(Ottawa) The saga surrounding the replacement of the aging CF-18 fleet is coming to an end. The Trudeau government announces that it will shortly begin final negotiations aimed at purchasing 88 F-35 stealth fighter jets from the American company Lockheed Martin.
Posted at 11:35 a.m.
Updated at 2:27 p.m.
If negotiations are successful, Canada should receive the first aircraft in 2025, Public Services and Procurement Minister Filomena Tassi announced on Monday. Ottawa has set aside $19 billion for this contract, the largest in 30 years for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).
In the 2015 federal election, Justin Trudeau’s Liberals promised never to buy these devices that Stephen Harper’s former Conservative government had in its sights. At the time, Canada was planning to purchase 65 stealth aircraft.
At a press conference, Minister Tassi affirmed that the objective of the Trudeau government was to ensure that this contract is awarded to the company that would offer the best proposal at the best cost and offering maximum economic benefits for the country.
She dismissed out of hand the idea that the contract was delayed for electoral reasons, even if the Trudeau government’s approach risks leading to the same choice as the former Conservative government had made.
“In 2016, we wanted conversations to happen so that all bidders could provide their best proposal. We are delighted to be able to announce that we are moving to the finalization stage. This is not the last step. There is the stage of signing contracts, but it is an important stage,” said Minister Tassi.
PHOTO SEAN KILPATRICK, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Filomena Tassi
“We made no compromises at any stage because the process was extremely important. We wanted to have the most competitive proposals with the best costs and the best benefits for Canadians,” she also said.
Also present at the press conference, Defense Minister Anita Anand maintained that the war in Ukraine did not influence the Trudeau government’s decision to immediately launch negotiations with Lockheed Martin.
“We must ensure that our next fleet of fighter jets is flexible, agile, and able to respond to a wide range of threats. At each stage, bidders had to prove that their aircraft design could meet Canada’s unique requirements, including the ability to operate in the north,” said Minister Anand.
“A new fleet of state-of-the-art fighter jets is essential for Canada’s security, sovereignty and ability to defend itself. This new fleet will ensure our ability to protect Canadian space, meet our commitments to our NATO allies and deal with unforeseen threats,” she also insisted.
Lockheed Martin welcomed the Trudeau government’s decision. “We are honored that the Government of Canada has selected the F-35 to proceed to the finalization phase, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with Canadian industry to deliver and sustain the F-35,” the company said. on Twitter.
Stephen Harper’s Conservative government pledged in 2010 to buy 65 F-35 aircraft, without competitive bidding, but concerns over the stealth fighter’s cost and capabilities ultimately pushed it back to square one .
The Liberals promised in 2015 not to buy the F-35s and to issue a tender. They then planned to purchase 18 Super Hornets from Boeing without tender as a “stop-gap” measure, pending the new fleet.
Some at the time questioned that plan, suggesting the Liberals were trying to find a way to tie Canada’s hands with Boeing without exposing themselves to a legal challenge from Lockheed Martin or another manufacturer.
But the government canceled that plan when Boeing sparked a trade dispute with Bombardier over the C-Series. Ottawa finally launched the current bidding process in July 2019, when the Super Hornet and F-35 were cleared to participate in the bidding.
Meanwhile, the government has been forced to invest hundreds of millions of additional dollars to maintain the CF-18 fleet, which will be 50 years old in ten years.
Since the official launch of the tender, the F-35 has been considered the favorite.
Canada has already contributed $613 million to the development of the F-35 since 1997, with another installment of several million dollars due in the coming weeks. And this stealth fighter is already in use by the United States and many other allies.
Many observers saw the Boeing Super Hornet and the F-35 as the only real competitors, due to Canada’s close relationship with the United States, which includes the joint use of fighter jets to defend airspace on a daily basis. North American, within NORAD.
These perceptions were only amplified after two other European companies pulled out of the race before it even started, complaining that the Canadian government’s demands favored their American competitors.
With the Canadian Press