a shift from a static, somewhat bureaucratic organization to a much more nimble, deployable action-oriented organization. So it is a cultural change which will be significant."
Canada will not be affected by the restructuring, but the move will "involve painful changes" for several NATO nations on the Mediterranean rim which are losing headquarter operations.
In addition, the defence minister said that Canada and allies from 10 European nations have signed a letter of intent to lease several huge Ukrainian-made Antonov-124 military aircraft.
The move comes after years of controversy over Canada‘s lack of strategic airlift and is part of the military‘s effort to avoid embarrassing delays when deploying to international theatres of war.
"These are large, bulky things and needed only from time to time. So for smaller countries, it makes sense to pool them," Mr. McCallum said.
Canada decided last year that it would not purchase new long-range transport planes, despite years of lobbying by several major aeronautics firms, including Boeing and Lockheed Martin. The move also came over the objections of the House of Commons defence committee.
Instead, the government will pay into a NATO fund for access to a pool of planes. Mr. McCallum has said he wants some of the planes to be stationed in Canada.
But the agreement signed yesterday lacks key details including the total number of aircraft, potential cost to the military and the amount of access Canada would have to the Antonovs.
Mr. McCallum said Canada and other countries are also weighing the possibility of leasing some Boeing C-17 Globemasters, a $250-million U.S. plane used extensively by the United States.
The Canadian military has an ageing fleet of 32 Hercules C-130 transport planes which are not large enough and do not have the range to meet many military needs.
The Canadian Forces used U.S. aircraft to carry troops to Afghanistan earlier this year, and rented the Ukrainian Antonov to deploy personnel and equipment to Kosovo in 1999.
For the upcoming mission to Afghanistan, Canada has leased commercial ships to transport military equipment to Turkey. The government has rented planes to transport equipment from Turkey to Kabul.
The military has yet to finalize plans to fly the 1,800 troops to Kabul.
Mr. McCallum said Canada could still pull out of the leasing deal if it feels the costs are too high and availability too limited, he said.
"We have to find out, and read all the fine print, on access. Because often you need these things in emergencies," he said.
"We will want to know where the planes are located and what are the conditions in terms of getting access when we need it."
© Copyright 2003 The Ottawa Citizen
Troops will move on leased giant Antonov cargo planes
Sheldon Alberts
The Ottawa Citizen
Friday, June 13, 2003
ADVERTISEMENT
The Canadian military is turning to Ukraine to help find long-range transport planes to haul equipment for overseas missions, Defence Minister John McCallum announced on yesterday.
The lease agreement came on the same day as the announcement of a major restructuring of NATO forces in Europe that will see the number of headquarters cut to 11 from 20.
The move is part of an effort by the 19-nation Alliance become a more responsive military operation capable of responding to the threat of terrorism around the world.
"It is a major structural change. It involves something like a 30-per-cent reduction in the NATO personnel," said Defence Minister John McCallum by telephone from NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
"Basically, I would characterize it as a shift from a static, somewhat bureaucratic organization to a much more nimble, deployable action-oriented organization. So it is a cultural change which will be significant."
Canada will not be affected by the restructuring, but the move will "involve painful changes" for several NATO nations on the Mediterranean rim which are losing headquarter operations.
In addition, the defence minister said that Canada and allies from 10 European nations have signed a letter of intent to lease several huge Ukrainian-made Antonov-124 military aircraft.
The move comes after years of controversy over Canada‘s lack of strategic airlift and is part of the military‘s effort to avoid embarrassing delays when deploying to international theatres of war.
"These are large, bulky things and needed only from time to time. So for smaller countries, it makes sense to pool them," Mr. McCallum said.
Canada decided last year that it would not purchase new long-range transport planes, despite years of lobbying by several major aeronautics firms, including Boeing and Lockheed Martin. The move also came over the objections of the House of Commons defence committee.
Instead, the government will pay into a NATO fund for access to a pool of planes. Mr. McCallum has said he wants some of the planes to be stationed in Canada.
But the agreement signed yesterday lacks key details including the total number of aircraft, potential cost to the military and the amount of access Canada would have to the Antonovs.
Mr. McCallum said Canada and other countries are also weighing the possibility of leasing some Boeing C-17 Globemasters, a $250-million U.S. plane used extensively by the United States.
The Canadian military has an ageing fleet of 32 Hercules C-130 transport planes which are not large enough and do not have the range to meet many military needs.
The Canadian Forces used U.S. aircraft to carry troops to Afghanistan earlier this year, and rented the Ukrainian Antonov to deploy personnel and equipment to Kosovo in 1999.
For the upcoming mission to Afghanistan, Canada has leased commercial ships to transport military equipment to Turkey. The government has rented planes to transport equipment from Turkey to Kabul.
The military has yet to finalize plans to fly the 1,800 troops to Kabul.
Mr. McCallum said Canada could still pull out of the leasing deal if it feels the costs are too high and availability too limited, he said.
"We have to find out, and read all the fine print, on access. Because often you need these things in emergencies," he said.
"We will want to know where the planes are located and what are the conditions in terms of getting access when we need it."
© Copyright 2003 The Ottawa Citizen
