The federal government’s review of the controversial F-35 fighter jet procurement project is ongoing — despite Canadian officials repeatedly saying it would be completed by the end of summer.
The Department of National Defence told The Canadian Press the F-35 review continues as federal bureaucrats examine the plans and consider the military’s needs.
Defence Minister David McGuinty vowed at one point the review would be complete by Sept. 21.
“The prime minister was very clear — by end of summer, which is Sept. 21, he’ll have a decision and more to say about this,” McGuinty told reporters in Warsaw, Poland on Aug. 25.
But while the government missed its self-imposed deadline, defence experts don’t seem all that concerned.
Philippe Lagassé of the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs said he prefers to see Ottawa conduct an in-depth review and arrive at the best answer to the question of whether Canada should buy some other new fighter aircraft.
“(The review is) tied to the sovereign capabilities Canada might need to have and whether a mixed fleet would be an option for Canada to consider,” he told The Canadian Press on Wednesday, on the sidelines of a defence industry event put on by the Canadian Club in Ottawa.
“As the prime minister said yesterday with respect to submarines, that’s an incredibly costly way of doing things. But in certain circumstances, when it comes to protecting your national sovereignty, that may be something you want to do.”
Asked specifically about the F-35 in New York on Tuesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney said his government is focused on ensuring Canada’s military acquisitions lead to domestic industrial benefits and the best value for money.
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“The way we were making decisions, until this government, often was what’s the military requirement? If it fulfils the military requirement, then we go with that,” Carney said. “You see both in terms of the submarine decision and the F-35 decision, when it comes, will be military requirement plus industrial benefits, how does the entire package benefit our country.”
One competitor for Canada’s fighter jet contract, the European firm Saab, notably tried to sell Ottawa on its Gripen jets by promising they could be built and sustained in Canada.
Recent government watchdog reports have raised concerns about rising costs and delays associated with the F-35s.
An auditor general report released this spring found costs related to the acquisition have ballooned to $27.7 billion, an increase of nearly 50 per cent. It also flagged delays in building the secure infrastructure needed to support the technologically advanced aircraft.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office said in a report this month that supply chain disruptions and problem-plagued technological upgrades — known as the Block 4 subprogram — are leading to significant delays and cost increases for the U.S. Department of Defense.
Lagassé said he expects “questions around Block 4 and the cost increases around that” form part of the Canadian review.
Canada initially planned to acquire 88 of the F-35s from Lockheed Martin and the U.S. government to replace the CF-18s at a cost of about US$85 million each, but the federal government is only legally committed under the contract to buying the first 16 aircraft.
Carney ordered the review of the U.S.-made stealth fighter procurement after becoming prime minister this spring — a move that came after U.S. President Donald Trump launched his trade war against Canada.
Trump also has mused about leaving the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, leading some observers to wonder whether the U.S. would come to the aid of NATO allies under attack if he believes they are not spending enough on defence.
U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra said in a television interview in May that if Ottawa does not buy the F-35s, that could “threaten Norad” — the combined North American air defence command.
At a talk in Ottawa on Sept. 16, Hoekstra said he doesn’t care if Canada decides to buy other planes, but warned it would be a “really expensive proposition” for Canada to fly both the F-35 and “perhaps buying 72 of something else.”
“We don’t do that. We’re flying one because we recognize flying two platforms like that is very, very expensive,” he said. “If Canada can afford to fly two platforms and you want to buy another plane, go for it.”
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