OTTAWA - Canadian Defense Minister Rob Nicholson told reporters in the Arctic this week that he hopes to begin replacing the Canadian Rangers' aging Lee Enfield rifles next year. A spokesman for the Canadian military, Marc-Antoine Rochon, also said that a tender for new rifles will be issued in the fall, with the first guns being delivered next year. He said delivery will run through 2021.
The New Canadian Ranger Rifle project will deliver a new "robust" bolt action rifle, ammunition, and accessories. The project has a price range of CAD20 million to CAD49 million, according to the government's Defense Acquisition Guide. The guide states that a contract award for a new rifle is slated for 2015, though shows final deliveries taking place in 2019, not 2021 as stated by Rochon.
In the past, the government said it had a requirement for 10,000 rifles, though it is unclear if that requirement has changed. At one point a spokesperson for the reserve force also said the new rifle would use the 7.62mm round. The program has faced delays due to funding shortfalls and other acquisition difficulties.
Media reports in fall 2011 indicated that the original solicitation had to be canceled because firearms companies were unwilling to provide confidential technical data. A Request for Information released earlier stipulated that bidders would have to submit technical data and proprietary information, which would be passed on to Colt Canada to manufacture the weapons at its plant in Ontario.
A much broader small arms modernization program is also planned, but options analysis is not scheduled until 2020. That program will replace the General Service Pistol, C7 and C8 assault rifles, C9 light machine gun, and sniper rifle. Preliminary estimates show that program could be worth between CAD250 million and CAD499 million. A contract is not expected until between 2021 and 2025.
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