January 30, 2018 | Local, Aerospace
Canadian firms could be in the running to repair F-35 parts - but will they succeed in such a bid?
DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN More from David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen The US government is looking for a company to conduct future depot level repair of F-35 components for the North American region. Since Canada is still part of the F-35 program, Public Services and Procurement Canada is providing details to Canadian industry. The US government wants information from the firms and whether they can do the job. Key criteria include: existing capability, ability to grow, and labour costs. “The Canadian Government, as for all F-35 Participant nations, has been asked to distribute this RFI (Request for Information), collect responses, ensure completeness, and forward to the United States Joint Program Office,” Public Services and Procurement Canada noted. “The Canadian Government is not involved in the selection process. Completed responses will be required by the Canadian Government no later than 16 March 2018.” There are approximately 400 different parts and components to repair. Work would continue until 2040. What are the chances of a Canadian firm being selected? Canada's aerospace industry has the skills to do the work. But the Canadian government hasn't committed to buying the F-35 so that could be a factor. It would be certainly controversial among F-35 users to select a Canadian firm for this role, considering the government's decision not to buy the F-35, at least at this point. However, if the US government wanted to solidify the purchase of F-35s by Canada, providing Canadian firms with this job would make it increasingly difficult to ignore the industrial benefits resulting from the F-35. http://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/canadian-firms-could-be-considered-to-repair-f-35-parts-but-will-they-succeed-in-such-a-bid