Royal Canadian Air Force is being forced to fly its ancient search-and rescue planes even longer as COVID-19 further delays the delivery of replacement aircraft.The Defence Department is playing down any significant impact on the military’s search-and-rescue operations from the new delay, which has left the first of 16 new Airbus-built CC-295s stranded in Spain for at least several more months.
Grounding the Snowbirds fleet after deadly crash would be ‘tragic’: commander Jessica Lamirande, a department spokeswoman, said a recent analysis conducted by the Air Force and procurement officials concluded the military has “the necessary flexibility” to keep flying its current search-and-rescue planes.Those planes include six.