WASHINGTON – Washington’s plan to further slow production of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is prompting Canada to convene a meeting with seven other international partners as the countries rethink their own orders for the stealthy new fighter jet.
Canada has committed to purchasing as many as 65 of the planes, but delays and shrinking orders threaten to drive up costs each country must bear for what is already the most expensive weapon system in history.
The Pentagon is restructuring the program for the third time in recent years; a move that will delay savings that would come from building more planes faster.
In January, Associate Defence Minister Julian Fantino said in a statement the Canadian government is still committed to the F-35 program, but that he had ordered Defence Department officials in Ottawa to investigate what implications the Pentagon’s decision would have on Canada.
International partners who were banking on the savings as they face their own budget pressures are balking at the shift, according to multiple government and industry sources in the U.S. and overseas.
[More]
It would be helpful if Mr. Fantino would indicate what military threat to Canada we are expecting to thwart with 65 F35s.