Canada extends CF-18 Contract

The Government has extended its Systems Engineering Support Contract (SESC) for the CF-18 Primary Air Vehicle (PAV) to L-3 Communications MAS of Mirabel, Quebec until at least 2017. This seven-year contract extension is valued at $467 million, which sustains approximately 500 jobs annually. The contract extension also includes three additional one-year extension options, valued in total at $86 million, which would bring the in-service support contract to the end of the fleet’s estimated service life of 2020.

Under the SESC, L-3 Communications MAS of Mirabel, Quebec, in partnership with the Government of Canada, is responsible for the development, engineering and maintenance of the CF-18 fleet. The contractor’s primary responsibility for the CF-18 fleet is development and maintenance work that includes developing, testing, uploading and ongoing maintenance of mission software; testing of critical structural components; fly-in repairs, which include depot-level inspections and repairs that are beyond the level of repairs within the Department of National Defence (DND); provision of technical support teams that work directly with DND at the two Main Operating Bases in first-line support of flying operations; and engineering services.

The CF-18 will remain in service as Canada’s front-line tactical fighter aircraft until at least the 2017 timeframe, when Canada’s next generation fighter capability, the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, becomes operational.
www.mas.l-3com.com