The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition that Canadian aerospace companies are re-evaluating Bombardier as the best manufacturer to replace aging military patrol planes, saying that a deal between Ottawa and front-runner Boeing could be at least as profitable. A Canadian Press dispatch to The Globe says that Bombardier has been demanding the feds allow for open competition on the successor to the Royal Canadian Air Force's half-century-old fleet of CP-140 Aurora aircraft. The Montreal business-jet maker has argued that its reconnaissance planes will offer a cheaper and more high-tech product that will be assembled in Canada. So far the feds have not said whether it will go with a sole-source contract or an open bid, but its procurement department has stated that Boeing's off-the-shelf P-8A Poseidon is "the only currently available aircraft that meets all of the [project's] operational requirements," particularly around anti-submarine warfare and surveillance. Quebec landing-gear maker Heroux-Devtek points to Boeing's massive production capacity, which would generate business for parts providers and maintenance and repair outfits across Canada. Eighty-one Poseidon suppliers are already based in this country.