The contracts have not been signed yet, and Procurement Minister Filomena Tassi warned on Monday that there was no guarantee that Lockheed Martin would be the one to sign the contract, which is expected later this year.
Read more: Ottawa enters final talks on supply of Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets: Minister
However, the US Air Force is now in final talks with the government – which means that if those talks do not collapse, the Royal Canadian Air Force is more likely to fly F-35s in the near future. Although the process of selecting a new fighter jet has been lengthy, questions remain about what brings the F-35 to the table, how it compares to current Canadian fighters, and what the selection shows about the role the Canadian Forces will play in multilateral companies are moving forward. The story goes on under the ad Here’s what you need to know.
What is an F-35 fighter jet?
The F-35 fighter jet is the product of what is known as the Joint Strike Fighter run by Lockheed Martin, an American aerospace company, in collaboration with the US government. The program is an initiative of the US Department of Defense to build and replace fighter jets used in both the US military and those in allied countries working closely with the US Through the program, Canada and seven other allies have contributed to the development of the F-35 fighter jet, with all participants paying hundreds of millions of dollars in the program since the 1990s. For Canada, these contributions began in 1997, when former Liberal Prime Minister Jean Cretien signed the country into the Development Plan. The story goes on under the ad Given the $ 613 million already paid into the program since 1997 – which gives Canadian companies the opportunity to bid on related work contracts – the question of whether to continue is politically charged, even when cost forecasts increased.
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The former Conservative government claimed in 2010 that the purchase of 64 F-35s would cost $ 9 billion. However, a report by the auditor general shortly afterwards stated that these costs did not cover the money needed to keep the fleet operational throughout its life cycle. Considering all these costs, the auditor said the cost was actually closer to $ 44 billion. Cost overruns along with mechanical problems have put the Joint Strike Fighter program under tight control over the past decade. These problems led the New York Times to a 2019 poll that described the program’s reputation as “dysfunctional,” even when it noted that these bad fortunes seemed to be reversed. Dave Perry, vice president of the Canadian Institute of Global Affairs, testified before the House of Commons about the jet supply on Tuesday and was asked about the program’s history of mechanical problems. He said many of the problems that initially plagued the program have now been resolved as the jet runs through upgrades that improve the huge amount of technology on board. The story goes on under the ad “With many of these planes, they are in constant upgrades because they are actually flying supercomputers,” he told the commission. “At the moment, there are more of these issues that have been resolved and have been resolved than 12 years ago.” In all this, much of the argument put forward for the supply of the jet focused on one word: Stealth. A member of the ground crew of the F-35A Lightning II fighter demonstration team is working on a jet after arriving at the airport on September 4, 2019 in Ottawa. The jet is part of a demonstration team in the city for a weekend air show. THE CANADIAN PRESS / Adrian Wyld. THE CANADIAN PRESS / Adrian Wyld
What is a stealth fighter jet?
Lockheed Martin describes the F-35 as the “most advanced” jet on the market, providing “unprecedented state awareness” with the ability to operate in five different types of sectors: air, land, sea, space or cyberspace. Trending Stories
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The story goes on under the ad Some models of the jet can be taken off by aircraft carriers for use in naval operations, although this is not the model Canada is looking forward to. The jet is also equipped with electronic warfare technology that Lockheed Martin said was designed to “detect / monitor enemy forces, block radar and stop attacks.” This electronic warfare technology, the technical details of which are minimal in public, has been described as central to the company’s move that the F-35 is the most “surviving” fighter aircraft available as warfare shifts more and more into cyberspace. Being able to do this, while ensuring that electromagnetic signatures and jet radar signatures are not fancy on enemies, is completely different from the emphasis on stealth. In summary, stealth refers to the jet’s ability to evade detection. The company says this gives pilots an advantage and increases their chances of surviving when operating in disputed areas. “The F-35’s aligned edges, reduced engine signature, internal arms and fuel transfer and built-in sensors all contribute to its unique stealth performance,” says Lockheed Martin, describing the jet’s capabilities as “incomparable”. It is important to understand, however, that “stealth” does not mean “invisible”, said one expert. “I think when people listen to stealth, they think like Batman Returns,” said Jeff Collins, a fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute and a defense policy expert. The story goes on under the ad “It’s not what it means. “It means reducing the radar signature and that has to do with the design of the aircraft and the coating that has been placed.” He pointed to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the subsequent highly effective targeting of Russian fighter jets by Ukrainians as a clear example of what can happen without stealth capabilities. “They are essentially being launched from the sky by Stinger missiles and by the Ukrainian Air Force,” Collins explained. “Thus, the aircraft’s ability to minimize radar signature is certainly critical when flying over a hot zone where it is not just about fighter jets from the opposing side, but actually ground-based anti-aircraft systems.”
How well does the F-35 really work?
Over the years, questions have been raised about whether the single-engine used by both the F-35 and the Saab Gripen, Canada’s second-ranked jet, increases the risk of catastrophic crashes without the safety of a second engine. . The story goes on under the ad Both the F-35 and the Gripen use one engine compared to the two CF-18 Boeing Hornets engines flown by Canada. The country’s remote terrain, especially in the Arctic, and the challenges to rapid search and rescue operations mean that the dangers of a single-engine aircraft are increasing for Canadian pilots, according to a 2014 report entitled One Dead Pilot by defense policy expert Michael Byers. Perry said other Arctic allies, including Denmark and Finland, as well as the United States in Alaska, are successfully using the F-35 in harsh conditions. “We will definitely not be alone in this,” he said. An F-35A Lightning II fighter is training for an air show in Ottawa on September 6, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS / Adrian Wyld. THE CANADIAN PRESS / Adrian Wyld
How is Canada likely to use the F-35?
Germany, long compared to Canada for its historic backlog of defense spending, just two weeks ago pledged to order F-35 aircraft “for nuclear exchange missions” in the wake of a resumption of its defense policy. the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The story goes on under the ad Nuclear sharing refers to NATO policy that allows certain members of the alliance to carry and carry US nuclear weapons located in Europe in the event that those weapons need to be developed. According to a December 2021 U.S. government bulletin on the nuclear exchange program, only a few fighter jets are certified to participate: the F-15E, several F-16 models, the B-21 (which remains under development) and the F-35.
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Fears of a nuclear attack have grown as Russian President Vladimir Putin has twice now raised the specter of a nuclear war in response to the West’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. And while the process of replacing the jet began long before the invasion of Ukraine, experts say the framework matters because of the Canadian government’s requirement that any fighter aircraft purchased be able to operate on both NORAD and NATO missions. The decision leaves Collins “optimistic” that the decision to start final talks on the F-35 signals the government’s recognition that “the equipment market matters for foreign policy”. “Kicking the box on the street in …
