Close X
Sunday, November 24, 2024
ADVT 
National

Lifetime cost of Canada's F-35 fighter jets is $73.9B: parliamentary budget officer

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 02 Nov, 2023 01:30 PM
  • Lifetime cost of Canada's F-35 fighter jets is $73.9B: parliamentary budget officer

Canada will pay an estimated $73.9 billion to buy, fly and maintain its new fleet of F-35 fighter jets, the parliamentary budget officer said Thursday.

Yves Giroux said his independent analysis of the procurement project is "broadly in line" with the government's own estimates from January, which said the cost would be around $70 billion.

The acquisition phase will cost an estimated $19.8 billion, Giroux's report said, including $10.7 billion for 88 planes, $2.1 billion for weapons and ammunition and $5.9 billion for such things as design and depot costs, infrastructure and training.

In January, the federal government announced a deal with Lockheed Martin and the U.S. government to buy the jets at a cost of about US$85 million each. 

Then-defence minister Anita Anand said at the time that the acquisition cost was $19 billion, and the lifetime cost of the deal would be about $70 billion.

The new aircraft are to replace the Royal Canadian Air Force's aging CF-18s, with the first four planes expected to be delivered in 2026 and the final 18 delivered in 2032. 

The government has had to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on the CF-18 fleet to keep it flying until then. By 2032, the CF-18s will have been around for 50 years.

It is expected the F-35s will be in service for 30 years at a cost of $53.8 billion, the budget officer's report said. 

Giroux warned that a one-year delay in the program would add about $400 million in acquisition phase costs, and a three-year delay would add up to $1.1 billion.

The report did not include the $500 million that has already been spent by the federal government between 2010 and 2022 as part of the U.S.-led multilateral initiative known as the joint strike fighter program. 

The Conservative government first committed to buying 65 F-35s without a competition in 2010, but concerns about the cost and capabilities forced it to reconsider.

Then in 2015, the Liberals promised to instead launch an open competition to replace the CF-18s and not to buy the F-35 at all. 

The government planned to buy 18 Super Hornets without a competition as an "interim" measure, but cancelled the plan after Boeing launched a trade dispute with Montreal aerospace firm Bombardier. 

Ottawa initiated an open bidding process for the new fleet in July 2019.

 

MORE National ARTICLES

Victoria police looking for suspects in possible arson

Victoria police looking for suspects in possible arson
Police in Victoria say they're looking for two women who may have seen the suspect or suspects in a possible arson over the weekend. They say officers responded Saturday evening to reports of two fires inside a retail store, where staff used fire extinguishers to douse the initial flames.

Victoria police looking for suspects in possible arson

Man rams SUV into police cruiser

Man rams SUV into police cruiser
B-C's police watchdog has found a man who rammed his S-U-V into a police cruiser outside a Vancouver Island R-C-M-P detachment last spring was not seriously injured when he was hit by a single police bullet. One officer was also injured in the incident last May.

Man rams SUV into police cruiser

Champagne to announce initial commitments from grocers to stabilize prices today

Champagne to announce initial commitments from grocers to stabilize prices today
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne says he is ready to announce the initial commitments he has secured from grocers to stabilize food prices. The Liberal government called on Canada's major grocers last month to present a plan to stabilize prices by Thanksgiving, or face consequences.  

Champagne to announce initial commitments from grocers to stabilize prices today

Competition intensity has decreased over last two decades, Competition Bureau finds

Competition intensity has decreased over last two decades, Competition Bureau finds
Competition Bureau commissioner Matthew Boswell says new research from the bureau finds the competition intensity in the country has decreased over the last two decades. Boswell shared the initial findings of a new report during a speech he delivered Thursday at the Competition Summit, a conference hosted by the bureau.

Competition intensity has decreased over last two decades, Competition Bureau finds

Trudeau says he never suggested those worried about 'parental rights' are hateful

Trudeau says he never suggested those worried about 'parental rights' are hateful
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday he never suggested that individuals concerned about their rights as parents were hateful when he issued a statement in response to the thousands who attended recent protests about "gender ideology" in schools.  

Trudeau says he never suggested those worried about 'parental rights' are hateful

Drug seizure at Surrey border: CBSA

Drug seizure at Surrey border: CBSA
Mounties in B-C are recommending numerous charges against an Edmonton man after a drug seizure at a Canadian border crossing in Surrey. The Canada Border Services Agency says the driver was arrested and officers seized roughly 65 kilograms of cocaine at the crossing last July after a detector dog raised the alarm during a commercial truck examination.

Drug seizure at Surrey border: CBSA