Tension With U.S. Admin Causing Hesitation

Defense Minister Bill Blair of Canada announced on March 14 that his department is actively reviewing possible alternatives to the Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighter, for which an initial tranche of 16 aircraft has already been paid, and which could totally reshuffle the fleet modernization plans of the Royal Canadian Air Force.

The announcement comes after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resigned and government positions have been in flux as diplomatic tensions have emerged between Canada and the U.S.

Blair said in an interview with CBC, “The prime minister has asked me to go and examine those things and have discussions with other sources, particularly where there may be opportunities to assemble those fighter jets in Canada.”

Although Canada has already paid for an initial batch of F-35As, his comments suggest that the RCAF may not go through with the entire procurement of 88 aircraft as planned. In that event, Canada would field a mixed fleet of fighter aircraft of F-35 and others.

Canada’s second-guessing seems part of an emerging pattern of skepticism about the F-35 program, but not necessarily about the aircraft itself. Nuno Melo, Minister of Defense for Portugal, disclosed that his country was also rethinking its plans to purchase F-35s for its fleet replacement even though Portugal has not yet placed any orders.

For some perspective, Canada has been back-and-forth on the F-35 since 2010, when then-PM Stephen Harper’s government committed to acquiring 65 of the aircraft for $8.6 billion without doing a competitive tender offer. But then Trudeau’s 2015 election focused on reversing that acquisition in favor of a lower-cost alternative and then canceled the F-35 when he took office.

FMI:  www.lockheedmartin.com/