Canada has tasked Leonardo with executing the CH-149 “Cormorant” Mid-Life Upgrade (CMLU) Project by awarding a contract $736 million to the Italian aerospace giant.
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John Davies – CYOW Airport Watch (GFDL 1.2 or GFDL 1.2), via Wikimedia Commons
The contract includes an order for three more aircraft, expanding the fleet to 16 rotorcraft.
The mid-life upgrade of the CH-149 search and rescue helicopters will enhance the aircraft’s systems and technologies, ensuring compliance with emerging airspace requirements and extending the life expectancy of the fleet to 2042+. In addition, the upgrade will enable the return of the Cormorant helicopters to the Main Operating Base (MOB) Trenton.
The upgrades will include the installation of state-of-the-art avionics, a new glass cockpit, more powerful digitally-controlled engines, wireless in-cabin communications, and the latest search and rescue sensors such as an Electro Optical Infrared device and Mobile Phone Detection Location System.
Gian Piero Cutillo, Managing Director of Leonardo Helicopters, stated that the CMLU will reduce the cost of fleet ownership while increasing the reliability, capability, and safety of the Cormorant helicopters for the benefit of the Canadian people.
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