Purchase of the F-35s by Canada | A troublesome report for a modern hunter

Problems are piling up over the F-35, the $19 billion fighter Ottawa wants to order, while there is no guarantee that maintenance and training for these aircraft will continue. will perform in Quebec.

Julien Arsenault
The Press

Discovery of hundreds of failures, some deemed fatal, computer vulnerabilities and very frequent visits to the repair shop… These conclusions are not drawn from an inspection report of the dying Canadian CF-18s, but from a very critical assessment of the Pentagon on the F-35, the combat aircraft that Ottawa wants to order at a cost of 19 billion US.

These shortcomings are reflected in a version of the most recent report prepared by the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) that has not been made public. The Project on Government Oversight organization obtained this document tabled last January and posted it online recently.

“None of the information is useful to a potential adversary, but it is very embarrassing for the program, as it highlights the performance shortcomings of the aircraft,” explains to The Press Dan Grazier, a former Marine Corps member now a defense analyst with the nonprofit.

As the Trudeau government intensifies its negotiations with Lockheed Martin, manufacturer of the F-35, the expert warns: Canada is preparing to acquire 88 copies of a fighter without being certain that these planes will fulfill their promises. The American giant did not comment on the content of the document.

Canada has already spent US613 million to fund the development of the F-35 since 1997, a program marked by delays and cost overruns. The stealth aircraft, touted as the most technologically advanced, is used by the United States and other allies such as the United Kingdom, Italy and Australia. The aircraft has not yet found itself in a combat situation.

It’s not just south of the border that promises aren’t being kept. Australia, which has ordered 72 F-35s, is expected to see its fleet’s flying hours drop by 25% over the next four years, according to documents obtained by the daily The Australian.

A box of surprises

The roughly 370-page report focuses on the US fleet, which is expected to eventually number 2,500 fighters. It lists 845 “uncorrected faults”, including 6 of “category 1”, i.e. faults which can “cause death, serious injury or serious injury”. However, it is impossible to know more since the document does not go into the details.

“Engineers try to solve the problems, but while they’re doing that, you discover new ones,” says Grazier. From one year to another, the number of defects therefore does not change much. »

According to the expert, this means that Canada, like other customers of the F-35, risks receiving aircraft that will not be “fully developed” and will need a “further update”, which should come with additional costs.

After consulting the report at the request of The PressThomas Hughes, postdoctoral researcher at the Center for International and Defense Policy at Queen’s University, Kingston, also expressed concern about this aspect.

Mr. Hughes, however, prefers to see the glass half full. If the F-35 program hasn’t lived up to its promises so far, Canada should be getting “the latest iteration” of fighters. In principle, there should be fewer unpleasant surprises, he believes.

Often in the workshop

Mr. Grazier is also concerned about the “availability” of the F-35s, which “peaked in 2021,” according to the DOT&E. In the United States, this rate stood at 61% last year, below the objective of 65%, a target which was already low according to the expert.

The availability rate corresponds to the percentage of aircraft capable of carrying out missions and which are not in a maintenance centre.

DOT&E notes that the improved availability factor is partly attributable to the delivery of newer F-35s. The aging of the fleet will inevitably lead to a decline in this regard, according to the expert.

A risk of hacking?

Despite its technological superiority, the F-35 would not be immune to cyberattacks, according to the Pentagon report, which again does not go into detail.

For a device that relies heavily on interoperability, this is a “huge problem,” according to Hughes.

“The value of the F-35 lies in its ability to connect to other aircraft,” he explains. I think that [les potentielles cyberattaques sont] an incredibly difficult hurdle to overcome because it is almost impossible to know the ways of cyber hackers. It will always be a threat. »

That said, the Lockheed Martin plane is not “more at risk” than others, underlines the expert. However, this is another aspect that could prevent the F-35 from fulfilling certain promises.

Replacement of combat aircraft

Work at risk in Quebec?

It was written in black and white with Boeing and Saab, while there are many question marks with Lockheed Martin. By opting for the American manufacturer’s F-35 to replace its old CF-18s, the Trudeau government has embarked on a process that offers no guarantee that the maintenance and training for these combat aircraft will be carried out at Quebec.

In the aerospace industry, sources, who did not want to speak publicly for fear of reprimands from Ottawa, say they are surprised by the opacity of the negotiations aimed at finalizing the purchase of 88 fighters at a cost of 19 billion US. Many deplore the absence of clear prior commitments before initiating dialogue.

Lockheed Martin will have to show that the F-35 will generate benefits equivalent to the value of the contract. Who will be the privileged partners of the multinational? What kind of fallout will it be? Where will the work be done? These questions are unanswered. The Trudeau government and the American giant refuse to come forward. According to the company, 110 Canadian companies have contributed to the program since its launch.

The general vice-president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) is concerned about this lack of information.

The approach with the F-35 contrasts with those adopted by Boeing and Saab, the two other companies that coveted the contract. For example, Boeing had named five preferred partners, including L3Harris and CAE, two major players in Quebec. The first would have inherited the maintenance of the devices and the second was the candidate for everything that revolved around training. Saab promised a Quebec Gripen maintenance center. The Swedish also relied on CAE for training.

Although it has contributed financially to the F-35 since 1997, Canada took decades to confirm its orders. This could work against the country in terms of industrial benefits since the American company has already set up its team of partners – including Héroux-Devtek.

Unknown commitments

More than 800 people work at L3Harris in Mirabel, where Canadian Armed Forces CF-18s and other aircraft are serviced. The company hopes to convince Lockheed Martin, but there is no certainty that the new fighter jets will land there, recognizes its general manager, Ugo Paniconi.

“I can’t use the word ‘guarantee’,” he explains. The agreement with Boeing was better defined. With Lockheed Martin, we already have business ties [pour l’entretien des hélicoptères Sikorsky] and we will have the opportunity to show what we can do. »

Despite the uncertainty, Paniconi is optimistic. Strong demands from the federal government would help, he concedes. However, the loss of a major contract could have consequences for L3Harris, even though it has many clients and its activities are diversified.

To carry out heavy maintenance – replacement of parts, engine maintenance, etc. – of the F-35, Lockheed Martin has set up a network with branches operated by local companies in North America, Europe and Asia. The multinational wouldn’t say if the footprint will expand in Canada.

CAE also does not know if it will be part of the F-35 adventure. The Quebec multinational is categorical: Canada would send a strange signal if it did not demand that a local champion be retained to train the pilots of the next fighters.

Employees of the multinational oversee the CF-18 simulators installed at the bases in Bagotville and Cold Lake (Alberta) and some 185 of its workers work with L3Harris in Mirabel to maintain current combat aircraft.

Difficult sharing?

Presented as the most technologically advanced stealth aircraft, the F-35 is a more complex device to maintain compared to Gripen or other versions of Boeing’s F-18, underlines Richard Aboulafia, general manager of the firm AeroDynamics Advisory . It could therefore be more difficult to entrust maintenance contracts to subcontractors.

“It’s different from an older, more mechanical jet,” said the American analyst. It is not as simple as awarding the contract to a supplier. »

Dan Grazier, a former member of the Marine Corps now a defense analyst with the US non-profit organization Project on Government Oversight, adds that Lockheed Martin is not always open to sharing its expertise.

“The company has all the intellectual property rights for the technical data,” he says. She is the only one who knows how to do much of the work on the F-35. It’s a big problem. »

At the IAMAW, Mr. Chartrand is also aware of this problem. This worries the union leader, who fears that there will only be crumbs left on the maintenance side if Lockheed Martin refuses to release this data.