By Canadian Press

Military procurement chief stands by naval helicopters despite recent problems

Dec 22, 2021 | 10:26 AM

OTTAWA — The Defence Department’s top procurement official says he would feel safe flying on one of the military’s new naval helicopters despite the fleet’s rash of recent problems.

Assistant deputy minister of materiel Troy Crosby says he is more concerned about the narrative that has started to emerge around the Cyclones since they entered service three years ago.

Military officials and Sikorsky Aircraft, which builds the Cyclone, have been working for several weeks to repair tail cracks recently discovered on nearly the entire fleet.

At the same time, the military and Sikorsky are still devising a fix to the software issue that caused one of the Cyclones to crash off the coast of Greece last year, killing all six Armed Forces members on board.

Crosby says issues always pop up whenever a new piece of equipment enters service, but that he remains confident in the Cyclone and would not worry about flying on one of the helicopters today.  

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Royal Canadian Air Force commander Lt.-Gen. Al Meinzinger also recently expressed his confidence in the Cyclones, though he did acknowledge being unhappy about the tail cracks.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 22, 2021.

The Canadian Press