Feds announce $850M for upgrades at CFB Trenton; base to host new fleet

The federal government is spending $850 million for upgrades at CFB Trenton to ready the Ontario base for a new military transport fleet.

National Defence Minister Bill Blair was in Trenton Friday to announce the funding.

“With new fleets of fighter jets, maritime patrol aircraft, tanker and transport aircraft, and more arriving throughout the next few years, we are building the Royal Canadian Air Force of tomorrow,” Blair said in a statement sent to media.

“These significant investments in our military will enable the RCAF to better defend Canada and strengthen Canada’s ability to contribute to our NORAD and NATO Alliances.”

The upgrades are part of Canada’s plan to replace its aging fleet of Polaris VIP and transport aircraft with nine new Airbus planes — some brand new, some secondhand — including one to be used specifically for transport of high-ranking government officials.

The replacements are a part of what the government calls the Strategic Tanker Transport Capability Project, with the goal of enhancing the Royal Canadian Air Force’s air mobility and air-to-air refuelling capacity.

Under the project, A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport aircraft will replace the CC-150 Polaris, with the fleet being named the CC-330 Husky.

The money announced Friday will be used to develop and design a two-bay hangar, an upgraded apron and runway, taxiways, and other supporting infrastructure to make CFB Trenton the main operating bases in eastern Canada for the new CC-330 Husky fleet.

Of the nine aircraft making up the fleet, four will be new and five will be used craft purchased from the commercial market, according to a release sent by the department when the project was first announced last July.

Blair said as of Friday two Husky aircraft have been delivered to Canada so far.

–With files from Sean Previl