Re: Fighter Jets

by Sandman Wed 14 Jul 2021, 9:27 pm

Trudeau urged to scrap purchase of 'useless' fighter jets as Canada faces threats from pandemics and climate change

David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Jul 14, 2021

Defence Watch

by Covert Mon 15 Nov 2021, 8:11 am

Federal government won't commit to fighter jet timetable as industry worries about delays

David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Nov 15, 2021

Defence Watch

by Jumper Thu 25 Nov 2021, 9:28 pm

Ottawa declines Boeing's bid to replace Canada's aging fighter jet fleet

The Canadian Press · Posted: Nov 25, 2021

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/boeing-fighter-jets-1.6262851

by Scorpion Wed 01 Dec 2021, 6:46 pm

Canada confirms Boeing's Super Hornet officially out of fighter-jet competition

Published Wednesday, December 1, 2021

CTV News

by Covert Thu 02 Dec 2021, 7:30 am

Government to decide whether to pick new fighter jet outright or ask bidders for better deal

David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Dec 01, 2021

Defence Watch

by **Rockarm** Thu 16 Dec 2021, 8:03 pm

Analysis: F-35 bid gives Canada a weapon in brewing trade war with the U.S

David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Dec 16, 2021

Defence Watch

by **Spider** Mon 03 Jan 2022, 10:07 am

A tale of two fighter jets — and what it means for Canada's defence and place in the world

Murray Brewster · CBC News · Posted: Jan 03, 2022

CBC NEWS

by Covert Wed 23 Mar 2022, 8:53 am

Feds say new fighter jet selection is coming, but exact timing still unclear

By Lee Berthiaume The Canadian Press
Posted March 22, 2022

Federal procurement officials won’t say when Canada will take the next step in the years-long process of selecting a new fighter jet.

The federal government announced in December that it had narrowed its search for a replacement of the military’s aging CF-18s to Lockheed Martin’s F-35 and the Swedish Saab Gripen.

The government said at that time a decision would be made in short order on whether the government would engage in another round of negotiations with the two companies, or select a winner outright.

Yet nearly four months later, no announcement has been forthcoming, leading to concerns about even further delays in replacing Canada’s CF-18s at a time when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has underscored the importance of modern military capabilities.

Public Services and Procurement Canada assistant deputy minister Simon Page said Tuesday the process is “very active, very live” as he was grilled by a parliamentary committee over the lack of a decision.

Yet while Page and other federal officials expressed optimism that a contract with the winning bidder will be signed by the end of the year, they declined to provide any details on the reasons for the delay or when a decision on the next step could come.

“Answering the question would have us lean one way over the other,” Page told members of the House of Commons government operations committee. “And I just don’t want to answer that at this time, to protect the integrity of the process.”

It also wasn’t immediately clear who will ultimately decide whether to move ahead with another round of negotiations with Lockheed Martin and Saab, or the selection of a final winner.

Conservative committee member Kelly McCauley expressed concern about the lack of clarity around what is happening with the fighter procurement, particularly given the numerous delays that have dragged the search for a new fighter out over a decade.

The federal government is planning to buy 88 new fighter jets at an estimated cost of up to $19 billion, with delivery of the first plane expected no earlier than 2025. The final aircraft was supposed to be delivered in 2032, but that has since moved to 2033.

The Boeing Super Hornet was also in the running, but was kicked out of the competition in December.

The successful selection of a new fighter jet this year would mark the culmination of more than a decade of stop-start efforts marked by mismanagement and political controversy under two successive federal governments.

Global News

by **Braven** Mon 28 Mar 2022, 4:12 pm

Liberals launch negotiations to buy F-35 fighter jets

Murray Brewster · CBC News · Posted: Mar 28, 2022

Fighter Jets - Page 6 Germany-us-air-force

CBC News

by **Falcon** Tue 29 Mar 2022, 4:16 pm

Seven years after vowing not to purchase F-35 jets, the Liberals are now buying them

The Conservative government never actually justified or explained why they felt Canada needed a fifth-generation fighter,' Trudeau said in 2015. 'They just talked ... like it was obvious'

Bryan Passifiume
Publishing date: Mar 28, 2022

Seven years after vowing never to replace Canada’s aging fighter jet fleet with F-35s, the Trudeau Liberals are now planning to purchase 88 of them.

Defence Minister Anita Anand announced the news early Monday afternoon, confirming the government’s intentions to sign final purchase contracts with manufacturer Lockheed-Martin later this year.

“A new fleet of state-of-the-art fighter jets is essential for Canada’s security, sovereignty and ability to defend itself,” she said.

Canada’s road to replacing its fighter jets has been a 25-year odyssey, fraught with political machinations. In 1997, Jean Chrétien first signed onto the Joint Strike Fighter program.

In 2010, then-defence minister Peter MacKay announced Canada was entering into an untendered agreement to purchase 65 F-35s, with delivery expected in 2016 and at a cost of $9-billion.

A no-confidence vote triggered in part by refusals to release costs associated with the F-35 program led to the minority Harper government’s collapse 11 years ago this week, sending Canadians to polls and returning the Conservatives to power with a majority government.

In 2015, opposition leader Justin Trudeau made the issue into a prominent plank in the Liberals’ election platform. “We will not buy the F-35 fighter jet,” he said, adding that if elected there would be a cheaper alternative.

“The Conservative government never actually justified or explained why they felt Canada needed a fifth-generation fighter,” Trudeau said in 2015. “They just talked about it like it was obvious. It was obvious, as we saw through the entire process, that they were particularly, and some might say unreasonably or unhealthily, attached to the F-35 aircraft.”

While the fighter replacement program stretches back across decades and several governments, Gen. Tom Lawson, retired Canadian Chief of Defence Staff and former RCAF aviator, credits concerns over Canada’s sovereignty in light of Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine with putting defence spending front-and-centre in the government’s priorities.

“It was Winston Churchill who said never to waste a good crisis,” Lawson said.

“That brings about ideal conditions for an announcement that might otherwise have been slightly embarrassing for the Liberals.”

On Monday, citing the precarious nature of current world affairs, Anand said it was important to ensure Canada’s military had the equipment it needed to maintain domestic security.

The F-35, she said, had proven itself to be both a mature and interoperable aircraft.

“This new fleet will ensure our continued ability to protect every inch of Canadian airspace, to meet our commitments to NORAD and NATO, and deal with unforeseen threats.”

Monday’s announcement came after officials with national defence, procurement and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) unanimously recommended proceeding with finalizing the contract with Lockheed-Martin, said Procurement Minister Filomena Tassi.

Contracts were awarded two years ago to outfit 3 Wing Bagotville and 4 Wing Cold Lake with infrastructure needed to support the F-35.

Late last year, the government pared down the list of fighter jet contenders to the F-35 and Saab’s Gripen line of multi-role fighters after excluding a bid from Boeing, whose predecessor McDonnell Douglas manufactured Canada’s current fleet of CF-18 Hornets.

While final costing has yet to be determined, the deal’s expected to be worth about $19-billion.

Final contracts should be signed later this year, Tassi said, with delivery expected by 2025.

A product of research by Lockheed’s famed Skunk Works — the company’s legendary advanced development unit responsible for the U-2 spy plane, SR-71 Blackbird and F-117 Nighthawk — the F-35 is already in active service by a number of air forces, including the United States, Israel, Japan, the UK and Australia.

The F-35 comes in three variants — the standard A-model Canada has its eye on, the short-takeoff/vertical-landing capable F-35B, and the tailhook-equipped F-35C designed for use on aircraft carriers.

Lorraine Ben, Lockheed-Martin Canada chief executive, said the company looked forward to continuing its relationship with CAF.

“As a cornerstone for interoperability with NORAD and NATO, the F-35 will strengthen Canada’s operational capability with our allies,” she said in a statement sent to the National Post.

“The F-35 gives pilots the critical advantage against any adversary, enabling them to execute their mission and come home safe.”

The F-35 will be Canada’s first Lockheed-built jet since the CF-104 Starfighter was retired from service in 1986.

Other Lockheed-Martin aircraft in CAF inventory include the C-130 Hercules/C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft and CP-140 Aurora marine patrol plane.

Lawson said the decision was a good one for Canada’s armed forces.

“When (in 2010) the Conservative government made the very decision that we’re seeing the Liberal government make 12 years later, it was pure joy,” said Lawson, who was the air force’s deputy commander at the time.

“Today it brings some joy, but mostly relief.”

Lawson, who also served as deputy commander of NORAD, said a fleet of Canadian F-35s was the ideal platform to continue Canada’s mission of protecting the north.

“The F-35 purchase just plain simplifies NORAD operations,” he said.

Erika Simpson, international politics professor at Western University in London, Ont., disagreed with that sentiment.

“Faced with the choice of what equipment to buy, I think the Liberals are printing money to buy more defence equipment that future generations will have to pay for,” she said, adding she believed Canada should instead return to examining unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology to patrol the arctic.

Germany’s decision earlier this month to buy F-35s to replace its aging Panavia Tornados could also have played a role in Canada’s decision to buy the jets, she said.

Canada, she said, was spending far too much money on an aircraft unsuited for our needs, and said this could mark the beginning of a defence spending spree by the Trudeau Liberals

“But that’s maybe not the way go, too,” Simpson said.

• Email: bpassifiume@postmedia.com | Twitter:

National Post

by **Spider** Thu 21 Apr 2022, 10:11 am

Public relations war over the F-35 stealth fighter jet enters new phase

Friday gathering in Ottawa will be part of what is being called the Global Mobilization to Stop Lockheed Martin, manufacturer of the F-35.

David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Apr 21, 2022

Members of the Ottawa Peace Council will on Friday head to the Lockheed Martin Canada headquarters on O’Connor Street to protest the Liberal government’s decision to purchase that company’s F-35 stealth fighter.

The gathering is part of what is being called the Global Mobilization to Stop Lockheed Martin, a series of at least nine protests in various cities around the world to highlight the company’s role as the largest weapons producer in the world.

The F-35 is expected to be featured prominently at the various protests, including in Toronto, as the public relations war over the jet enters a new phase.

The Liberal government announced March 28 it was entering into negotiations to buy the fighter plane, retreating on Justin Trudeau’s promise Canada would never acquire the aircraft he claimed didn’t work and wasn’t needed.

In the lead-up to the proposed $19-billion deal, there have been duelling narratives on social media and in mainstream news outlets.

Social activist groups have held webcasts to drive home their contention the F-35 will be a money pit for taxpayers. They have cited concerns by U.S. lawmakers, including those from March 2021 when Adam Smith, head of the U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, called for the F-35 program to be shut down. The aircraft “doesn’t work particularly well” and is too expensive to maintain, he noted. “I want to stop throwing money down that particular rathole,” Smith said.

The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom argues the money can be better spent elsewhere to help Canadians. For instance, it noted, the $19 billion could finance 15 state-of-the-art health-care complexes; or 760 Indigenous wellness centres; or 240 new high schools; or 130 kilometres of light rail transit; or 87,842 green affordable housing units.

Lockheed Martin has been conducting its own PR campaign, promoting the industrial benefits associated with the new jets. A recent CBC TV piece highlighted how the Nova Scotia town involved in the building of the famed Bluenose schooner is now home to a firm that manufactures F-35 parts. Canadian analysts closely tied to National Defence have been promoting the plane as a high-tech “flying computer,” which once had major technical problems but is now working flawlessly.

Also firmly in the F-35 camp is former Lockheed Martin test pilot Billie Flynn. Flynn, who left the firm in October 2020, promotes Lockheed corporate talking points mixed with conspiracy-fuelled rhetoric. A Quebec journalist who wrote in favour of the Super Hornet, the F-35 rival, produced a “turncoat article” and had been “bought off,” Flynn claimed.

Flynn has alleged a former Liberal MP associated with the fighter jet file was “in bed” with Boeing but has provided no proof. The test pilot also suggested Lockheed’s rival Saab was engaged in bribery, hinting — without proof — that might have taken place in the Canadian jet competition.

Flynn ignored Lockheed Martin’s past history of bribery scandals. Lockheed was involved with bribery in Egypt, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia and Germany to win contracts for military aircraft in the 1960s and 1970s, according to CorpWatch, a U.S. research group that exposes corporate malfeasance. For instance, Lockheed Aircraft Corporation lost a $1.3 billion order for new airplanes because of its involvement in a payoff scandal, Japanese government officials told the New York Times in February 1976.

As a result of the scandals, the company’s chairman and president resigned and the U.S. government brought in the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a law that made it illegal for American companies and officials to bribe foreign government representatives.

This newspaper, Flynn alleges, promoted a conspiracy when it correctly reported Lockheed could face the same “economic harm” penalties that rival Boeing might have faced under the Liberal government’s new procurement policy.

The next step in the F-35 PR battle will focus on selling the plane to the public by using the threat from Russia and China. Some analysts have already highlighted the need for the F-35 to fight off a supposed coming Russian invasion of Canada’s Arctic.

In addition, the Liberal government has used the Russian invasion of Ukraine to justify its purchase of fighter. Flynn has pushed the claim the F-35 is designed for the type of war now being fought in Ukraine.

But Dan Grazier, an F-35 critic at the Project on Government Oversight in the U.S., has written that the Russians have little to worry about from the stealth fighter. To make his point, Grazier cited an internal Pentagon report warning about repeated F-35 breakdowns and a lack of spare parts. “Despite more than 20 years and approximately $62.5 billion spent so far on research and development alone, program officials still haven’t been able to deliver an aircraft that can fly as often as needed or to demonstrate its ability to perform in combat, which places military personnel in jeopardy,” Grazier wrote in a report for POGO last month.

Defence Watch

by Covert Mon 20 Jun 2022, 8:55 am

Canada requires first nine fully operational F-35 jets no later than 2027

Other allies are ahead of Canada in line for the jets and there are still unresolved technical issues with the F-35.

David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Jun 20, 2022

Canada is requiring the first nine fully operational F-35 fighter jets to be delivered no later than 2027, according to federal government documents.

Procurement Minister Filomena Tassi has publicly stated the first of the stealth fighters could come as early as 2025.

But the mandatory delivery criteria Lockheed Martin agreed to as part of its winning bid stipulates, “the 9th fully mission capable future fighter platform will be delivered no earlier than 1 December 2025 and no later than 1 December 2027.”

The Liberal government plans to purchase 88 U.S.-built F-35s as part of a project expected to cost taxpayers between $15 billion and $19 billion. Critics of the purchase have noted, however, the full lifecycle cost for the planes is estimated at $77 billion.

The 88th fully operational aircraft would have to be delivered to Canada no later than Dec. 31, 2031, according to the documents outlining the mandatory bid requirements.

Lockheed Martin declined to comment on its delivery schedule for the new jets. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with Canadian industry to deliver and sustain the F-35,” the firm added in an email.

The previous Conservative government had selected the F-35 stealth fighter as the Royal Canadian Air Force’s new jet, but backed away from that plan amid concerns about the technological problems with the fighter jets and rising costs.

During the 2015 election campaign, Liberal leader Justin Trudeau vowed that his government would never purchase the F-35.

But, once in power, the Liberal government backed away from that promise. The Liberals announced in March that the F-35 had been selected as Canada’s new fighter jet and negotiations with Lockheed Martin and the U.S. government were underway to finalize the purchase. Those negotiations are expected to be finished by the end of the year.

Some defence industry observers have questioned whether Lockheed Martin will be able to meet Canada’s delivery schedule as other allies are ahead in line for the jets and there are still unresolved technical issues with the F-35.

In April, the U.S. government watchdog, the Government Accountability Office, reported more delays in operational testing that must be completed so full-rate production of the F-35 can begin. There are still hundreds of problems left to solve on the aircraft and companies are redesigning and replacing equipment on the planes that have already been delivered. “The more aircraft produced and delivered prior to resolving deficiencies, the greater the likelihood that the program will have to retrofit aircraft, at the expense of the government,” the GAO reported.

More than 780 F-35s have already been delivered to the U.S. military and allies. U.S. Lt. Gen. Eric Flick, the F-35 joint program executive officer, has noted that the advanced technology on the plane is very expensive and that has contributed to the ongoing issues.

The Pentagon has also complained about the F-35’s high maintenance and operating costs, although Lockheed Martin has committed to reducing the operating price tag to $30,000 U.S. per flight hour by next year.

Some U.S. lawmakers remain less than impressed. In April hearings, Congressman John Garamendi, the Democrat chairman of the House Armed Services Committee’s readiness subcommittee, highlighted that ongoing problem. “We’re not going to buy more (F-35s) until we figure out how to maintain them,” Garamendi said. “It is a fool’s errand. It is a waste of money by the taxpayers.”

Canada is a partner in the F-35 program and has contributed more than $600 million U.S. for the aircraft’s development over time.

Under the F-35 agreement, partner nations such as Canada are prohibited from imposing requirements for industrial benefits as the work on the fighter jets is determined on the best-value basis. Canadian firms compete, and, if they are good enough, they receive contracts. Canadian firms have earned more than $2 billion in contracts to build F-35 parts, Lockheed Martin says.

Defence Watch

by Thunder Mon 19 Dec 2022, 6:54 am

Canada will wrap fighter jet contract in ‘very short term,’ says minister

By Rachel Gilmore . Global News
Posted December 18, 2022

After years of delays and deliberation, Canada is set to finalize a contract to replace its aging fleet of CF-18 fighter jets in the ‘very short term,” according to Defence Minister Anita Anand.

The government announced earlier this year it was moving into finalization talks towards procuring Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets, though officials cautioned at the time those talks were not a guarantee that a signed contract would follow.

Anand told The West Block‘s Mercedes Stephenson in an interview that the process is now close to wrapping up.

“We will be concluding that contract in the very short term and moving to ensure that the assets arrive as soon as possible,” she said.

“But in advance of that, we need to make sure we have the pilots trained and we need to make sure that we have the infrastructure in place to house the 88 new future fighters. And so there is long-term planning occurring to make sure that we are ready to accept the new capabilities that we are contracting for.”

The federal government launched the competition to replace its aging fleet of Boeing CF-18 fighter jets in 2017, when the government also said it would buy 25 used jets of the same model from Australia as a bridge toward a longer-term fleet replacement.

But with increased demands on the Canadian military, pressure has continued to mount on the government to speed up procurement in the process that has been underway for more than 20 years.

While the government has been in talks about the F-35 since the late 1990s, the former Conservative government formally announced its intent to buy 65 of the stealth fighter jets in 2010.

Deliveries at the time were projected to begin in 2016 — but high costs and concerns about inaccurate budgeting dominated headlines over the subsequent years, with the auditor general in 2012 criticizing the handling of the sole-sourced deal.

By the time of the 2015 federal election, then-Liberal leader Justin Trudeau vowed he would not buy the F-35 jets, pledging instead to look into a “more affordable aircraft.”

Despite that promise, the government did not exclude Lockheed Martin from entering the contest for a replacement fleet — and now, seven years later, Trudeau’s government appears to be on the cusp of signing a contract for the fleet they promised not to purchase in 2015.

In addition to the decades of delays Canada has faced in replacing its fighter jet fleet, the Canadian Armed Forces are also struggling to bring in another important resource: recruits.

The military has been plagued by a personnel crisis that has forced Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre to halt non-essential activities and raise questions about the readiness of the armed forces.

Speaking to Stephenson, Anand acknowledged there are “thousands of Canadian Armed Forces that we do need to recruit.”

“Recruitment and retention and reconstitution of the Canadian Armed Forces is one of our utmost priorities,” she added.

The Canadian Forces have been shaken in recent years by a sexual misconduct crisis that touched even the highest ranks, along with wider attention on systemic racism that an external advisory panel to the minister warned earlier this year is “repulsing” new recruits.

The reputational problem has been compounded by concerns about the presence of right-wing extremists in the ranks.

Anand admitted it has not been easy trying to shift the military’s culture.

The defence minister tabled what she described as a “roadmap” to reform the ranks this week, following a scathing report from former Supreme Court of Canada justice Louise Arbour into sexual misconduct allegations first brought to light by Global News in February 2021.

However, the plan does not contain clear timelines for fulfilling its promises. When Stephenson pressed Anand on this, the defence minister said she wasn’t interested in providing “false deadlines.”

“What I am doing in the report is being my prudent self, to make sure that what I am saying to Canadians is what is going to occur, as opposed to giving false deadlines, which I am not confident that we can meet,” Anand said.

“But what I am confident about is that this is a different moment in terms of our response to the need for cultural change in the military.”

The roadmap comes after a “very long year,” Anand added.

“Despite criticism coming from various stakeholders and the media, we need to make sure that we stay on track.”

— with files from Global News’ Amanda Connolly

Global News

by **Kizzer** Tue 20 Dec 2022, 4:11 pm

Defence Department gets OK to spend $7 billion on 16 F-35 fighter jets: CP sources

Published Dec. 20, 2022

Fighter Jets - Page 6 Fighter-jets-1-6202539-1671559765834

The Canadian Press

by RevForce Thu 22 Dec 2022, 7:13 pm

Analysis: Canada’s price tag for F-35 jets raising questions

A $7 billion price tag for 16 jets stands in contrast to what some of Canada’s allies are paying for the exact same plane

David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen

Published Dec 21, 2022

The leak by federal government officials that National Defence has received approval to buy 16 stealth fighter jets is raising questions about what this purchase will ultimately cost taxpayers.

The Treasury Board OK’d the spending of $7 billion for the 16 F-35 jets, according to The Canadian Press. The deal covers the planes as well as spare parts, some weapons and various startup costs associated with the new aircraft, such as the construction of new hangars.

But that $7 billion price tag for 16 jets stands in contrast to what some of Canada’s allies are paying for the exact same plane.

In September, Switzerland reached a deal to buy 36 of the F-35 for USD$6.25 billion, or CAD$8.5 billion.

In December 2021, Finland announced it had finalized a deal to buy 64 F-35s for USD$11 billion, or CAD$15 billion. That deal included around $1 billion for related systems and equipment.

A few weeks ago, the German government announced its purchase of 35 F-35s for USD$8.8 billion, or CAD$12 billion. The German cost includes related technical support, training, weapons and logistical support.

The offices of Defence Minister Anita Anand and Procurement Minister Helena Jaczek have not answered questions about the discrepancies.

“As outlined in Canada’s Defence Policy, Strong, Secure, Engaged, Canada will be acquiring 88 advanced fighter aircraft,” noted an emailed statement from Jaczek’s office. “We look forward to providing an update on this important project shortly.”

Alan Williams, the former procurement chief at National Defence, questioned why the federal government isn’t being more forthcoming on large-scale military purchases such as for the Canadian Surface Combatant project and now the F-35 deal.

“It is distressing to read information being made public regarding billion-dollar procurements that is so opaque and piecemeal rather than being transparent and comprehensive,” he told this newspaper.

“Even if the jets are being purchased in batches, why not announce the total expected cost to acquire, maintain and operate the 88 jets? (It) makes it appear the government is hiding the truth from Canadians.”

F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin will be under pressure to deliver the first planes to Canada as soon as possible. The mandatory bid requirements the company agreed to require the first nine fully operational F-35 fighter jets to be delivered no later than 2027.

The agreement stipulates, “the 9th fully mission capable future fighter platform will be delivered no earlier than 1 December 2025 and no later than 1 December 2027.”

The Liberal government has stated its purchase of 88 F-35s is expected to cost between $15 billion and $19 billion but it has not provided a breakdown of that figure. Critics of the purchase have noted, however, the full lifecycle cost for the planes is estimated at $77 billion.

The 88th fully operational aircraft would have to be delivered to Canada no later than Dec. 31, 2031, according to government documents outlining the mandatory bid requirements.

The previous Conservative government had selected the F-35 as the air force’s new jet but backed away from that plan after concerns about the technology and growing cost.

During the 2015 election campaign, Justin Trudeau vowed that his government would not purchase the F-35.

Once elected, Trudeau again shot down the need for the F-35. “Canadians know full well that for 10 years, the Conservatives completely missed the boat when it came to delivering to Canadians and their armed forces the equipment they needed,” Trudeau said in June 2016. “They clung to an aircraft (the F-35) that does not work and is far from working.”

The Liberals also noted the F-35’s “stealth first-strike capability” was not needed to defend Canada.

But the Liberal government backed away from its promise to freeze out the F-35 and earlier this year announced the aircraft would be Canada’s new fighter jet.

Canada is a partner in the F-35 program and has contributed funding for the aircraft’s development over the years.

Defence Watch

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