Repair and Overhaul (R&O)

Repair and Overhaul (R&O) is the repair of equipment to return it to a serviceable condition, including the replacement of worn or damaged parts. It is a defence and equipment-maintenance term used for restoring military equipment, components and systems to operational condition.

In Canadian military contracting, an R&O requirement can also include the inspection, disassembly, reassembly, testing and preservation needed to put an item back into service. The Government of Canada's audit material uses the term particularly for military aircraft, while current Department of National Defence (DND) solicitations apply it to land vehicles, communications equipment and other components.

How the Auditor General defined R&O

The Auditor General of Canada's 1998 audit states that R&O broadly means repairing equipment to return it to serviceable condition and/or replacing worn and damaged parts. That audit examined military aircraft R&O contracts awarded by Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) on behalf of DND. The full report is available in the Government of Canada publications collection.

Activities that sit alongside R&O in aircraft support

The audit describes military aircraft support contracting as a group of related activities, not a single repair task. Those activities include:

• Spare-parts support
• Depot Level Inspection and Repair (DLIR)
• Component R&O
• Software maintenance
• Technical Investigations and Engineering Services (TIES)
• Technical-documentation support
• Structural life-monitoring programs
• Configuration management

Component R&O and DLIR are named in the audit as elements of this contracting.

What R&O looks like in current DND solicitations

A CanadaBuys tender notice sought an R&O contract for the Canadian Army's Tactical Fiber Optic Cable Assemblies and Ancillaries under the Land Command Support System (LCSS).

Land vehicle requirements spell out the work in detail. A solicitation for the Light Support Vehicle Wheeled (LSVW) Rack and Pinion Steering Gear Assembly required the processes necessary to return the items to a fully serviceable condition. The listed work was disassembly, cleaning, inspection, repairs, overhaul, reassembly, calibration, testing, and packaging and preservation. A separate LSVW rear axle requirement set the objective of returning the axles to a fully serviceable condition and specified the same general restoration activities.

R&O is also part of larger support arrangements. A 2026 Defence Investment Agency announcement describes R&O as part of long-term in-service support and material-management services for the Royal Canadian Air Force CC-330 Husky fleet.

R&O in contract records and GSIN descriptions

Federal contract records classify R&O procurements under equipment-specific Goods and Services Identification Number (GSIN) descriptions that end in "Repair and Overhaul." Examples in the open contracting data include electrical and electronic instruments, hoists and refrigeration equipment. See these DND contract records, a second record and a third record. Other DND R&O procurements cover passenger vehicles and photographic equipment.

What R&O means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

An R&O requirement asks the supplier to deliver the restoration work and any supporting activities written into the solicitation or resulting contract. The LSVW steering gear solicitation shows that this can be a complete process, from disassembly and inspection through repair, calibration, testing and packaging and preservation, rather than the supply of replacement parts alone.

Bid teams should read the statement of work line by line and confirm that they can perform each listed step. They should also check the GSIN on the notice, since the R&O description attached to it identifies the equipment category being bought.