After protracted domestic political wrangling, the North American country recently opted for F-35 jets from Lockeed Martin in the succession discussions surrounding its 75 old CF-18A Hornet fighter jets, which have been ongoing since 2010. Lockheed Martin jets.
As part of the Royal Canadian Air Force’s (RCAF) most significant investment in more than 30 years, 88 F-35s will ultimately be delivered from 2025, Saab’s Gripen-E, which was also up for selection, has been left behind. A third contender, Boeing’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Block III, was eliminated from the “Future Fighter Capability Project” (FFCP) last December. Two other European contenders, the manufacturers of Eurofighter Typhoon and Dassault Rafáleboth left the competition before it had even begun because they felt the process unfairly favored US companies. Long involved in “Phantom aircraft”
Back in 2010, the Conservative government of then Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced its intention to buy 65 of the F-35A – but the decision was made without a formal evaluation of the competitors. Five years later, this decision was then was canceled after an election promise by the new left-wing Liberal government of Justin Trudeau. Trudeau said at the time: “Canadians are well aware that for ten years the Conservatives completely missed the boat when it came to providing the armed forces with the equipment they needed. They clung to a phantom airplane that doesn’t work and is far from working.”
Perhaps he should have spoken to his industry first. After all, Canada had already started paying into the F-35 program as a Level 3 industrial partner in 1997. In fact, Canada’s investment in the Joint Strike Fighter between 1997 and 2021 amounted to 613 million US dollars (around 590 million euros) and the country’s aerospace and defense industry was already heavily involved in the F-35’s global supply chain back then – and still is today. Because of this interdependence, the recent decision in favor of the F-35 came as little surprise to experts and observers. However, the air defense of the whole of North America (the so-called NORAD Command always includes Canadian officers) and Canada’s fulfillment of various other NATO commitments. But almost ten years had passed since the initial decision, the old CF-18s were showing signs of fatigue and cracking, and so 18 former and equally old Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) F/A-18A/Bs were added to those first-generation Hornets in 2019 to stretch the fleet. Now Ottawa says in the statement from Anita Anand, Canada’s Minister of National Defense, that it has selected the Joint Strike Fighter “after a rigorous evaluation of proposals in an open, fair and competitive process that weighed relative capabilities, costs and economic benefits and impacts.” It will now “enter the finalization phase of the procurement process”.
Bitter again for Saab
It went on to say, “It is critical that current and future RCAF pilots have the most advanced equipment available to ensure they can do the important work we ask of them in the decades to come. Canada evaluated these aircraft against typical scenarios familiar to NATO and NORAD allies, which were further tailored to the needs of the RCAF, including Canada’s unique northern geography with respect to sovereignty in the Arctic.” The last sentence also implies that the F-35 – in addition to its 5th generation stealth factor – was apparently deemed as suitable for cold weather service as the Gripen. This is certainly a setback for Saabafter all, the Swedish manufacturer has been emphasizing the suitability of its jets for rigorous operations in the far north of Europe in its applications for years. However, the fact that the F-35 has been selected by both Norway (already in service) and recently also been selected by Finlandindicates that the operators consider the aircraft to be competent even under these harsh conditions. Also in Switzerland, which is also selecting the F-35 (24 of its 36 planned aircraft are to be assembled in Italy), similar conditions prevail, at least in winter. https://militaeraktuell.at/aero-ungarn-beschafft-zwoelf-mehrzwecktrainer-l-39ng/ Two bases
The RCAF has simultaneously announced that two main operational bases are being prepared for the next-generation fighter. These are the 4th Squadron in Cold Lake, Alberta and the 3rd Squadron in Bagotville, Quebec. Over the past two years, Cold Lake has already received around seven million euros for the planning of new operational facilities and around nine million euros have been invested in Bagotville for similar construction and conversion work. Canada’s total expenditure as part of its “Future Fighter Capability Project” is expected to amount to between 11.5 and 14.5 billion euros. The aircraft delivered are likely to be of the latest “Block 4” standard and – as the Swiss DDPS also claims – have lower unit costs than their predecessors. There is also the possibility that the Canadian jets will be the first of the F-35A versions to receive refueling probes in a configuration that makes them compatible with hose reel/basket refueling systems. All procurements won
While this may have been an extremely long shot, it’s another big win for Lockheed-Martin’s F-35, which is going from strength to strength as an export product. In addition to the recent announcement (that’s all it is yet) of Germany, F-35As as the next carrier of its “nuclear sharing” programthe Lightning-II has won every procurement process it has entered. All of this also contributes to a larger user base in terms of cost and brings interoperability benefits to a growing pool of NATO operators.
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