OTTAWA — The federal government expects to announce Tuesday it will proceed with the $4.6-billion purchase of 16 transport aircraft for the Canadian military, The Canadian Press has learned.

Despite industry protests to the contrary, officials insist the accelerated, streamlined process will be based on open bidding. They say at least two companies - Airbus and Lockheed Martin - are in the running.

The purchase is remarkable because it was part of a larger package that had effectively been shelved one week ago as political dynamite in the days before a federal election. That effort was smothered by competing constituencies in cabinet and corporate Canada.

A relentless series of phone calls from Defence Minister Bill Graham to cabinet colleagues and overseas conversations with Prime Minister Paul Martin travelling in Asia over the past week resurrected a priority portion of the original $12.1-billion purchase.

Defence officials said Graham realized he would have to scale back his wish list if he was going to win anything for the Forces before an election.

"That snake could not swallow that hog at this point," a senior defence official said.

Graham would only say he will take "some elements" of the aircraft package that are generally considered "uncontroversial" to cabinet Monday.

"I spoke to the prime minister in Korea and he encouraged me to proceed," Graham said in an interview.

He said Martin knows the military has a key role to play in Canada's foreign policy and can't do so without the right equipment.

"Certainly, the airlift capacity is a key part of that," said Graham. "Take the Hercules fleet - everybody in the country knows it's coming to the end of its useful life."

A source in the Prime Minister's Office said there has been a fundamental shift in the way Ottawa conducts military procurement.

"This government is not just talking the talk, it's walking the walk," said the senior official. "We have to ensure fairness in any procurement process but, once we have met that condition, there are two principles that guide the PM, the minister and the chief of defence staff.

"First, we must act swiftly. Second, we must serve the needs of the troops, not the defence contractors or lobbyists. Evidence of the government's commitment to the proper equipping of the forces will be on prominent display this week."

Department officials and senior military officers later confirmed Graham will propose a plan to purchase the tactical transport aircraft, widely expected to be Lockheed Martin's C-130J, though they insisted no decision on what aircraft has been made.

The Airbus A-400 is also considered a competitor, though it has some hurdles to overcome, a senior official said.

"This project is Priority No. 1 - for the government, the minister, and the chief," a source said on condition of anonymity.

The performance requirements, obtained by The Canadian Press, say first deliveries are to be as soon as possible but no later than three years, with final deliveries no later than five years from awarding of the contract.

Another official said planners hope first deliveries can be made within 18-24 months. The expenditure would include in-service support for 20 years.

A senior military officer said the reversal is almost too good to be true.

Uniformed staff at National Defence Headquarters are having a hard time believing Graham managed to bring the purchase back from the dead - the political equivalent of what one observer called a "back flip with a twist."

"And to see this happen fast is outstanding. It shows a solid commitment that we're not used to."

The aircraft plan had also included heavy-lift helicopters and search-and-rescue planes, but officials say corporate lobbyists convinced some key ministers to resist an initiative they argued would open a political Pandora's box in Quebec and Ontario.

In an effort to reduce a procurement period that has averaged 12 years, defence planners have reduced the transport plane's requirements to a single page of performance needs. Similar documents have numbered 17,000 pages.

The Canadian aerospace industry fears that by producing the performance-based requirements, the government is aiming to sole-source the contracts - targeting Italy's C-27J SaR aircraft along with the U.S.-built Hercules tactical transport plane and Chinook heavy-lift helicopter.

"The minute we announced we were going to do this, a whole host of lobbyists descended like locusts on the summer fields and decided to try to eat the fruit before it could grow," Graham said.

He said the lobbying campaign - conducted mainly by ex-generals - began before the performance requirements were even published.

"There was a huge campaign based on a lot on rumours and not on fact . . . because everybody felt they wanted to make sure they had a piece of this," said the minister.

"I was distressed because I felt there were some people around town who would rather derail it than see it happen."

Graham said the NDP announced they would force an election just as he was to present the big package to cabinet.

Cabinet ministers were reminded of what happened when former Tory prime minister Kim Campbell announced a major helicopter purchase just before the 1993 election - it became a tempting political morsel for the Liberals.

"If you get procurement policy mixed up in an election process, it can set the process back rather than further it," said Graham.

Earlier this month, the Conservative defence critic, retired general Gordon O'Connor, said he was concerned the government was rushing the process unnecessarily and made the requirements "so precise only one solution's possible."

But some say the acquisitions are inevitable, have been budgeted for and have such widespread support in Parliament they would be implemented by whichever party wins the election.

O'Connor - the former director of military requirements and an ex-industry lobbyist - said later there is nothing stopping the Liberals from going ahead with plans to replace aircraft.

Officials say the new process, with a single page of performance-based requirements rather than detailed specifications for every nut and bolt, will save $250 million over the project's life.

Lobbyists pay lip service this more streamlined approach but "when the rubber hits the road, it's harder to influence because you have a fewer number of things to influence and they are pretty set in concrete," said one official.

"Before, there were 50,000 things to influence and they weren't necessarily set in concrete. And that's how these guys make their dough."

Some of the military's current Hercules transport aircraft - mid-range planes used to ferry troops, supplies and equipment in and out of theatre - are more than 40 years old.

A senior air force general said Canada is regarded worldwide as the foremost expert in maintaining Hercs with more than 40,000 hours in the air. "We're becoming world leaders in a field of aviation that we don't want to be in."