Public Works indicates it’s considering a short-term alternative to replace aging fighter jets
The Public Works National Fighter Procurement Secretariat, in charge of reviewing fighter aircraft options to replace Canada’s aging fleet of CF-18 Hornets, has indicated for the first time it may be considering a short-term bridge of alternative fighters to begin replacing the CF-18s until the trouble-plagued and delayed production of the Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighter jets reaches the stage where Canada can begin acquiring it in numbers it can afford.
The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright
Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose, Public Works DM Michelle d'Auray, and Defence Minister Peter MacKay pictured last month, after announcing the government was resetting the procurement process for the F-35 fighter jets.
PARLIAMENT HILL—The Public Works National Fighter Procurement Secretariat, in charge of reviewing fighter aircraft options to replace Canada’s aging fleet of CF-18 Hornets, has indicated for the first time that it may be considering a short-term bridge of alternative fighters to begin replacing the CF-18s until the trouble-plagued and delayed production of the Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighter jets reaches the stage where Canada can begin acquiring it in numbers it can afford.
The new strategy is contained in a document that the National Fighter Procurement Secretariat sent to five warplane manufacturers last week, including Lockheed Martin, asking them to take part in a review of aircraft that are in production or planned to be in production as the 2020 retirement date nears for Canada’s fleet of 77 CF-18 Hornet fighters.
The document, a statement outlining an Industry Engagement Request, was the latest step in the government’s response to a critical report from Auditor General Michael Ferguson on the F-35 fighter jets project last April.
The government measures included an independent review of the Department of National Defence cost estimates for a fleet of 65 F-35 warplanes, which confirmed $9-billion in acquisition under the Defence Department’s 2012 schedule and a total of $36.8-billion over the fleet’s lifetime to 2052 for operating and sustainment costs. The total of $45.8-billion accounts for replacement aircraft due to attrition, which the Department of National Defence refused to include in its forecast, saying it would be treated as a separate project.
Because of soaring costs due to delays in testing and development of the stealth F-35, which would be a new generation aircraft with unprecedented computerized sensors, avionics and weaponry systems, members of a nine-country F-35 consortium led by the U.S. are reconsidering the number of planes they initially intended to acquire or, as in Australia’s case, acquiring other modern aircraft. Australia and the U.S. Navy last year began acquiring Boeing Corp. Super Hornets to bridge the gap before the F-35 becomes fully operational, combat ready, and in large-scale production.
Until the release of the industry engagement letter, the government and senior Cabinet ministers had insisted Canada could manage and extend its CF-18 fleet to be able to acquire 65 F-35s from 2019 to 2022, with the bulk of the acquisition taking place in the middle of the procurement years.
The Industry Engagement Request, along with questionnaires about fighter jet capabilities and lifecycle costing is being sent to Lockheed Martin, Boeing Corp., which sold Canada the CF-18 Hornets, Sweden’s Saab Corp., which manufactures the Saab JAS 39 Gripen (Griffon), Dassault Aviation of France, which makes the Rafale fighter jet, and to the makers of the EADS Eurofighter Typhoon.
The government has dubbed the process a new “options analysis” it promised as part of its response to the Auditor General’s report, which sparked a furor with its revelation that National Defence had not disclosed $10-billion in operating costs over 20 years for the F-35 in a report to Parliament shortly before Prime Minister Stephen Harper (Calgary Southwest, Alta.) called the May 2, 2011 federal election.
“The evaluation of options will review and assess all available fighter aircraft and will result in a comprehensive report with the best available information on the capabilities, costs, and risks of each option, including bridging and fleet options,” last week’s letter announcing the Industry Engagement Request says.
The statement says the government will send two questionnaires to the five fighter aircraft manufacturers, asking for details about technical capabilities associated with fighter aircraft currently in production or scheduled to be in production and for full life-cycle cost of aircraft, including development, acquisition, sustainment, operating, and disposal costs over their expected life.
“Canada requires a replacement fighter capability for a period of at least 30 years,” the statement says.
“In order to analyze potential fighter options to meet the Government of Canada’s needs for the future, the questionnaire time frame is divided into two time horizons: 2020-2030 and 2030 plus,” it says, introducing for the first time the possibility of new fighter jet acquisition in two phases, including the immediate short term as the CF-18 fleet depletes.
“By requesting industry information on fighter capabilities within two distinct time horizons, there is an added benefit of allowing industry to describe capability road maps or spiral upgrades,” the statement says.
“This information will prove useful in describing fighter capabilities across the entire intended period of employment,” it says.
The statement posted on the secretariat’s website explicitly says the request for information is not a government tendering process or request for bids for a competition; that the government is under no obligation to the companies; and that any firm taking part has to cover its own expenses.
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