Chinook helicopters to be sold as Afghan mission ends

$282 MILLION dollars...holy shit, and they intended to get ridof them the whole time...we shouldn't have needed them in the first place.

The number of lives that these choppers have saved by getting troops off the roads is worth ALOT more then $282M.

And we have 15 brand new ones which are better then keeping these hand me downs we bought in a pinch.

Good point, I never thought of it that way. Human life is worth more than any amount of money.

Why is this even a story?

When they bought these old 'D' models it was decided then that they were a stop-gap for the mission and until Boeing could build the 15 new models.

Actually, it's pretty cheap if you ask me - the 15 new ones Canada is in the process of buying will cost $4.7 Billion (or about $313 million each) over the life of the contract.

And I wholeheartedly agree with the analyst's opinion in the article that they could be kept and used to strengthen SAR capabilities across the country.

So where do we cut the budget to pay for these old aircraft's upkeep Boots?

Plus to use them as SAR kites they will need to be upgraded to have an all-weather capability. These are pretty old and basic aircraft.

The SAR role is a very demanding one and you need the best avionics, radar etc to perform the role. The Cormorants are doing a great job. These old Chinooks will be surplus at the end of the mission.

Why, oh qhy would our pro-military Conservatives ever cut the defence budget Eyebrock? Aren't they the ones who spend like drunken sailors on the military while every other party cuts their spending?

Well, I guess they might so that they can give away $60 billion in taxes if their corporate tax cuts go through! After all, Conservatives NEVER, EVER run a deficit...oh wait!

Send two to Gagetown for use there and two to Wainwright. They'd serve just fine as training tools for the troops in the schools.

That would work too.

I was a little disappointed when the purchase was announced that the plan was to station all of them in Ontario. I understood the rationale (lowering maintenance costs), but thought we could use a few out West too (to support CFB Edmonton if nothing else).

In the article it states that they could be used to fill in holes the new ones were originally going to fill, thus freeing up up to 5 new ones with all the latest bells and whistles for the SAR role.

Well, I would say that Harper is 'pro-military' to a point. Times are way better than the 'decade of darkness' under Chretien.

Well, I would say that Harper is 'pro-military' to a point. Times are way better than the 'decade of darkness' under Chretien.

An incredible understatement EB. Chretein wanted to provide the military with "inexpensive" equipment and make it work. at least, so far, Harper seems to understand that we need good equipment, and that costs money. I honestly believe if he was to get a majority we would see our military restored to numbers we had pre-Chretein and would have the best kit possible.

We Limeys do understate things now and then 2Cdo , but the Tories are still politicians. Their first priority is to stay in power.

Everything else, including the CF, comes second to their own power-driven agenda(s). They are the most pro-CF government for decades though. Mulroney did you guys no favours and before that I'm not that well briefed.

Cormorants ain't cutting the mustard?