Canadian Federal government cancels F-35 fighter purchase

[VelocuR]

Canada, it is good to reverse decision and analyze carefully. This plane is just useful against Russia interventions northern sides areas. Still our CF-18s are more effective to handle it, we should focus refurbished it or upgrades.

No codes offering to Canada, don't waste time to purchase this fancy planes.

The F-35 jet fighter purchase, the most persistent thorn in the Harper government’s side and the subject of a devastating auditor-general’s report last spring, is dead.

Faced with the imminent release of an audit by accountants KPMG that will push the total projected life-cycle costs of the aircraft above $30 billion, the Harper Conservatives have decided to scrap the controversial sole-source program and go back to the drawing board, a source familiar with the decision said. This occurred after Chief of the Defence Staff Thomas Lawson, while en route overseas, was called back urgently to appear before members of the cabinet, the source said.

The decision was to go before the cabinet planning and priorities committee Friday morning but the outcome is not in doubt, the source said.

PMO spokesman Andrew MacDougall took to Twitter Thursday evening to deny a decision has been made. “The government will fulfill its seven-point plan,” he tweeted.

The government is “awaiting reports that will be tabled as part of the seven-point plan,” MacDougall said later in an email. “Government will need this information to make an informed decision.”

The cabinet meeting Friday morning was to have established a communications plan for unveiling the change of direction to Canadians, Postmedia’s source said.

The decision is sure to have ripple effects around the world, as any reduction in the number of aircraft on order causes the price to go up for all the other buyers. Canada is one of nine F-35 consortium members, including the United States.

The CF-18s currently flown by the RCAF are at the tail end of their life cycle and are not expected to be operable much beyond 2020 at the outside.

The fighter procurement process has been the responsibility of Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose since last spring, following an audit by Auditor General Michael Ferguson. It is understood that veteran senior bureaucrat Tom Ring, who handled the government’s much-praised shipbuilding contract process in the fall of 2011, is now steering the reframed fighter replacement process, from within Public Works.

Last spring, Ferguson ignited a political firestorm when he reported that the top-line cost cited by the Conservatives in the 2011 election campaign – $9-billion for 65 planes, or $15-billion including maintenance and other life-cycle costs – was $10-billion below the Defence department’s internal estimate.

Even the internal figure of $25.1-billion was suspect, critics said, because it assumed a 20-year life cycle. The longevity of the Lockheed-Martin-built aircraft, according to the Pentagon, is 36 years.

KPMG’s audit, due out next week, has confirmed the contention, long made by critics such as former assistant deputy minister (materiel) Alan Williams, that the F-35 program’s real cost would be much higher than any previously stated government estimate, sources say.

Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page predicted a cost of $30 billion over a 30-year life cycle.

Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose, who took on the F-35 file after Ferguson’s audit, has been signalling since last spring that she was unhappy with the procurement process. On Nov. 22 in the House of Commons, Ambrose said the government is committed to “a full evaluation of all choices, not simply a refresh.”

Lawson, in an appearance before the House of Commons defence committee Nov. 29, further opened the door when he confirmed what industry critics have long said: the F-35 is not the only modern fighter with measures to evade radar, though it is considered to be the most advanced in this respect. “Is there only one airplane that can meet the standard of stealth that’s set out in the statement of requirements?” Liberal defence critic John McKay asked. Lawson’s answer: “No.”

The F-35’s unique stealthiness had long been advanced as the single most compelling argument for buying that plane.

Also in the mix, former Industry Minister David Emerson last week published a report on the aerospace and space sectors, calling on Ottawa to more aggressively press for Industrial and Regional Benefits (IRBs) and In-Service Support (ISS) contracts when inking procurement deals. Lockheed-Martin has in the past been reluctant to hand over its proprietary technology to clients. Industry insiders believe the Emerson report added impetus to the decision to start over.

Boeing’s Super Hornet, Dassault’s Rafale, Saab’s Gripen, the Eurofighter Typhoon and the F-35 are seen as the leading contenders in any new contest to replace the CF-18 fleet.

source:Federal government cancels F-35 fighter purchase

Will there be others making the same call?

 

[Luftwaffe]

Joke from F-16.net

You are wasting time you argument is weak, an old airframe and design cannot be implemented today those images-designs you posted are merely arm chair onliner designer but never the less Avro Arrow was a potent Aircraft.

If you have not read in detail and information is all across, those advocating New Avro Arrow are not saying same old avro arrow be developed but based on experience and parameters and today's technologies a new Avro Arrow stealthy or stealth be developed inside Canada by Canada so the money is not wasted and it circulate in Canada on its own people rather than going outside Canada.

The best example I can give you is of YAK-141, so Yes technically for Canada to make a next Generation from the scratch Avro Arrow it requires consensus and political unity had Avro Arrow been in production and operational in the past based on that experience Canada would have been developing even more better planes thankyou to US it had to meddle into other affairs US has been doing that in Korea-Japan. Atleast i can say if Canada does not take initiative Now we may not see any indigenous Fighter Jet. I hope Canada starts working on UCAVs atleast.

 

[anon45]

Canadian article that puts some numbers out and possibly clears up some confusion.

John Ivison: F-35s officially costed at $45,802,000,000 in new report

$45,802,000,000. That’s the number that will stand out when the Harper government releases KPMG’s report on the cost of the F-35 program early next week.

The National Post has seen sections of the report, including the cost estimates calculated by the accountancy firm charged with forecasting the entire 42-year life cycle cost of buying 65 new fighter jets.

According to KPMG, it will cost Canadian taxpayers nearly $46-billion to replace the fleet of 77 aging CF18s with the F-35s — nearly twice the numbers circulated by the Department of National Defence and roughly what the province of Ontario spends on health care every year.

The cost per plane is now estimated to be $88-million in five years, when production is expected to be at full throttle, compared to DND’s earlier forecast of $70-75-million.

The sticker shock is likely to put a severe dent in public, and ministerial, enthusiasm for the F-35, which the Conservatives defended against all comers as the best plane and the best value for money, until the Auditor-General, Michael Ferguson, released a scathing report on the amount of due diligence done on the fighter last spring.

However, contrary to rumours of its demise, the F-35 program is still very much alive. The government’s operations committee has discussed the roll-out of the KPMG report but full Cabinet has not made any decisions on the program. The KPMG report, when viewed in context, does not suggest the F-35 should be dismissed as a contender to succeed the CF18s.

The report validates much of the costing done by National Defence. The acquisition costs are identical at $8.9-billion. DND calculates sustainment costs will be $7.3-billion, while KPMG says $15.2-billion. On operating costs, DND estimates $9-billion, whereas the accountancy firm calculates $19.9-billion.

But the vast majority of those cost differences can be explained by the different time-scales used – DND’s costs are for a 20-year period, while KPMG fulfilled the mandate given it by the Auditor-General to give Canadians a full costing over the 42-year lifespan of the F-35s.

The conclusion that Canadians should draw is that it will cost them a little over $1-billion a year to operate a fleet of F-35s, according to both National Defence and KPMG.

Government sources are at pains to point out that the F-35 is still an option. “If we rule out the F-35, Boeing increases its prices by 15%,” said one person familiar with the procurement process.

As the National Post reported on Nov. 23, the Conservative government is approaching other manufacturers seeking cost estimates and information on availability and capabilities.

The F-35 secretariat in charge of buying the CF18 replacements will then decide whether it needs to re-write the statement of requirement that dictates what the air force needs. If it does so, the government will move to an open competition in which the F-35 is sure to be a contender.

As Alan Williams, former head of procurement within National Defence, pointed out: Unless the government states that it is modifying its statement of requirement, it is not committed to a change in direction.

However, it’s clear that the opposition parties will leap on the $46-billion price tag and attempt to turn public opinion even further against a plane that is already seen as too expensive by many.

Sentiment in the Public Works department appears to favour moving to an open competition, once it has completed its market analysis.

The Department of National Defence, on the other hand, remains a staunch advocate of the F-35. Sources point out that cancelling the program would see Canada lose $1-billion from the deal it has struck with the U.S. Department of Defence’s Foreign Military Sales program, where Canada buys the F-35s from the U.S. government, rather than the manufacturer, Lockheed Martin.

They also say that the Americans are already expressing alarm at reports the government here has cancelled the program. “There were lots of phone calls.

The fear is that Canada is going to be the first domino to fall [among allies signed up to the joint strike fighter program],” said one person.

As a result of the KPMG report, Canadians can at least have some confidence in the costs of the F-35 program. But its tabling in the House of Commons threatens to usher in a new phase where political manoeuvring will trump sensible public policy decisions.

We have seen this movie before, when Jean Chrétien cancelled the AgustaWestland EH101 helicopters purchase made by Brian Mulroney’s Conservatives, paid a $500-million termination fee and rigged the subsequent contest to prevent AgustaWestland from winning.

$46-billion is a big number but it should be viewed in context and compared to the equivalent figure for its competitors before it is sent to that great procurement scrapyard in the sky.

John Ivison: Official report puts price of F-35s at $45,802,000,000 | Full Comment | National Post

 

[jhungary]

lol, maybe Lockheed Martin should put the factory on China, that may lower the roll out cost

Seriously, 46 Billions dollar for a general purpose fighter 5th Generation Fighter. This is rather cheap. Look at other 5th Generation project.

Even if Canada drop out from the purchase contract (I NEED TO POINT OUT AT THIS POINT CANADA HAD NOT EVEN SIGNED A CONTRACT TO PURCHASE F-35) they will come back and seriously rethink buying F-35 when the final product is offered, just they won't be able to make them anymore.

And from what i see, the final product should be anycase lower than 100 mil a pop for F-35A, which is considered much much cheaper than most other contention.

BY the way, any of your guys know we are now R&Ding 6th generation fighter?? Mock up will come in 2020

 

[Edevelop]

@ Americans.
Please give F-22 Raptors. It would look amazing in the Canadian air force

 

[SHAMK9]

Why canada want an airforce???

for 'peaceful' purposes, Canada doesn't need these expensive birds

 

[Mercenary]

The fundamental flaw in this plane is that the planners want it to be a ground attack fighter and an air superiority fighter with variants that can be launched from both Land Bases and Air craft Carriers.

It was absolutely an idiotic idea.

F-35 should have been kept as a Ground Attack Fighter replacing the F-16. Instead the military planners planned on replacing the F-15, F-18 and A-10 with the F-35.

 

[Arya Desa]

Why not, why not india make peace with its neighbors and scrap air force, dumb question by you.

Canada was world's third [some reports 4th] largest Air Force along with Australian Air Force in WWII you can image the money it had back in 1940s today Canada is in much better position. It is just ridiculous those who are opposing F-35s in Canada CF-18s are 28 Years old with the upgrades by 2020-2021 they will ready for replacement.

India's neighbours are rogue states that resemble a dog with rabies. Canada's neighbour is a stable, rational America. That's why.

 

[jhungary]

The fundamental flaw in this plane is that the planners want it to be a ground attack fighter and an air superiority fighter with variants that can be launched from both Land Bases and Air craft Carriers.

It was absolutely an idiotic idea.

F-35 should have been kept as a Ground Attack Fighter replacing the F-16. Instead the military planners planned on replacing the F-15, F-18 and A-10 with the F-35.

F-35 were never going to replace the F-15, F-22 is replacing the F-15.

F-35 are designed to replace F-16, FA-18E/F, Av-8B, A-10 only, we have F-22 that did the F-15 job now.

 

[Esc8781]

F-35 were never going to replace the F-15, F-22 is replacing the F-15.

F-35 are designed to replace F-16, FA-18E/F, Av-8B, A-10 only, we have F-22 that did the F-15 job now.

Not sure with the F-15E.

 

[jhungary]

Not sure with the F-15E.

F-15E are staying beyond 2040, i got this news form my brother who is an engineer from boeing, i think USAF are going to annouce MLU soon.