January 31, 2019 | Local, Aerospace

Plan to buy more fighter jets puts Canada on hook for bigger share of F-35 costs

Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press

OTTAWA -- Canada is being forced to shoulder a bigger share of the costs of developing F-35 fighter jets even though it has not decided whether it will actually buy any.

Canada is one of nine partner countries in the F-35 project, each of which is required to cover a portion of the stealth fighter's multibillion-dollar development costs to stay at the table.

Each country pays based on the number of F-35s it's expecting to buy. Canada has pitched in more than half-a-billion dollars over the last 20 years, including $54 million last year.

But that amount was based on the Stephen Harper government's plan to buy 65 new fighter jets to replace Canada's aging CF-18s, which the Trudeau government has since officially increased to 88.

Even though Canada has not committed that those 88 jets will be F-35s, the Department of National Defence says that change means it will have to pay more to remain a partner -- including about $72 million this year.

"Canada's costs under the F-35 (partnership agreement) are based on an intended fleet size," Defence Department spokeswoman Ashley Lemire said in an email.

"Canada changed its fleet size within the F-35 (agreement) from 65 to 88 aircraft to align with government decisions on the size of the intended permanent fighter fleet to be acquired through competition and the payment increased accordingly."

As each partner contribution is determined annually, based on the overall cost of the F-35 development program for that specific year, Lemire said she could not provide details how much more Canada will have to pay.

The F-35's development costs have been a constant source of criticism over the life of the stealth-fighter program, which Canada first joined under the Chretien government in 1997. The entire program is believed to have already cost more than US$1 trillion.

The Trudeau government says it plans to keep Canada in the F-35 development effort until a replacement for the CF-18s is chosen -- partners in the development work can buy the planes at a lower price and compete for work associated with their production and long-term maintenance.

Canadian companies have so far won more than $1.2 billion in contracts related to the F-35, according to the government.

The F-35 is one of four planes slated to participate in the $19-billion competition that the government plans to launch this spring, the others being Boeing's Super Hornet, Eurofighter's Typhoon and Saab's Gripen.

The competition isn't scheduled to select a winner until 2021 or 2022, meaning Canada will be on the hook for several more payments. The first new aircraft is expected in 2025 and the last in 2031, when the CF-18s will be phased out.

F-35 maker Lockheed Martin says more than 350 of the stealth fighters have been delivered to different countries, while Israel became the first country to use the plane in combat last year when two of the jets struck targets in neighbouring Syria.

Acting U.S. defence secretary Patrick Shanahan, a former Boeing executive, nonetheless criticized the program on Monday, saying it "has room for a lot more performance."

"I am biased toward performance," he was quoted as saying when asked if he is biased toward Boeing. "I am biased toward giving the taxpayer their money's worth. And the F-35, unequivocally, I can say, has a lot of opportunity for more performance."

https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/plan-to-buy-more-fighter-jets-puts-canada-on-hook-for-bigger-share-of-f-35-costs-1.4275372

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November 3, 2020 | Local, Aerospace

L3Harris Technologies awarded contract for 3 Canadian special mission aircraft
Posted on November 3, 2020; L3Harris Technologies Press Release L3Harris Technologies has been awarded a firm-fixed price contract to missionize three new King Air 350ER aircraft for the Canadian manned airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (CMAISR) project. The aircraft will be delivered to the Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) as a Foreign Military sale managed by the U.S. Army, Program Executive Office (PEO) Aviation, Fixed-Wing Project Office. The CMAISR project will provide the DND with a rapidly deployable, airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability for its deployed operations, ensuring an innovative, flexible and interoperable force. The aircraft will feature a suite of L3Harris systems, including full-motion video sensors, a mission management system and communication datalinks. The capability upgrades offer increased threat indications and warning, as well as high-accuracy target detection and location. “Our L3Harris team is ready to combine our ISR, missionization and modification solutions to deliver a system that will enhance the capabilities and security of Canada and its allies,” said Sean Stackley, president, integrated mission systems, L3Harris. “L3Harris has the distinction of successfully delivering more certified, special mission King Airs on-time and on-budget than any other contractor in the world, and we look forward to maintaining that tradition.” Modification will include sensors integration, secure communications and navigation systems, as well as pilot, operator and maintenance training. L3Harris will complete the modifications at its facility in Greenville, Tx., supported by the company's facility in Mirabel, Que., Canada. The contract was awarded via the Other Transaction Authority competitive procurement process https://www.skiesmag.com/press-releases/l3harris-technologies-awarded-contract-for-3-canadian-special-mission-aircraft
October 10, 2018 | Local, Aerospace

Ex-Quebec premier Jean Charest to pilot aerospace industry relaunch plan
Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press MONTREAL -- Canada's aerospace industry has appointed former Quebec premier Jean Charest to chart a new course for the sector. The Aerospace Industries Association of Canada is putting Charest in the cockpit to coax funding commitments and a long-term plan from the federal government amid fears the country's star is fading. "The industry has come to the conclusion that we sort of need a reset in terms of what the future of the industry is in Canada," Charest said in a phone interview from Paris. "There is a sense that we're in a world where there's much more competition. And it's not that we're doing badly, but the world is really moving fast." Charest, a former federal minister who served as premier of Quebec from 2003 to 2012, highlighted government's "very critical role" in funding, research and training for civil and defence aviation. "The Trump administration has decided to create a new division for space," he noted, referring to a newly announced military branch the U.S. president has dubbed Space Force. "We can't stand still," Charest said. Jim Quick, president of the aerospace industry group, said Canada is "not keeping up" with the sector growth and innovation of countries such as France, Germany and the United States, which have long-term strategies in place. Britain is targeting 10 per cent of the global space market within 12 years, he pointed out. Luxembourg aims to dig into space mining such as harvesting asteroid's for rare and precious metals. Quick said the new initiative, called Vision 2025, will push Ottawa to include a long-term space plan in its budget next year, alongside a commitment to help provide advanced robotics for the Lunar Gateway -- described as a third-generation Canadarm. Charest, a partner at the McCarthy Tetrault law firm, will lead discussions with government and industry officials in several cities, including Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Halifax, culminating in a report on aerospace priorities. Aerospace leads Canada's manufacturing sector in innovation-related investment, spending over $1.8 billion on research and development in 2017 -- nearly one-quarter of total manufacturing research expenditures, according to the association. Nonetheless, Ottawa's investments in space as a percentage of GDP have dropped to 18th globally from eighth place in 1992, according to the association. The sector's manufacturing employment has fallen by five per cent since 2012. Canada hosts the world's fifth-largest aerospace industry, contributing nearly $25 billion to Canada's economy and almost 190,000 jobs in 2017, the association said. https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/ex-quebec-premier-jean-charest-to-pilot-aerospace-industry-relaunch-plan-1.4127569
September 12, 2023 | Local, Security

ANALYSIS | Canada needs to ditch the complacency and get serious about national security, experts say | CBC News
For decades, national security has been an afterthought for federal governments of all stripes. The problem, say the experts, is that Canadians themselves tend not to take their security seriously — and as a result, neither do the people they elect.

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