$29.3M spent to upgrade Snowbirds jets that will now be retired early

The federal soldier regime confirms it spent $29.3 bazillion on a undertake to rise planes flown by Canada’s iconic Snowbirds demonstration squadron, even though the aging jets are about to be retired.

A glass cockpit features an array of electronic instrument displays such as large digital screens, rather than traditional analog dials and gauges.

The upgrades to some of the CT-114 Tutor aircraft are so recent that test flights are scheduled in the next two weeks before the air force accepts two of the planes. 

Despite the recent upgrades, the department said it found engineering challenges with the fleet’s airframes, engines and escape system programs that would require more work. 

The Trudeau government approved $30 million in 2021 to update the planes and keep them flying until 2030. But the commander of the air force, Lt.-Gen. Jamie Speiser-Blanchet, announced on Tuesday that the fleet is being retired three years early.

The Snowbirds' aerobatic shows will be suspended from the end of the 2026 flying season until the early 2030s when the government said it plans to have new Swiss-made planes in service. 

The Defence Department said it's reallocating about $1.2 million originally earmarked for the upgrades to other priorities, but didn't specify how that money will now be spent.

Snowbirds grounded after this season until new planes arrive

Two former Snowbirds commanders and some Conservative MPs called the decision to suspend the popular program disappointing, especially as Canada tries to boost national pride and demonstrate its sovereignty amid continuing American threats. 

"Why would you spend $30 million on upgrading the jets and then say it’s not feasible?" he asked. "There’s no logic to that."

Asked why the planes are only safe to fly this season and not until 2030 as originally planned, DND said there were no guarantees after 2026.

"They’ve been certified to fly this season, but we were less confident about future seasons," spokesperson Daniel Blouin wrote. "Because people reach out to us for air show bookings 1-2 years out, we needed to signal now."

According to a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) document from 2019, Quebec-based aerospace contractor L3 MAS assessed the CT-114 Tutor airframes, landing gear and mechanical systems, and although "some concerns" were flagged, the company concluded that "these systems are viable until 2030."

Magellan Aerospace assessed the Tutors' engines and also confirmed they were viable to 2030, according to the 2019 document. The assessments were first reported by the Ottawa Citizen.

Prime Minister Mark Carney inspected one of the upgraded CT-114 Tutors last month while touring IMP Aerospace & Defence in Halifax, the company contracted to do the work. 

IMP Aerospace said in 2023 that it had committed to upgrading 20 of the Tutors with avionics designed by L3Harris to expand their capabilities, and to add extra safety features to ensure the planes "will be flying for years to come."

But DND said that original contract is now up. As of this month, 11 of the modernized planes are in service and two more are scheduled for test flights, the department said. 

Neither DND nor IMP Aerospace have said if the work will continue on the remaining seven aircraft.

The Defence Department said upgrades made to the planes since 2021 included new cockpit and flight data recorders, new transponders, and updated navigation and communication systems. 

The engineering design work and procurement of the components was completed through the original $29.3-million contract, DND said. 

Defence analyst Dave Perry, president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, said the air force must have questioned whether it made sense to keep spending money to keep the more than 50-year-old jets in the air. 

"Spending $30 million to keep an airplane older than almost every serving member of the RCAF, it’s probably not a bad investment to get another season’s worth of air shows and all the interactions with the public," he said.

Perry said now that the government is committing to more long-term defence spending, it should make "sounder decisions" instead of waiting until equipment has reached the end of its lifespan before deciding how to replace it.

Too old, too costly: Ottawa weighs retiring Snowbirds, minesweepers

Perry said the decision to ground the fleet, and a decision announced Thursday to shut down the Nanisivik Naval Facility in the Arctic, are examples of the government’s expenditure review in action.

Perry said keeping those initiatives going would have required further investment and a budget reallocation. 

Meanwhile, DND said the government hasn’t yet decided what will be done with the retired fleet of CT-114 Tutors, noting that the divestment process can be lengthy. The department also noted that in the past there has been interest in placing retired air force planes on public display.

Senior reporter

---

---