The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] today delivered the 79th -- and final --
upgraded CF-18 Hornet aircraft to the Canadian Department of National
Defence during a ceremony in Mirabel, Quebec, hosted by industry
partner L-3 Communications MAS, who performed final upgrade
installations. The delivery brings the nine-year, two-phased CF-18
Modernization Project to a close.
Phase 1 of the project, completed in 2006, upgraded the Canadian
Hornet fleet's avionics, radar, radio and weapons capabilities. Phase
2 provided the following improvements:
a data link system to ensure Canadian forces are interoperable with
aircraft from the United States and other allied nations
the Boeing Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System to improve weapons targeting
new color cockpit displays to increase situational awareness
an upgraded, chaff-and-flare dispensing electronic warfare system to
improve survivability.
Phase 1 was valued at US$436 million and Phase 2 at $150 million.
Boeing designed the upgrades and completed two prototype aircraft. L-3
Electronic Systems, with locations in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and
Toronto, developed and produced the upgraded crew station displays.
L-3 Communications MAS installed the upgrades on the program's
remaining 77 aircraft.
"Boeing's upgrades to Canada's CF-18 fleet will ensure that this
fighter force will remain effective and operationally credible for
many years to come," said Jim O'Neill, vice president and general
manager, Boeing Integrated Logistics. "Nearly 30 years after the
delivery of the first CF-18 Hornet, Canada's defense forces are better
equipped than ever, with more capability and a fully modernized fleet,
due to the innovative upgrades designed and installed by Boeing and
our partner, L-3 Communications MAS."
"Across all four regions of Canada, Boeing worked with more than 25
Canadian suppliers and organizations through direct and indirect work
packages that were an integral part of Boeing's Industrial and
Regional Benefits program for CF-18 modernization," said Pete
Peterson, country director and vice president in Canada for Boeing
Defense, Space & Security. "All technical program milestones were
completed on schedule and within budget, and we completed industrial
and regional benefits commitments early, making this a truly
successful program."
Boeing has been a major contributor to the Canadian economy since
1919, generating approximately $1 billion in business annually. The
company employs highly skilled workers in Nova Scotia, Quebec,
Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia in support of its
commercial and defense business units. Canada also is home to one of
Boeing's largest international supplier bases, with more than 200
suppliers in every region of the country, providing a diverse mix of
high-value goods and services to Boeing and its customers
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