Procurement: March 29, 2001

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Delivery of the first Canadian CH-149 Cormorant Search & Rescue helicopters has been delayed again, this time to early summer. The delay is caused by the unprecedented documentation required to certify and qualify the aircraft. The Cormorant is a variant of the EH101. Another variant is the British HM-Mk-1 Merlin, and one of those crashed recently causing more tests of the Cormorant to determine if it is vulnerable to high-intensity radiated fields. Attempts to procure new helicopters has been going on for years, with red tape and politics preventing the actual delivery of new machines to replace the ancient ones still in service.  --Stephen V Cole