1999 (Part 1)
1999 was the last year of the 20th Century, and it would for the Canadian Forces be forever referred to as the "Year of Destiny". With a name like that, one would expect it to be a big, important year, and so it was.
The biggest events of the year began in January, when a group of Canadian aerospace engineers, many of them having experience with Boeing, Airbus, Bombardier and others, formed a small consulting company in Toronto, named the North American Avro Aircraft Company. The company's name was of course a harbringer to what was to come.
In March, this small group submitted a proposal to Gordon O'Connor, a former Brigadier and now the deputy Minister of National Defense. The case the company made was that the Canadian Forces had built a substantial electronics industry partly as a result of the rebuilding of HMCS Warrior and the upgrades to many aircraft, along with a growing industry building other products that catered to the Forces, and that the country could easily build many of its own aircraft and military gear. And the proposal that the company specifically focused on was the Avro Arrow.
The Arrow is, of course, a Canadian legend. Perhaps the best fighter aircraft in the world when shown off in 1957, the government cancellation of it in 1959 is said to have been one of the biggest losses in the history of Canadian aerospace. But with upgrade programs underway with Canadian companies for the Hornet and Tomcat aircraft flown by the CF, the advisors raised the idea of resurrecting the Arrow, taking the basic design and improving it with new materials and design knowledge. The first plan would see the Arrow Mk3 carry many of the similar electronics from the Tomcat and Corsair II, making a very effective multi-role aircraft. But the Mk4, which would use Canadian electronics, some aerodynamic changes and Canadian-made electronics, would be the ultimate Arrow.
O'Connor quickly brought this to Defense Minister Kim Campbell, who loved the idea and quickly explained it to the Cabinet. All liked the idea, but most expressed concerns about the cost. Even the most mild variant would cost hundreds of millions to develop, to do the job that the Tomcat could already do. But the argument in favor was that this would create a real Canadian aerospace defense industry. The debate raged on through May 1999, but then got changed.
On May 26, 1999, the proposal was leaked to the Canadian media. Speculation to this day remains about who did it, but most figure it was North American Avro who leaked the info of the program to the media. But the storm was immense, and the Canadian public themselves responded. On May 27, 1999, the leadline of the National Post was "The Arrow Lives!", and the similar viceral reaction was almost universal. Even commentators who usually were not as pro-military quickly responded to this, saying that the Forces should build the aircraft.
The debate through June was focused on how much it would cost to build the Arrow, and all expected the costs of development to be in the billions. But even the most pessimistic commentators pointed out that the program would create tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of jobs, and spending such money to develop the Arrow was better spent in Canada than buying upgrades or new equipment from abroad. All five parties in Ottawa expressed support for the idea, though Reform and BQ support was somewhat tempered by cost concerns and the BQ's trademark "what's in it for Quebec?" attitude.
Sensing the support, Ontario Premier Mike Harris his Quebec counterpart, Daniel Johnson, made the first moves - an agreement between North American Avro and Bombardier Aerospace to build the Arrow, with the first development moneys coming from Queens Park and Quebec City. That deal was signed on June 25, 1999, and the development began again.
On July 1, in a Canada Day speech broadcast across the country, Charest emphatically made it official - "We will build the Arrow!" was in his speech, and was a key portion of the speech sent out to the Forces members. The legislation to provide the funding from the DND was introduced on July 5, 1999, and passed easily on July 21. The project was real, and it was underway, and the legend of the air from Canada would fly again.
The first task was an agreement to get the technology from the American-sourced aircraft so that it could be used on the Arrow. Expectations of problems proved to be for not, and the negotiations turned out to be a formality. General Electric offered the Arrow the F110-GE-132 engine, designed for the F-16, which produced an amazing 32,500 lb of thrust, more than two and a half times the thrust of the Pratt and Whitney J75 engines flown on in 1958. The upgrades for the Mk3 would include CF-18-style leading edge extensions, a slightly larger nose for the APG-71 radars, through this would be upgraded to the APG-79 before the aircraft ever flew. The Aluminum skin would remain, but extensive use of titanium, ceramics and carbon-fibre in the new design would theoretically allow the weight of the Arrow to drop from the 49,000 lb original weight to as low as 37,000 lbs, and also allow carriage of as much as 25,000 lbs of ordinance. The new design, some commentators said, would be less an agile fighter and more of a strike aircraft or interceptor. But that still made headlines, and it stunned much of the world, not just Canada......
1999 was the last year of the 20th Century, and it would for the Canadian Forces be forever referred to as the "Year of Destiny". With a name like that, one would expect it to be a big, important year, and so it was.
The biggest events of the year began in January, when a group of Canadian aerospace engineers, many of them having experience with Boeing, Airbus, Bombardier and others, formed a small consulting company in Toronto, named the North American Avro Aircraft Company. The company's name was of course a harbringer to what was to come.
In March, this small group submitted a proposal to Gordon O'Connor, a former Brigadier and now the deputy Minister of National Defense. The case the company made was that the Canadian Forces had built a substantial electronics industry partly as a result of the rebuilding of HMCS Warrior and the upgrades to many aircraft, along with a growing industry building other products that catered to the Forces, and that the country could easily build many of its own aircraft and military gear. And the proposal that the company specifically focused on was the Avro Arrow.
The Arrow is, of course, a Canadian legend. Perhaps the best fighter aircraft in the world when shown off in 1957, the government cancellation of it in 1959 is said to have been one of the biggest losses in the history of Canadian aerospace. But with upgrade programs underway with Canadian companies for the Hornet and Tomcat aircraft flown by the CF, the advisors raised the idea of resurrecting the Arrow, taking the basic design and improving it with new materials and design knowledge. The first plan would see the Arrow Mk3 carry many of the similar electronics from the Tomcat and Corsair II, making a very effective multi-role aircraft. But the Mk4, which would use Canadian electronics, some aerodynamic changes and Canadian-made electronics, would be the ultimate Arrow.
O'Connor quickly brought this to Defense Minister Kim Campbell, who loved the idea and quickly explained it to the Cabinet. All liked the idea, but most expressed concerns about the cost. Even the most mild variant would cost hundreds of millions to develop, to do the job that the Tomcat could already do. But the argument in favor was that this would create a real Canadian aerospace defense industry. The debate raged on through May 1999, but then got changed.
On May 26, 1999, the proposal was leaked to the Canadian media. Speculation to this day remains about who did it, but most figure it was North American Avro who leaked the info of the program to the media. But the storm was immense, and the Canadian public themselves responded. On May 27, 1999, the leadline of the National Post was "The Arrow Lives!", and the similar viceral reaction was almost universal. Even commentators who usually were not as pro-military quickly responded to this, saying that the Forces should build the aircraft.
The debate through June was focused on how much it would cost to build the Arrow, and all expected the costs of development to be in the billions. But even the most pessimistic commentators pointed out that the program would create tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of jobs, and spending such money to develop the Arrow was better spent in Canada than buying upgrades or new equipment from abroad. All five parties in Ottawa expressed support for the idea, though Reform and BQ support was somewhat tempered by cost concerns and the BQ's trademark "what's in it for Quebec?" attitude.
Sensing the support, Ontario Premier Mike Harris his Quebec counterpart, Daniel Johnson, made the first moves - an agreement between North American Avro and Bombardier Aerospace to build the Arrow, with the first development moneys coming from Queens Park and Quebec City. That deal was signed on June 25, 1999, and the development began again.
On July 1, in a Canada Day speech broadcast across the country, Charest emphatically made it official - "We will build the Arrow!" was in his speech, and was a key portion of the speech sent out to the Forces members. The legislation to provide the funding from the DND was introduced on July 5, 1999, and passed easily on July 21. The project was real, and it was underway, and the legend of the air from Canada would fly again.
The first task was an agreement to get the technology from the American-sourced aircraft so that it could be used on the Arrow. Expectations of problems proved to be for not, and the negotiations turned out to be a formality. General Electric offered the Arrow the F110-GE-132 engine, designed for the F-16, which produced an amazing 32,500 lb of thrust, more than two and a half times the thrust of the Pratt and Whitney J75 engines flown on in 1958. The upgrades for the Mk3 would include CF-18-style leading edge extensions, a slightly larger nose for the APG-71 radars, through this would be upgraded to the APG-79 before the aircraft ever flew. The Aluminum skin would remain, but extensive use of titanium, ceramics and carbon-fibre in the new design would theoretically allow the weight of the Arrow to drop from the 49,000 lb original weight to as low as 37,000 lbs, and also allow carriage of as much as 25,000 lbs of ordinance. The new design, some commentators said, would be less an agile fighter and more of a strike aircraft or interceptor. But that still made headlines, and it stunned much of the world, not just Canada......
