Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, Airbus Military is a business unit integrated within the Airbus division. Airbus Military today is the only company worldwide offering a full range of transport surveillance and SAR aircraft, including military derivatives of the successful Airbus commercial platform.
Airbus Military has sold worldwide more than 1,000 aircraft to 61 countries. Twelve of them are NATO countries, including Canada. The total fleet has accumulated over 4.2 million flight hours.
Recognizing the critical importance of developing a fixed-wing search and rescue and related mission aircraft, Airbus Military and its partners have developed a multi-role aircraft powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada engines, guided by Thales Canada avionics, and with training and simulation offered by CAE, from Canada. The C-295 has been developed to offer a premier fixed-wing search and rescue solution.
The family of CN-235 and C-295 has sold more than 350 units and has earned a worldwide reputation for reliability and supportability in operations with the armed forces of more than 25 countries, with very important repeat orders. The family has accumulated over 1.2 million flight hours.
The C-295 is a solid, proven aircraft with robust landing gear to operate on soft and unpaved terrain. It is the only ramp- and sensor-equipped SAR aircraft in its class currently operating around the world. It has the highest reliability and lowest maintenance and operating costs.
We conducted, as part of the letters of intent process, a review of Canadian SAR. Drawing from the experience of current and past Canadian SAR personnel, we recognize the unique challenges of terrain, environment, and geography that face your SAR crews.
As stated in our response to the letter of intent, Airbus Military is confident that our C-295 can excel in the SAR missions in Canada. Proven and flown daily in charting the most challenging environments worldwide, the C-295 allows operation in high winds and extreme cold. It is capable of supporting itself in austere airfields. It is operated today in mountainous terrain under adverse conditions, and operates over the world's oceans, from the tropics to the polar regions.
We take pride in the fact that the C-295 family is one of the very few medium twin-engine aircraft capable of operating in winds experienced in the North Atlantic. Today, the U.S. Coast Guard, Ireland, and Portugal operate maritime surveillance in that environment.
Furthermore, the aircraft family conducted cold weather certification for the CN-235 in Resolute Bay, and the C-295 was tested in Finland, where it operates today north of the Arctic Circle on a daily basis.
Brazil replaced their Buffalo family with our SAR aircraft overland as well as halfway across the South Atlantic. Similarly, Chile and Colombia operate our aircraft. These nations serve terrain that is as mountainous and desolate as anything in Canada. The C-295 has gained high praise in South America.
Mountain nations require search speed below 150 knots to ensure area coverage, to reduce the impact of mountain turbulence, and to safely manoeuvre in narrow mountain valleys. The C-295 displays excellent handling, rapid engine response, an outstanding lowest speed manoeuvrability, which allows the safe operation at very low levels close to terrain.
Our cabin, with the largest floor space in its class, is three inches longer than the C-130s, which provides tremendous capability in multi-role missions, allowing considerable room for equipment and personnel while still allowing a dedicated space for parachute rescue personnel.
Our tactical aircraft operate today in special operations where soldiers must parachute into hostile territory and unforgiving weather and terrain, safely carrying equipment loads that equal and in some cases exceed those of Canadian SAR personnel.
We can offer a standard certified version, which is currently in operation in Portugal, which allows the use of four battle windows offering full coverage during visual searches. This is extremely useful in searching confined mountain valleys where terrain masking complicates operations.
These capabilities are all proven and operating in SAR around the world today. But it is our state-of-the-art electronic search that differentiates us from the competition. For instance, the U.S. Coast Guard version uses forward-looking infrared electro-optic sensors integrated with a multi-mode search radar and direction finder to provide exceptional detection capability over water and snow.
The integration is provided by a data management system that interfaces with the communication and navigation systems, multiplies the efficiency of its stand-alone search sensor by a factor of 500, provides better search capability, and reduces response time.
Our maintenance program allows us to deploy the C-295 aircraft for up to 800 flight hours in remote areas, as proven in humanitarian missions in several African and central Asian countries. We understand that SAR is considered a non-fail mission and would therefore not propose developmental or unproven solutions, with associated risk, delay, and cost elements.
We note that the NRC report has provided recommendations that will improve the level of services in Canada regardless of the aircraft chosen, such as forward deployments and the review of basic options. We offer ourselves to collaborate in the process of optimization of SAR capabilities in Canada.
Finally, regarding the industrial regional benefits, let me start by saying that with the C-295 we have close to 20% direct Canadian content, and potentially more, depending on the configuration, bringing business to Canada through every single aircraft that is sold worldwide. Engines from Pratt & Whitney, simulation devices from CAE, and avionics from Thales Canada are a part today of the whole global supply chain of the C-295. So far we have sold 83 units, and we are consolidating our leadership position in the market.
Apart from this high direct Canadian content, should Airbus Military be successful in the fixed-wing SAR, we will be compliant, of course, with industrial and regional benefits principles. We have already identified some programs fulfilling the three main IRB objectives: high technology; long-term business for export for Canada; funds to the global supply chain of the EADS, including Airbus. We would like to confirm our commitment to perform all the interservice support in Canada. We have already discussed cooperation with potential partners coast to coast, large and small, in Canada.
In all the previous EADS programs in Canada, we have an outstanding record of fulfillment of IRB commitments. Maximizing the Canadian content is an Airbus Military priority.
In summary, we look forward to a competition that will allow us to provide a program of professional solutions with a high level of Canadian content and with a very low life-saving cost.
That concludes my remarks, Mr. Chairman.
Merci beaucoup.
