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Canada raises the spectre of abandoning Lockheed’s F-35 Analysts say Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) doesn't meet Canada's requirements even as earlier this week a top Canadian official raised the spectre of leaving the programme. "We have not as yet discounted the possibility of backing out of the program," Canadian associate defence minister Julian Fantino told Canada's parliament on 13 March. "The determinate decision has not yet been made about whether we're going to purchase, buy, [and] acquire the F-35," he adds. The Canadian government, lead by prime minister Stephen Harper's Conservative Party has been a particularly vocal...

am tired of hearing the endless rhetoric about Canada's purchase of the F-35, so let's talk straight. John Lameck's recent letter, "Single engine, single-minded," attempts to disparage Canada's choice of the F-35 with some criticisms that are patently false. He seems to suggest that Russian radars "see" in the millimetric range, enabling them to discern the size of aircraft. In fact, I believe the radars to which he is referring actually "operate" in the millimetric band of the radio frequency spectrum; their ability to discern the size of an object is more a consequence of the radar's design than its...

Two years of unwavering Conservative support for the F-35 took a major hit Tuesday as Associate Defence Minister Julian Fantino said the government has not ruled out walking away from the troubled stealth fighter program. Fantino also revealed a team of defence department officials have been considering “all kinds of contingencies” should the F-35 not be ready to replace Canada’s aging fleet of CF-18s and acknowledged the government does not know how much each F-35 will cost. The revelations led opposition parties to question why the sudden about-face after the Conservatives fought an election, in part, on purchasing the F-35...

Analysis: F-35 jet a bargain $65M? By Terry Milewski, CBC News Posted: Oct 3, 2011 9:31 PM ET It's not every day that a defence contractor tells you you're planning to pay way too much for their latest hi-tech gizmo. But don't say it can't happen. When buyers are drowning in debt and sticker shock sets in, it's only natural for sellers to announce that they've got a great deal, just for you. Still, who knew we could snag 65 state-of-the-art F-35s fighter jets for just $65 million a pop? If that sounds like a lot, you obviously don't spend...

Canada F-35 cost estimate soars 66%: report By Stephen Trimble Canada's planned fleet of 65 F-35As will be at least 66% more expensive to buy and operate over a 30-year lifespan than government officials predicted, according to an independent cost analysis. The report issued by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) on 10 March predicts the Lockheed Martin F-35A will cost Canadian taxpayers US$29.3 billion over 30 years, compared to the $17.3 billion estimate published in October by the Department of National Defence (DND). Canada's opposition Liberal Party has seized on the F-35 as a key political issue ever since Conservative...

As a former military pilot, a present airline pilot, and (if so honoured), a future Conservative member of Parliament for Guelph, I feel obliged to respond to Geoffrey Stevens’ recent column on the F-35. Stevens seems concerned the F-35 has only one engine-like the 1950’s vintage CF-104 Starfighter he calls the “widowmaker.” I ask, what is more reliable — a ’55 Chevy or a 2011 Honda? It’s been 60 years since the CF-104. There have been enormous technological advances over that period, and the aviation world has made huge advancements in technology and reliability. Aero engines today are designed better,...

The Canadian military is denying a media report that there are flaws in the F-35 stealth fighter jets the Conservative government has agreed to spend billions to purchase. A F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is seen in the hangar prior to an announcement by Defence Minister Peter MacKay in Ottawa in October. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)A published report in Monday's Ottawa Citizen quotes unnamed sources as saying the F-35s cannot be refuelled mid-air with existing air force equipment and can't land on short runways in Canada's North without costly changes. Department of National Defence staff criss-crossed the country on Monday, pitching the...

Ottawa must carry out its proposed multibillion dollar purchase of American-made F-35 fighter jets or it could risk causing problems in Canadian air force down the road, the defence minister says. Peter MacKay, speaking at a press conference in Ottawa alongside U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, reiterated that buying 65 of the fifth-generation jets will help the Canadian military deal with "unforeseen threats" in future. But scrapping the $16 billion purchase could cause an "operation gap" when the military's current fleet of fighter jets are retired later this decade, if an adequate replacement can't be found in time. The...

Canada’s top soldier is defending a multibillion-dollar deal to buy U.S.-made fighter jets even as the Liberals zero in on the issue as Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s potential Achilles’ heel in the next campaign. “From my perspective, the F-35 is the best aircraft with the best value for Canada,” General Walter Natynczyk said in a visit to the Globe and Mail editorial board on Friday. Canada released on Friday question the value of the contract to buy the jets. Gen. Natynczyk, the Chief of Defence Staff, argued that the state-of-the-art jet fighters are the best deal on the market, given...

A Canadian Forces pilot who huddled for two hours in the cold and dark after he ejected from his CF-18 fighter jet wasn't seriously hurt when rescue crews found him at the crash site in northern Alberta. The Rescue Co-Ordination Centre at CFB Trenton, Ont., says a CF-18 fighter jet crashed overnight in Cold Lake, Alta. The jet is similiar to this one that Capt. Tim "Donor" Woods pilots during a practice and preview day for the Winds and Wheels show in St. Thomas, Ontario on Friday, June 19, 2009. Capt. Darren Blakie was on the final approach to Canadian...

The federal government announced Sunday it was awarding a $274-million aircraft maintenance contract to the local subsidiary of an IT communications company. The Harris Corporation will continue to provide avionics maintenance on the CF-18 until the military replaces the craft with the controversial F-35 Lightning II fighter in 2020. The contract will allow the continuing employment of 40 local technical workers. Harris held the contract for the CF-18 previously. The deal was continued in what the government said was a competitive tenure process. The deal will continue to delegate all avionics systems maintenance to the company, which in turn operates...

The Canadian government is expected to announce on Friday that it will buy 65 F-35 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin. The announcement of a multibillion-dollar commitment by a foreign government would be a big boost for the jet program, which has been plagued with delays and substantial price increases. It is also being made without bids from other manufacturers. But long before any announcement was imminent, the purchase became politically controversial in Canada. On Thursday, the Liberal Party said that it would oppose the purchase. An alliance of opposition parties could stall or block the deal. “I’m not suggesting that...

The Canadian government formally committed today to buy 65 Lockheed Martin F-35s six years ahead of first delivery in order to qualify national industry to bid for more work in the multi-national programme. Since the first aircraft will arrive in 2016, the commitment by Ottawa does not need to be sealed by a contract until at least 2013. By then, Lockheed expects the F-35 to be approaching peak production rates, with one aircraft delivered every working day. Canadian officials have valued the cost of the acquisition at C$9 billion ($8.5 billion), or about C$138 million per aircraft, including engines, weapons...

Ottawa's plan to buy 65 U.S.-built F-35 fighter planes is expected to benefit nearly 100 Canadian companies and support thousands of technology jobs. Nine countries, including Canada, funded development of the plane, called the Lightning II, or the Joint Strike Fighter. Toronto-based Magellan Aerospace said Friday that Canada's participation in the aircraft's development has provided a series of "crucial stepping stones to securing greater roles in the current production and upcoming support phases." The Toronto-based company designs and makes engines and structural parts. "This application of new technologies and precision manufacturing processes will transform Magellan Aerospace and other Canadian companies,...

The Boeing Company today delivered the 79th -- and final -- upgraded CF-18 Hornet aircraft to the Canadian Department of National Defence during a ceremony in Mirabel, Quebec, hosted by industry partner L-3 Communications MAS, who performed final upgrade installations. The delivery brings the nine-year, two-phased CF-18 Modernization Project to a close. Phase 1 of the project, completed in 2006, upgraded the Canadian Hornet fleet’s avionics, radar, radio and weapons capabilities. Phase 2 provided the following improvements: 1.a data link system to ensure Canadian forces are interoperable with aircraft from the United States and other allied nations 2.the Boeing Joint...

Justice is served WWII hero awarded $1.1M Toronto Sun Tue, July 25, 2006 By PETER WORTHINGTON An injustice committed 45 years ago to a wartime air force hero was finally corrected on Friday. Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor phoned highly decorated World War II bomber pilot Cliff Wenzel of Brampton and told him $1,136,000 was to be awarded to him, to atone for denying him a reduced pension in 1961 because it was "not in the public interest." For 40 years Wenzel's appeals were ignored or overruled, until retired Col. Michel Drapeau, now a lawyer with the Ottawa law firm...

RCAF crash seared into collective memory of BeetleyRandy Boswell CanWest News Service November 01, 2005 The generation that lived through the Second World War in Beetley, England, always intended to pay tribute to the crew of a Canadian aircraft that crashed on the edge of the village in November, 1942. Six decades on, with their own time for remembering running out, the community elders unveiled a memorial at a local church this fall, giving thanks, as they put it, to the brave RCAF airmen who were sacrificed so the people of Beetley -- and all of Britain -- could live...

CF-18 fighter jet crashes in northern Quebec, pilot believed to have ejected SAGUENAY, Que. (CP) - A CF-18 fighter plane crashed Tuesday but the pilot is believed to have ejected, the all-news channel LCN reported. A search was underway to find the pilot from CFB Bagotville in the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region, about 250 kilometres north of Quebec City. The pilot was reported to be safe, LCN said. The cause of the crash isn't yet known and weather conditions were believed to be good at the time, LCN said. The pilot was flying about 120 kilometres north of the base.

A Day in the Life of MAPLE FLAG XXXVII: A Look Back at the Inner Workings of a Coalition Air Combat Exercise By Lt Sonia Dumouchel-Connock March 8, 2005 As excitement builds for the upcoming MAPLE FLAG exercise, which will take place at 4 Wing Cold Lake 15 May - 24 June 2005, Lt Connock takes a look back at last year’s air combat exercise and explores what happens during a typical MAPLE FLAG day. 4 WING COLD LAKE - - In the early morning hours, dozens of military members wearing flight suits of different colours, patterns and styles, file...