Canada commits to buy F-35 Lighting II

In Service Support Contract Still Up In The Air

The Canadian Forces will receive the first of an eventual 65 Lockheed-Martin Joint Strike Fighters (JSF) in 2016, said Defence Minister Peter MacKay at a mid-July announcement in Ottawa, but his colleague in defence procurement, Rona Ambrose, the minister for Public Works and Government Services, could not be more specific about the value of the In-Service Support (ISS) contract.

Calling it one of the biggest defence procurements in Canadian history, MacKay said the aircraft, compete with weapons and sensors, would cost about $9 billion but there have been reports that together with the necessary support items the cost to tax-payers could almost double. Ambrose said the ISS costs would only be known after negotiations with the other countries that plan to buy the F-35 are completed.

Anticipating criticism that the procurement is being sole-sourced, MacKay made the point that the JSF already won the competition to be the ‘fifth-generation’ fighter of choice, because Canada took part in a four-year evaluation that ended in 2001.

MacKay said the F-35 is “… the only fighter to meet Canadian Forces operational and inter-operational needs …” His cabinet colleague, Industry minister Tony Clement added that the procurement gives Canadian industry access to the $12 billion opportunity that the eventual global fleet of 3,000 aircraft represents.

Cloud of controversy
The Liberal party has already threatened to cancel the F-35 purchase, on the grounds that the procurement has not been competed. During the 1993 election campaign, Jean Chrétien threatened to cancel the purchase of the EH-101 marine helicopter and made good on that threat when he came to office, costing tax-payers almost half a billion dollars in termination payments.