Richmond-based Boeing Vancouver will get a $48 million boost as the Canadian military procures 14 Poseidon P-A8 aircraft to replace its aging Auroras.
Boeing Vancouver – located in a Richmond business park just east of Knight Street – will have a small boost in personnel as they work on data analytics for the airplanes’ program management, aircraft sustainability and performance.
The 14-airplane contract is worth about $10 billion, of which about $2 billion has already been given in contracts to Canadian companies so far, according to Boeing.
Boeing also noted that an independent study by Doyletech Corporation estimated the P-8A program will support 3,000 jobs and add $358 million to Canada’s economy every year over the next 10 years.
Criticism was aimed at the government last year when it announced the Boeing contract since it was awarded without a bidding process.
But Richmond MP Parm Bains defended his government’s decision, noting procurement depends on what type of military aircraft Canada’s allies, such as the Five Eyes, have.
“It’s very important to be able to communicate with one another,” Bains said. “So, inter-operable capabilities are a huge component of procurement that we do with national defence.”
The Boeing P-8A Poseidon is a multi-mission aircraft with anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare as well as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.
They can also be used for search and rescue and helping with humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
Part of Tuesday’s announcement was a $13 million contract to Parksville-based COTA Aviation, which will support Indigenous training for the aviation industry.
The federal government’s Industrial and Technological Benefits (ITB) policy requires companies that are awarded defence procurement contracts “to undertake business activity in Canada equal to the value of the contracts they have won.”
The first Boeing P-8A is expected to be completed by 2026 and the rest by 2028.
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