If so, what emergency? And at what budgetary cost? There may indeed be a looming emergency that requires Canada to have 95 working fighters (77 plus 18) heading into the next decade. This makes sense when you consider the 77 functioning CF-18s are up for another refurb, price tag about $500-milion, that will keep them flying until 2025. Political cleverness aside, this is egregiously dishonest, on several fronts Political cleverness aside, this is egregiously dishonest, on several fronts.įirst, the “capability gap.” It emerged this week that the cabinet, not the RCAF, had arbitrarily changed the definition of how many planes it needed in order to fulfill its basic mandate of protecting Canadian air space and meeting NATO commitments. weapons manufacturer has lobbied simply for inclusion in an eventual competition, a guarantee it now apparently has. Kicking this can further down the road keeps Lockheed in the game, at least technically: Since last year, the U.S. Any final decision to ditch the F-35 would put them at risk – particularly now, we have to assume, with a protectionist U.S. Those contracts, held by more than 30 Canadian companies that contribute to Lockheed-Martin’s supply chain, are worth more than $600-million. Second is the aerospace contracts, tied to Canada’s continuing membership in the F-35 consortium. In an increasingly uncertain geopolitical climate, the opposition Conservatives are in no position to argue forcefully against any purchase that makes the Canadian military more capable in the short-term.
Article contentįirst, the RCAF really does badly need new fighters. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The reason for the soft landing is twofold. Politically, it is all quite clever – which is why the howls of outrage have been muted to non-existent, unlike the state of affairs in late 2012, when the former Conservative government got mauled over its own sole-source plan to buy 65 F-35s, and later shelved it. In political terms it may as well be another universe on another planet. But never mind: Five years from now is another term, another cabinet, possibly another government. Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II fighter-bomber will be among the competitors at this pageant, gainsaying the Liberals’ 2015 election pledge to nix the vaunted “fifth generation” stealth fighter entirely.
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