Ottawa has awarded $1.5 billion in maintenance contracts to two Mirabel-area aeronautical firms to ensure the upkeep of the Royal Canadian Air Force’s new fleet of multi-purpose aircraft.
The money will go toward servicing and maintaining the CC-330 Husky fleet of nine Airbus tanker transport planes that can refuel jet fighters in mid-air and transport up to 300 troops at a time.
The contracts, announced by Industry Minister Mélanie Joly and Procurement Minister and Quebec Lieutenant Joël Lightbound on Monday in Mirabel, were awarded to L3Harris MAS Inc. and Airbus Defence and Space S.A. They cover an initial period of seven to 10 years.
The federal government announced in 2023 it was acquiring a fleet of nine aircraft from Airbus at a cost of $3.6 billion to replace its aging CC-150 Polaris fleet. The aircraft are to be delivered in 2027.
The contract is part of the Canadian government’s Defence Industrial Strategy, announced in Montreal in February, to shift the majority of its defence spending and production to firms based in Canada.
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