Canada’s government-to-government contracting agency, CCC, has announced a new agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) for repair services provided by L3Harris Technologies.
The contract is valued at up to US$ 22 million and applies to P-8A maritime patrol aircraft from the U.S. Navy and KC-130J aerial refueling aircraft operated by the U.S. Marines.
“Canada is a world leader in imaging systems and through CCC, the U.S. military is able to leverage Canadian capabilities in a variety of battlefield operations, from intelligence gathering to striking targets,” said Diane Montambault, vice-president of operations at CCC.
Under the agreement, L3Harris will repair WESCAM MX-Series electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensors, which enable aircrews to detect, track, and identify objects or targets during medium-altitude covert surveillance, reconnaissance, and search-and-rescue missions.
The Global Optical Systems portion of L3Harris is headquartered in Waterdown, Ont., within the municipal boundaries of the City of Hamilton. It specializes in producing and maintaining EO/IR systems in a range of aircraft, including the P-8A and the KC-130J.
This agreement falls under the U.S. NAVSUP Weapon Systems Support program, which provides Navy, Marine Corps, joint and allied forces with weapons systems that keep them mission-ready.
“Our world-class customer-care infrastructure will enable NAVSUP WSS to reduce repair turn-around times, minimizes administrative delays and ensure operational excellence through our state-of-the-art WESCAM MX-Series EO/IR systems,” said Tom Kirkland, vice-president and general manager, Global Optical Systems, L3Harris Technologies.
Under this agreement, NAVSUP will have access to the L3Harris Waterdown facility, which is staffed by factory-trained technicians that provide, “the most complex system repairs,” CCC said in a release.
CCC is the designated contracting authority for purchases from the U.S. DoD over US$250,000. To date, the agency said, it and L3Harris have collaborated on U.S. military contracts worth over C$1.5 billion.
