MONTREAL — A Canadian military surveillance aircraft order expected to go to Boeing Co. is facing a late challenge from domestic private jetmaker Bombardier Inc., which has invoked nationalism to advocate a competitive model.
Bombardier is urging Canada’s Defense Ministry to consider an adapted version of its Global 6500 business jet, rather than deploying up to 16 Boeing P-8A Poseidon multirole aircraft to replace the government’s 40-year-old fleet of CP-140 Aurora aircraft.
The problem is that the Bombardier alternative only exists on paper.
Bombardier, which builds jets for billionaires and charter operators, has called for an open procurement process to boost a new defense business. This month, the Montreal-based company announced a collaboration with General Dynamics Corp to develop military systems on the Global 6500 platform.
“Our government has been led to believe that a purchase is now unduly urgent,” said Mark Masluch, a spokesman for Bombardier, in an email.
“This is simply a fallacy aimed at selling an end product. Bombardier introduces an advanced, next-generation platform, made in Canada by Canadians.” — Bloomberg
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