Afghan mission plane donated to Aviation Museum
Posted Mar 5, 2010 By Desmond Devoy
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which saw service in Afghanistan, at the Canada Aviation Museum on February 23, Canada Aviation Day, the 101st anniversary of powered flight in Canada.
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EMC Events - It may have been unmanned, but it certainly saved the lives of many a man, and women too, both military and civilian, in Afghanistan. 
Desmond Devoy, Ottawa East EMC
A visitor to the Bombardier booth at Canada Aviation Day at the museum proudly examines the Olympic flame holder.
Last week, in celebration of Canada Aviation Day, the Canada Aviation Museum, 11 Aviation Parkway, in Manor Park took delivery of a CU-161 Sperwer UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), which was used by the Canadian Armed Forces in Afghanistan. It will now be part of the museum's permanent collection.
David Jacobson, Chief of Staff of the Material Group for the Canadian military, recalled the desperate need there was for unmanned drones in Afghanistan in the early part of the mission, soon after Canadian troops arrived.
"We need something in theatre now and we need it fast," Jacobson said of the need to "bring intelligence to the operational theatre and save lives."
While the military is used to overcoming obstacles, Jacobson joked that getting the plane into service was not easy.
"Someone once said that rocket science is hard, but military procurement is harder and there are people here today who know what I am talking about," Jacobson said.
"It kept our troops safe," recalled Lt. Col. Yvan Audet of the drone's introduction. It offered the military "the ability to strike with precision," and gave them a way to make sure that "insurgents could be monitored. There was an eye in the sky that would offer them (allied coalition troops) coverage." He added that, because of the drones, "the troops could sleep well at night."
Canada Aviation Day, marks the 101st anniversary of powered flight, when Alexander Graham Bell's Silver Dart took to the skies, albeit briefly, in 1909.
"I suspect that they never thought that we'd take people out of the airplanes and control them with controls many thousands of kilometers away," said Tony Smyth, Director General of the Canada Aviation Museum, during a speech on the afternoon of Tuesday, February 23. Smyth encouraged visitors, on their way into or out of the museum, to take a look at the replica of the Silver Dart, and then at the CU-161 and "imagine how far we've come in the past 101 years, and imagine how far we'll go," in the next 101.
The aircraft were in service for six years and "demonstrated the need for eyes in the sky," for the troops. The aircraft came into service in 2003 "in response to an urgent need...to support the army in Afghanistan," said Smyth.
The aircraft was the first of six such aircraft to be donated by the military to museums across Canada, and Smyth conceded that "the museum is only able to tell these stories...through our long-standing partnership with the Air Force."
While the Afghan mission is certainly one of the more well-known tours that the Canadian military has taken on of late, Smyth told the assembled military personnel that "we're very proud with what you've been doing overseas in Afghanistan, in Haiti, and with the Olympics."
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