Canada’s deal to buy U.S. made F-35 fighter jets is expensive but necessary, experts say. Read More
Canadian historians weigh in on Canada’s best way to build its military air fleet.
Canadian historians weigh in on Canada’s best way to build its military air fleet.
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Canada’s deal to buy U.S. made F-35 fighter jets is expensive but necessary, experts say.
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In March Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a review of Canada’s purchase of 88 F-35 planes at US$85 million each, to ensure the current contract is in the best interest of Canadians and the Canadian Armed Forces.
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Canada is legally committed to buying the first 16 aircraft, which are designed and built by U.S.-based Lockheed Martin — there are US$2.3 million of Canadian supplied parts in each jet.
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Canada ‘can’t afford’ to ditch F-35
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Noon News Roundup
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David Bercuson, a history professor at the University of Calgary said if the federal government were to purchase the 16 planes and pursue another option for the remaining it would be a burden.
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“We can’t afford that,” said David Bercuson from the U of C, noting it would mean having two different airframes in one small air force and Canada has other aircraft being procured from the U.S. as well.
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“So how much money are we going to pay out in cancelation fees and penalties and all the rest of that?” posed Bercuson. “At the same time, we’re going to have two different fighter jets, two different lines of supply, two different skills that are needed to keep those jets flying.”
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With the current trade turbulence between Canada and the U.S., Bercuson points out that the F-35’s are “in large measure, to defend North America … I would put those two words together … North America.”
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Referring to U.S. President Donald Trump Bercuson said, “He will be gone in four years, but the fighter jet that we’re going to be buying, we will be flying for the next three decades at least.”
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Jim Donihee is a retired colonel from the Royal Canadian Air Force who lives in Calgary and has flown several different fighters over his 28-year career.
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Donihee said as aircraft age, the cost of maintenance to keep them airworthy escalates.
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“Across our entire Air Force, only about 40 per cent of our assets are deemed airworthy and capable of meeting their operational commitments,” he told Postmedia, calling it an indication of the state of the Canadian Armed Forces as a whole.
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He said if fire departments were driving fire trucks that were 40 years old, even with good people and training they likely wouldn’t meet demands.
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“That’s the analogy that is directly applicable to the defense of our country at the moment … we’re one of the largest land masses in the world where we’re working with equipment that is aged,” said Donihee.
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Could Canada design, build its own fighters?
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It’s been tried before.
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Avro Canada began to develop a supersonic engine in 1953, dubbed the Iroquos. It was chosen to power the Avro Arrow, a supersonic fighter that was ultimately cancelled.