Back to news

September 25, 2019 | Local, Aerospace

Will other firms withdraw from fighter jet competition leaving F-35 last plane standing?

By DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN

Shortly before he retired, Pat Finn, the Department of National Defence's procurement chief, told this newspaper there was always a risk that some companies would drop out of the future fighter jet competition but that extra efforts had been made to ensure the process was fair. “We're not getting all kinds of signals that (companies are) losing interest” in bidding, Finn said in an interview July 23.

On Aug. 30, the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence and Airbus Defence and Space informed the Canadian government of their decision to withdraw from Canada's future fighter competition. Airbus had been offering Canada the Eurofighter.

At the time the Canadian Press news service reported the Eurofighter withdrawal was a surprise.

It wasn't.

For the last nine months the various competing firms, Boeing, Airbus and Saab have been sounding the alarm about how the fighter jet process is structured and their worry that it is stacked in favour of the Lockheed Martin F-35. The RCAF, which originally selected the F-35 as the CF-18 replacement before that selection was put on hold by the previous Conservative government because of cost and technical issues, came up with the new requirements. Industry representatives say these requirements highlight the strengths of the F-35 such as stealth and a first strike capability.

The primary role of the new fighter jets is to protect North America, or so government officials have said. Lockheed Martin's industry rivals question how stealth and a first strike capability fit into that role.

Representatives from Lockheed Martin's competitors have also made overtures to federal officials about their concerns about the procurement process but say they received little response.

In early July Reuters news service reported that both Airbus and Boeing were considering dropping out. Airbus followed through on its concerns and as noted decided it wasn't worth competing because of how the process was designed.

Last year the European firm Dassault informed the Canadian government it would not be competing in the competition. It had been planning to offer Canada the Rafale fighter jet.

There were two key changes in the $19 billion procurement that caused Airbus to leave. One was the decision to change the industrial benefits needed for the program. Airbus was willing to outline and guarantee specific industrial benefits for Canada. That was the way previous defence procurements had worked.

But that has been changed because of concerns the U.S. government raised for Lockheed Martin.

U.S. officials had warned that the F-35 development agreement Canada signed years ago prohibits partners from imposing requirements for industrial benefits. Although Canada is a partner in the development of the aircraft that does not stipulate it is required to buy the F-35. But under the F-35 agreement, partner nations such as Canada are prohibited from demanding domestic companies receive specific work on the fighter jet. Instead, Canadian firms compete and if they are good enough they receive contracts. Over the last 12 years, Canadian firms have earned more than $1.3 billion in contracts to build F-35 parts. But there are no guarantees.

The other problem that Airbus and Rafale faced was linked to the requirement that bidders need to show how their aircraft will integrate into the U.S.-Canada system to defend North America. Airbus would have been required to show how it planned to integrate the Eurofighter Typhoon into the U.S.-Canadian system without knowing the system's full technical details, the Canadian Press news service pointed out.

Saab, which is offering Canada the Gripen fighter, could be facing the same problem.

Boeing, which is considering offering the Super Hornet, would not have such a problem as its aircraft is being flown by the U.S. military.

It is still unclear, however, whether Boeing or Saab will even continue in the competition.

Bids must be submitted by the spring of 2020 but there is a growing sense among the defence industry that the F-35 will ultimately be selected as the new aircraft for the RCAF.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/will-other-firms-withdraw-from-fighter-jet-competition-leaving-f-35-last-plane-standing

On the same subject

  • Ottawa changes requirements for new fighter jets to help European firms to qualify

    October 31, 2018 | Local, Aerospace

    Ottawa changes requirements for new fighter jets to help European firms to qualify

    DANIEL LEBLANC Canada has modified the mandatory specifications for its next fleet of fighter jets to make it easier for European manufacturers to qualify for the $26-billion contract and foster more competition among five qualified bidders, federal officials said. Under the previous Conservative government, the requirements for the fighter jets could be met only by the Lockheed-Martin F-35 fighter jet, a stealth aircraft developed by an international coalition of countries including the United States, Britain and Canada. To allow for a competition, the current Liberal government asked National Defence to revise the requirements to allow more companies to qualify for the contract. In a briefing this week, federal officials said the government will give bidders additional leeway to meet the requirements, including those related to Canada's obligations with the United States as part of the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD). In particular, the requirements for secure communications between Canadian and American aircraft and other military assets were modified to give all potential bidders additional time to meet them. The changes are especially useful to European bidders (Dassault Aviation of France, Sweden's SAAB Aeronautics and British-based Airbus Defence), given that U.S.-based Lockheed-Martin and Boeing already play key roles in the U.S. military. “We obviously have NATO and NORAD commitments, with NORAD probably being the bigger one, which means we have significant security requirements that are Canada-U.S.,” said Pat Finn, the assistant deputy minister in charge of procurement at National Defence. When federal officials will analyze the various bids, he said, they will not automatically disqualify an aircraft that is unable to immediately meet the security requirements. “We can't have an aircraft that doesn't meet it, but what we've done is we've created the test in a different way ... If your proposal, your aircraft, cannot meet [a requirement] today, we are not saying automatically that you're out; but you have to tell us what is your solution to meet it, at what price and what schedule,” he said on Monday. The federal government said on Monday it was giving six weeks to interested bidders to provide comment on the draft request for proposals (RFP), which lays out all federal requirements for the fighter jets. The formal RFP is scheduled to be released in May, which will mark the launch of the official competition. One expert said American companies still have an advantage over their European rivals. “Whatever aircraft we obtain has to be fully, seamlessly interoperable at the highest levels with the American Air Force and the rest of the U.S. defence establishment, which is going to be tougher for Europeans to do than it would be for the Americans,” said Dave Perry, vice-president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. “There's way to do that, but it would also imply additional cost and integration risk." Mr. Perry added he is puzzled by the federal government's assertion that Canada can remain a member of the F-35 development program, while insisting that Lockheed-Martin abide by the federal policy that calls on the winner of the competition to provide regional benefits equal to the full value of the contract. “The most economically efficient way to buy the [F-35] Joint Strike Fighter is to do so as a member of the partnership,” he said. “However, as a condition of being a member, you have to say that you won't apply offsets. I don't really know how the government is squaring those circles at all.” Conservative MP Rob Nicholson said the acquisition process for the new aircraft remains confusing more than three years after the Liberal took office. “The bottom line should be what is best for our Air Force and get on with it,” he said. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-ottawa-changes-requirements-for-new-fighter-jets-to-help-european/

  • Vice Admiral McDonald to take over as defence chief on Jan. 14

    January 8, 2021 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security, Other Defence

    Vice Admiral McDonald to take over as defence chief on Jan. 14

    Vice Admiral Art McDonald will take over as the Chief of the Defence Staff next Thursday. He will be promoted to full admiral for his new position. McDonald replaces Gen. Jon Vance who has been CDS since July 2015. Vance announced last year that he was retiring. McDonald is currently the commander of the Royal Canadian Navy and has served in a variety of positions, both at National Defence headquarters in Ottawa and on board various frigates. As a Capt(N), he was the maritime component commander of Canadian Joint Task Force (Haiti), leading sea-based humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations in response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. He then commanded a seven-ship combined, multi-national Task Group in the High Arctic later in 2010 during the annual Op Nanook. Later, as a rear admiral he also led the Canadian Forces' responses to fires and floods in British Columbia while commanding Joint Task Force Pacific from 2016-2018. McDonald will be replaced in his current position by Rear-Admiral Craig Baines. Baines will be promoted to vice-admiral. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/vice-admiral-mcdonald-to-take-over-as-defence-chief-on-jan-14

  • Federal government considering delaying acceptance of bids for new fighter jets

    May 6, 2020 | Local, Aerospace

    Federal government considering delaying acceptance of bids for new fighter jets

    David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen Publishing date: 21 hours ago • 3 minute read The federal government is looking at once again delaying acceptance of bids on new fighter jets. The bids were originally supposed to be submitted in May 2019 but that was pushed back to March 30 this year. That deadline, in turn, was pushed back to June 30 at the request of the aerospace industry, Public Services and Procurement Canada announced in February. But now the department is once again evaluating a request from industry to further extend that deadline for the proposals, Procurement Canada spokesman Marc-André Charbonneau confirmed in an email to this newspaper. “We remain committed to providing members of the Royal Canadian Air Force with the fighter aircraft they need to do their jobs, and ensuring the best possible value for Canadians,” he added. “This procurement is a once in a generation opportunity to support the growth of Canada's aerospace and defence industries for decades to come.” If that happens it is unclear on how the current timetable for buying the fighter jets, to replace the CF-18 aircraft, might be affected. A winning bidder was to have been chosen in 2022. The first aircraft would have been delivered by 2025, according to the government's schedule. Industry representatives say they expect the bid submissions to be pushed back at least until the end of the summer. The federal government is focused on dealing with its response to the novel coronavirus pandemic and Public Services and Procurement Canada is deeply involved in setting up procurements of protective gear and medical supplies. It has also been difficult for companies to collect and provide the necessary classified information to the federal government that is needed for the bids. Much of that has to be delivered directly to government officials and cannot be transmitted over the internet because of the sensitivity of the information. The fighter jet competition was launched on Dec. 12, 2017 and at this point three aircraft are to be considered. Those include the F-35, the Super Hornet, and the Gripen. The program is expected to cost around $19 billion and will see the purchase of 88 new jets. Information about how Canada intends to evaluate the jets is limited. But Public Services and Procurement Canada has noted that technical merit will make up the bulk of the assessment at 60 per cent. Cost and economic benefits companies can provide to Canada will each be worth 20 per cent. But Canada won't conduct a fly-off between fighter jets competing to become the country's new warplane nor conduct testing to see how such aircraft perform under cold weather conditions, Public Services and Procurement Canada confirmed earlier this year. Concerns have been raised by Lockheed Martin's rivals that the competition has been designed to favour the F-35. This newspaper reported last year the requirements for the new jets put emphasis on strategic attack and striking at ground targets during foreign missions. That criteria is seen to benefit the F-35. In addition, the federal government changed criteria on how it would assess industrial benefits after the U.S. government threatened to pull the F-35 from the competition. The Conservative government had previously selected the F-35 as the air force's new jet but backed away from that plan after concerns about the technology and growing cost. During the 2015 election campaign, Justin Trudeau vowed that his government would not purchase the F-35. But at the same time, Trudeau stated his government would hold an open competition for the fighter purchase. The Liberal government backed away from its promise to freeze out the F-35 and the aircraft is now seen as a front-runner in the competition as it has many supporters in the Royal Canadian Air Force. Many of Canada's allies plan to operate the plane. Canada is a partner in the F-35 program and has contributed funding for the aircraft's development over the years. It has already made its latest payment on that program. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/federal-government-considering-delaying-acceptance-of-bids-for-new-fighter-jets/wcm/2c331c83-e437-45d8-8d1c-9be59ccb7dc3/

All news