Ottawa in 'serious breach' in allowing used choppers to patrol border, industry says
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But it's not like there aren't other — even domestic — options beyond Black Hawks.
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Mitchell says Canada has about 200 companies that offer helicopter services and pilots to fly them. Their collective fleets comprise about 1,700 choppers, many of which might be better suited than Black Hawks for patrol duties because they're smaller and equipped with infra-red cameras that allow them to work in the dark.
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Governments in Canada, mostly large municipalities, also own about a dozen helicopters. The military and the RCMP also have their own fleets.
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If the RCMP's own helicopters weren't enough, Mitchell said, it would have no problem finding private contractors to help them patrol.
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John Arquilla, a long-time defence analyst based in Monterey, Calif., said Black Hawks are mostly used to transport soldiers and other personnel but are considered 'utility' aircraft because of their flexibility. But Black Hawks aren't ideal for patrolling borders, he said, because they're expensive to operate, have limited range and can easily be heard as they approach.
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Arquilla said the broader problem with using Black Hawks to patrol a massive area such as the Canada-U.S. border is that they would have little effect, particularly compared to a cheaper, more effective technology such as drones.
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'I view the whole idea of patrolling borders with helicopters skeptically.'
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Despite being unwilling to agree to an interview, the RCMP seems to acknowledge that critics of the Black Hawk contracts have valid points. In a Feb. 27 letter to HAC, Commissioner Mike Duheme wrote: 'I acknowledge your concerns with respect to the Blackhawk helicopters and would like to inform you that the RCMP is working with Transport Canada to review the current restrictions from a law enforcement context.'
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In that same letter, Duheme confirmed that the 'Black Hawks in question became operational in mid-January and are conducting surveillance patrols along the border.' He also explains that the Black Hawks are being used to complement the RCMP's existing fleet of nine helicopters, six of which provide border surveillance and support with cameras capable of thermal imaging, while one is capable of any necessary hoisting.
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While the RCMP wouldn't agree in recent days to an interview, the force was keen just a few months ago to publicize its new access to the Black Hawks and the enhanced capabilities that were to come with them.
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In an interview conducted with a television network next to one of the Black Hawks, an RCMP official confirmed that the helicopters were leased with a crew and that the choppers were designed to boost capacity. 'It's really about the ability to move people quickly,' Mathieu Bertrand, the RCMP's Director General of Federal Policing and Border Integrity, told the reporter. 'Things happen quickly on the border.'
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The issue of certifying the privately-owned Black Hawks has also been a topic of interest at Transport Canada for many months.
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According to a June, 2024 internal departmental bulletin obtained by National Post, transport was to stop considering applications for 'special certificates of airworthiness' that month. The document warns of increased interest among Canadian operators in using aircraft with the special certificates and that 'this may represent a significant change in the risk environment.'
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Transport Canada is responsible for the country's transportation policies and programs. The department, known for its emphasis on safety of Canada's road, rail, marine and aviation networks, says it promotes safe, secure, efficient and environmentally responsible transportation.
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While the Black Hawk was designed for war more than border patrol, the one advantage it may have over other choppers in this regard, is that it's large, well-known and American. Those could be important attributes, HAC's Mitchell says, if Canada's primary goal in the mission is to ensure that the United States saw its neighbour trying to step up its border patrolling efforts in a very visible way.
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In a June 1 letter to the RCMP, Mitchell writes that the Black Hawks 'offer no technological advantage to the mission profile, only an appearance.'
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Helicopters are valued for their versatility and mobility. In Canada, they're mostly used in search and rescue, fighting forest fires, helping combat floods, and commercial applications in remote areas such as mining and electrical lines.
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But five-seat helicopters are typically used for patrol because they're more nimble and cheaper to operate than a larger, 14-seater such as Sikorsky's Black Hawk.
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According to a February 10 letter by HAC to RCMP Commissioner Duheme, the choppers have not been approved by Canadian or American authorities for civilian purposes.
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The RCMP's Black Hawk contracts overlap with Carney's vow to increase Canada's military spending so that it reaches the NATO target of 2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). Carney has also vowed to do more to support Canadian business and to rely less on the U.S.
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Industry sources say the older Black Hawks were selling in recent months for about $1 million each, as the market became flooded with supply. The market for used helicopters has grown in recent years as the U.S. military has modernized its fleet, including the purchase of a newer model of Black Hawks, called the UH-60M.
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Prices of new and used aircraft vary widely, depending on a range of factors. But a new five-seat helicopter, including those made in Canada, sells for about $6.5 million, while a new 14-seater, similar in size to the Black Hawks, goes for about $12 million.
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But the helicopter association says the special exemptions from the usual rules are not fair to Canadian helicopter makers, nor to those Canadian companies that offer helicopter services using certified choppers.
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Bell Textron, a subsidiary of Fort Worth, Tex.-based Textron, makes commercial helicopters at its Mirabel, Que. facilities. Its lineup of models includes the Bell 412, which could be used for border patrol.
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Airbus Helicopters Canada, formerly MBB Helicopter Canada, has a 300-employee site at Fort Erie, Ont. That location focuses largely on sales, repair, engineering and composite manufacturing.
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