Canada wanted to buy surplus C-27 from U.S.

The Canadian air force wanted to pursue the direct purchase of surplus C-27 U.S. planes for search-and-rescue.
Internal documents, obtained by The Canadian Press, show military planners pitched the notion of acquiring C-27J transports that were expected to be sold by the Pentagon two years ago as part of a massive budget-cutting exercise south of the border.
It was also acknowledged in the analysis there were would be fewer industrial benefits for the country.
The question of whether Canada would even be allowed to buy them hung in the balance until late last fall when U.S. Special Operations Command, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Forest Service expressed interest in dividing up the 21 planes, some of which hadn't even come off the assembly line.
The air force went as far as to formally ask the U.S. for price and availability through the materiel branch of National Defence.
The thinking was that up to 17 planes could be acquired at a bargain and before 2015 when the Buffalos are slated to reach the end of their serviceable life.
Without a replacement aircraft soon, the air force would be forced into costly upgrades for both the C-115 and the C-130s.
vancouversun