5 quick reasons F-35 is right for Canada
It was the right choice for Canada in 2010. It's still the right choice. Here's why.
1 – We’ve already spent more than $600 million developing it
The most expensive and complicated part of buying expensive military planes is negotiating the “spin off” benefits to the purchasing country. When Canada buys $1 billion worth of ships or aircraft, it wants as much of that money to be spent in Canada paying Canadian manufacturers and workers.
SAAB, the company that makes the Gripen which competed with the Lockheed Martin F-35 to be Canada’s next fighter, was promoting its plane as “the made in Canada fighter” because they were offering billions in offsets to ensure Canadian companies could participate in the construction of their airplane. But, Canadian companies are already building components of the F-35 and have been for over a decade.
In 1997, Canada signed on with Lockheed Martin and the US defence department to be a “Level 3” participant in the Joint Strike Fighter program which was designed to meet the needs of NATO nations in the 21st Century. So far, Canadian taxpayers have spent over $600 million in “participation fees” that have entitled Canadian companies to participate in the development and construction of this fighter plane. So far, this program has generated over $1.5 billion in contracts for Canadian aerospace manufacturers.
Canadian taxpayers are already fully invested in the F-35. Our pilots may as well benefit by flying it.
2 – It’s got the longest life span ahead of it
It takes Canada at least 25 years to buy a new airplane, so we better buy the newest model with the most years ahead of it. The F-35 is the newest, most modern Generation 5 jet fighter in the world. It first flew in 2006 and, went through some developmental trials and tribulations that prompted Canada’s now prime minster to say “it doesn’t work. It can’t fly.” But, those tribulations are standard when it comes to developing and delivering almost every brand new military aircraft. Although the SAAB Gripen E is a modern fighter, it first flew in 1988.
One take away from Canada’s sorry history of defence procurement is that now the government has decided it wants to buy the the F-35, it’s already time to start the process to replace it in 30 years.
3 – When was the last time we went to war alongside Sweden?
Canada is too small to fight wars on its own. So, we team up with allies. In 1991, Canada sent F-18s to fight alongside the USA in the first Gulf War and our pilots performed exceptionally well. But, when they left Canada, they didn’t have missiles or many bullets for their planes. We had to borrow them from the US. Because we flew the same planes they did, that was possible.
By flying and fighting alongside the US and NATO allies – who fly the same aircraft – we can share our resources of weapons, ammunition, spare parts and maintenance expertise. We can lean on each other and don’t have to go it alone.
Even if the Gripen E was the best fighter in the world, our allies don’t fly it. So, when we go to war, we’d have to do all our own lifting. We simply can’t afford that. In Kindergarten, we learn that sharing is caring. In war, sharing is winning.
4 – All our allies have already chosen the F-35
Part of what makes the F-35 superior to early generations of fighter jet is its ability to network and share battlefield intelligence among its peers. If we’re going to fight alongside our allies and be a positive contribution to their joint air operations, it’s vitally important we be able to integrate with their fleets.
Canada’s greatest territorial weakness is our vast expanse of practically undefended Arctic territory which includes 160,000 km of coastline. All of Canada’s Arctic allies are already flying the F-35 for northern defence – or plan to be flying the F-35 soon.
5 – We’ve already picked the F-35 before
How many competitions does it need to win? Canada joined the Joint Strike Fighter program in 1997 to help develop NATO’s next-generation multi-role fighter aircraft. We chose it then. In 2010, the Canadian government made the decision to buy the F-35 as a replacement for Canada’s then aged CF-18s. There was controversy because the government didn’t run a competition to select it. In defence of that decision, that was in large part because Canada had already spent hundreds of millions of dollars as part of the international consortium to design and develop the plane. We were invested already and our pilots needed a new ride that would give them an advantage over our enemies. How much longer should they have to wait?
Much longer, as it turned out. A then-new Liberal government cancelled the purchase in 2015 and swore never to buy the F-35. Yesterday, that same government announced plans to buy the F-35. The exact same aircraft we ordered in 2010. Had we proceeded then with the buy, our pilots would already be flying this fighter now and be ready to face down Russia – or any other adversary – today.