Mr. Chair, I thank the member for Wetaskiwin, whom I know is a strong supporter of the Canadian Forces.
He is absolutely right. The refurbishment, or the replacement and renewal, of our tactical air fleet is a big priority for our government. We have made important investments. In fact, a contract valued at approximately $1.4 billion for 17 new Hercules aircraft was awarded to Lockheed Martin. That included the acquisition of the aircraft and the initial set-up. The funds allocated for the capital program itself are just over $3 billion.
With respect to receipt of these aircraft, I am pleased to report on the delivery schedule. The aircraft are expected to begin delivery as soon as the next few weeks. This will be ahead of schedule. We are working very closely with industry on many fronts to see that this is the case. These aircraft are needed. The aircraft in the previous fleet have been the workhorses, as he has described quite accurately, of the Canadian Forces when it comes to tactical lift. These, in conjunction with the C-17 aircraft, make the Canadian air force a very capable, quickly deployable force, as we saw in Haiti and as we have seen in other missions when have been able to get there, have boots on the ground, and have a strategic effect. This type of aircraft is so critically important.
This contract, as others, required a lot of input from a lot of departments. There is incredible coordination that goes on in contracts such as this, but I am pleased to report that this contract has gone extremely well. We will take receipt of those new aircraft at CFB Trenton very soon.