Canada to dump plans to purchase F-35

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An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

It too bloody costly, and nobody except the US needs stealth capability. Better to look at some other fighter aircraft.

Cheers!


http://ottawacitizen.com/news/politi...aft-for-cf-18s

David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen

Published on: November 15, 2015 | Last Updated: November 15, 2015 6:14 PM EST

The federal government has started taking action on a Liberal promise to dump the F-35 stealth fighter and purchase a cheaper aircraft to replace the military’s CF-18 jets.
Public Services and Procurement Canada has created a new office to oversee the purchase. Paula Folkes-Dallaire, a senior public servant from the Fisheries department, is slated to start Monday as senior director of the Future Fighter Capability project, sources told the Citizen.
So far, three employees are on the Public Services and Procurement team, but it is unclear how large it will eventually become.
Industry representatives say they expect the federal cabinet to look at the fighter aircraft replacement in early December and provide more details on how bureaucrats are to proceed.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said his government will withdraw from the U.S.-led F-35 fighter jet program and instead hold a competition for a less expensive aircraft to replace the military’s CF-18s.
“The team will work closely with National Defence and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada to implement the government’s direction,” Michèle LaRose, a spokeswoman from Public Services and Procurement Canada, said in an email to the Citizen.
Trudeau has promised to quickly move on replacing the CF-18s.
“We will launch an open and transparent competition to replace the CF-18s, keeping in mind the primary mission of our fighter aircraft is the defence of North America,” he said during the election campaign. “This process will also ensure that bids include guaranteed industrial benefits for Canadian companies and workers.”
On Friday, the Liberal government released the mandate letters for its ministers, including those of the minister of defence and minister of public services and procurement. In the letters, Trudeau tells them to work together on launching “an open and transparent competition to replace the CF-18 fighter aircraft, focusing on options that match Canada’s defence needs.”
The Royal Canadian Air Force will co-ordinate with the Public Services and Procurement department on the new fighter jet and will be required to come up with a statement of requirements for the planes. The procurement branch at the DND will also assist the RCAF and be involved in the withdrawal from the F-35 program. There is no timeline yet for the withdrawal.
A Lockheed Martin spokeswoman said Canada continues to be a partner in the F-35 program. But the Liberal government isn’t expected to deviate from its plan to buy a cheaper alternative to the F-35.
Former DND procurement chief Alan Williams said the government can withdraw from the F-35 program without incurring any major penalties.
The F-35 became a major political headache several years ago for the then-Conservative government. Although the preceding Liberal government originally signed on to a research and development program for the plane, the Conservatives significantly expanded that involvement and in 2010 committed to buying 65 of the stealth aircraft.
But the program was dogged by controversy.
DND originally claimed the project would cost around $14.7 billion, but then-parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page put the price tag for 65 aircraft at around $29 billion.
Auditor General Michael Ferguson also issued a report that concluded DND officials withheld key information from Parliament about the fighter jet purchase, underestimated costs, and didn’t follow proper procurement rules.
An independent audit on the F-35 acquisition determined the purchase would cost Canadians $44 billion over the 42-year life of the plane. That figure includes everything from maintenance to fuel.
In addition, some U.S. lawmakers have raised concerns the aircraft is too expensive and won’t be able to fulfil its military’s requirements.
Trudeau said holding a competition for a new fighter jet would ensure Canadian firms receive work. Under the F-35 program, there were no guarantees Canadian companies would be entitled to a specific amount of work when Canada purchased the aircraft.
As of December 2014, 33 Canadian aerospace firms had been awarded $637 million U.S. in contracts on the F-35 program, according to the Canadian government.
Those companies warn they could lose that work when Canada withdraws from the U.S. initiative.


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