OTTAWA – Cost uncertainty is central as questions mount as to whether the Canadian government will move ahead with its plan to purchase a fleet of F-35 jets, but some say this was never the right plane for Canada to begin with.
Steven Staples, president of the Rideau Institute, an Ottawa consultancy dealing in matters of defence and foreign affairs, took to Parliament Hill Friday to say the F-35 is just a “model plane” that is not well suited to Canada’s needs.
“We’ve had a number of concerns about the aircraft on cost and performance going back to 2010, and those concerns have not changed in the last few years,” Staples said. “Largely, what we’re seeing with the F-35 (is) it’s a model airplane. It’s not fully completed yet. They’re still piecing this aircraft together.”
Staples said the process for finding jets to replace the aging fleet of CF-18s should involve a “fly-off with real airplanes” to test the equipment before committing to purchase.
He added that with $2.5 billion worth of upgrades to the CF-18s in recent years, they can still be used for “many years to come,” and there is “no hurry” to find a replacement.
He said several “flaws” have emerged as the F-35s get developed, such as complications in being able to give pilots a 360-degree view, which has been a much-heralded feature of these jets.
What’s more, he said F-35s are not the type of plane best suited to Canada’s needs.
“The (F-35) was designed to meet a number of requirements within the U.S., to be able to deliver ordinance and missiles and bombs in the first few hours of an invasion,” Staples said. “That’s why it has the stealth capability in a type of shock-and-awe-type mission.
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“I don’t think this is appropriate for what Canada needs for our own continental security, which should be the main focus of the Air Force and its replacement of the CF-18s, and not a kind of first-wave, attack stealth fighter like the F-35 is being billed to be.”
Looking at the 30-year history of the CF-18s, Staples said most of their usage has been in North America, and overseas deployment “is not a very high demand for our aircraft.”
He added: “What are the legitimate threats to Canada right now? Well, they’re not nuclear-armed Russian bombers flying over the Arctic, like the concern was when we bought the CF-18s originally.
“As we know, terrorists are hijacking planes and flying them into buildings. There’s certainly a threat on that; incidents like we had on 9/11 and future possibilities where we have big events, like the Olympics or something like that.
“So we need those kinds of aircrafts that can interdict and protect Canadian cities. You don’t need a stealth fighter to be able to do that. Obviously, you need something that works in the Arctic and the harsh conditions that are there.”
Staples said a clear assessment of Canada’s military needs was a “key step that was missed” in the process that led to the F-35 becoming a favoured aircraft.
Asked by a reporter if there are any other jets that would be more suitable for Canada, Staples did not name any manufacturers or models specifically, but said there are “lots of other planes that other countries are looking at in terms of replacing similar aircrafts to the F-18s. . . . So I think there’s a number of European potential platforms, even American ones, that could offer very competitive proposals to Canada.”
Patrick Gagnon, an Ottawa lobbyist with the Parliamentary Group, who has experience dealing with matters of military procurement, argued that the F-35 isn’t necessarily wrong for Canada, but an open competition – which has not happened – is one way to find out.
“Maybe in the final analysis, if we have a full-blown competition, (the F-35) might come up as the best solution for Canada,” said Gagnon, who added he hasn’t done any work relating to this aircraft.
He noted that Canada is one of a handful of countries that had been working with U.S. manufacturer Lockheed Martin Corp. on the development of F-35s, and all are facing tough choices as expected costs rise on this jet.
Gagnon added that the U.S. is the principle player in this program and its needs are the priority in the F-35’s design.
That said, he added that Canada’s interests are closely aligned with its southern neighbour and it’s a good idea for the two countries to co-operate on a major military purchase like this.
“We’re talking about the whole North American perimeter (as a focus of security) and everything has to work within a Canadian-U.S. context, so obviously any vehicle you choose has to jive with the Americans too,” he said.
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