Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, Also known as Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) in flight.
Air force officers working on the purchase of Canada’s new fighter planes expected there would a competition this year for the multibillion-dollar deal, according to Defence Department documents obtained by the Ottawa Citizen.
The plan written by officers for the Next Generation Fighter Capability project called for a “competitive process” for both the aircraft and the long-term maintenance contract, according to a project outline developed in the summer of 2009.
That schedule planned for the competition to be run in 2010, with a contract to be awarded by 2012, according to the project documents.
Instead, the Conservative government decided to proceed without a competition and select the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter built by U.S. aerospace firm Lockheed Martin.
The high price-tag of the proposed purchase of the 65 stealth fighters and the lack of competition has become the focus of criticism by opposition MPs and others.
Defence Minister Peter MacKay told the Commons on May 27 that the government intended to hold a competition involving a number of different aircraft. But he reversed that position and, on July 16, MacKay and other cabinet ministers announced the Harper government would proceed with the purchase of the F-35.
According to MacKay, the government had to move on the F-35 purchase to avoid any gap between the arrival of a new planes and the phasing out of the current fleet of CF-18 fighter jets.
But the fighter-replacement timeline, obtained by the Ottawa Citizen through access-to-information law, suggested there would be no issues with a gap.
According to that timeline, running a competitive process this year would allow for a contract to be signed in 2012, with aircraft delivered in 2015-16. Those planes would become operational between 2018 and 2023, according to the document.
MacKay, Industry Minister Tony Clement and Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose now say there had already been a competitive process for the deal. That happened in 2001, when the U.S. government selected the Lockheed Martin’s F-35 over a competing aircraft from Boeing. According to the ministers, Canada took part in that competition.
“It is very clear that this was an open, transparent process,” MacKay told a Commons committee on Wednesday.
Opposition MPs, however, have pointed out that competition was for the aircraft that met the needs of the U.S. military airplanes. They note that Canada is a sovereign nation and should select a plane based on its needs, not what the U.S. deems is relevant in an aircraft.
Other aerospace firms have argued that Canada should have a competition, noting they can provide aircraft at a much cheaper cost than $16 billion.
“Sole sourcing anything can’t be a good thing,” said Tony Ogilvy, a sales representative for Saab Aerospace, in an earlier interview. “The taxpayer has got to be satisfied that this is something the country needs. No one can waste money these days.”
Saab had wanted to offer Canada the Gripen next-generation fighter.
U.S. aerospace firm Boeing was prepared to offer the F-18 Super Hornet, an advanced version of the aircraft that Canada already operates.
BAE, a British firm also involved in the F-35 project, said it would offer Canada its Typhoon fighter aircraft if there was a competition.
MacKay’s spokesman Jay Paxton said Sunday that at last week’s defence committee the air force leadership “was incredibly supportive of the F-35 procurement and this government’s efforts to build the Canadian Forces.”
He noted that air force commander Lt.-Gen. Andre Deschamps told the House of Commons the F-35 is the best value for taxpayers and will keep Canada at the forefront.
Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff, concerned that no competition was held to select the fighter plane, has vowed to review the deal if his party forms the next government. He has also questioned whether the purchase is needed at a time when the country’s deficit has climbed to $50 billion.
The deal, if it goes through, would be the most expensive military equipment procurement in Canadian history.
The Conservatives have countered that the Liberals originally involved Canada in the early development of the F-35 when they provided funding so domestic aerospace firms could bid on the program and the air force could receive information about the plane from the Pentagon. At the time, however, government officials said the funding did not obligate Canada to buy the F-35.
Canada won’t be required to sign a contract committing it to purchasing the fighters until 2013, opening the door for any future government to back away from the proposed deal if needed.
The government earmarked $2.6 billion to upgrade the CF-18s and the last modernized aircraft was just delivered in March. The CF-18 fighters can continue flying until 2018-20, according to the air force.
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