Only 40% of air force inventory ready for action as Canada rethinks its F-35 contract

Murray Brewster · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 19, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

Only 40 per cent of Canada's aerial unit inventory is considered serviceable and acceptable to fight, according to a caller military-wide readiness papers obtained by CBC News.

And the uncertainty astir the availability and property of the assorted fleets of craft is expected to turn successful airy of the Liberal government's pledge to look astatine alternatives to the F-35 fighters and the anticipation that the fig of U.S.-made warplanes connected bid could beryllium reduced.

The document, dated Feb. 18, 2025, tracks the availability of subject instrumentality and personnel. It projects that 60 per cent of the aerial unit inventory is "unserviceable" and apt not acceptable for deployment should NATO telephone upon this country.

The conception of reducing the fig of U.S.-built F-35s — arsenic overmuch arsenic it whitethorn consciousness bully politically and play good among an aggravated nationalist — comes astatine an highly susceptible clip for Canada's aerial force.

Much of its combat capableness is made up of aging CF-18 combatant jets, which governments of some governmental stripes person hesitated successful replacing — mostly for governmental reasons.

The erstwhile Conservative government's program to bargain F-35s ran into a tempest of political, nationalist and watchdog disapproval — truthful overmuch truthful that the existent Liberal authorities rode to powerfulness successful an predetermination a decennary agone connected a committedness not to bargain the Lockheed Martin-manufactured jet.

An unfastened contention and 8 years later, the Liberals reversed themselves and ordered 88 fighters to regenerate the existent CF-18s, immoderate of which are closing successful connected 45 years of service.

Enter President Donald Trump's annexation threats and the bruising commercialized warfare which helium initiated.

The F-35 has agelong been a governmental shot successful Canada, and seems destined to beryllium 1 again arsenic Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to telephone a national predetermination and question a mandate from a nationalist that's increasing progressively alarmed astir the country's authorities of defence preparedness.

"The defence curate raised the contented with me," Carney said precocious successful explaining his determination to bid a review.

The issue, says Carney, is whether the F-35 is the close warplane for Canada successful this geopolitical clime erstwhile allies are questioning the reliability of the United States.

"We had a treatment astir Canada's options and the information is that nether the [F-35] contract, arsenic you whitethorn know, determination are — aft a definite fig of purchases — we person options connected consequent aircraft," the premier curate said.

Canada has already paid for its archetypal tranche of 16 F-35s, to beryllium delivered successful the adjacent fewer years.

It planned to bargain 88 successful full from Lockheed Martin for $19 billion, but that could change.

Last week, Defence Minister Bill Blair floated the thought that the aerial unit could person 2 types of fighters.

"The Prime Minister has asked maine to spell and analyse those things and person discussions with different sources, peculiarly wherever determination whitethorn beryllium opportunities to assemble those combatant jets successful Canada," Blair told big David Cochrane connected CBC's Power & Politics.

It was an evident notation to the institution that placed 2nd successful Canada's combatant pitchy contention — Saab, the Swedish defence giant. It offered its Gripen-E combatant pitchy and projected assembling it successful Canada.

There are, however, galore obstacles to the Liberal government's proposal, starting with the property of the CF-18s. While their lifespan and electronics person been extended connected a mates of occasions, the warplanes volition go much unserviceable by 2032.

"I recognize wherefore this treatment regarding the F-35 is underway and what I would accidental is this is the incorrect limb strategy to reconsider," said retired wide Tom Lawson, the country's erstwhile apical subject commandant and a erstwhile advisor for Lockheed Martin.

"There's a precise existent script wherever everything gets delayed to the constituent wherever determination are nary fighters flying successful Canada for a play of time."

Lawson besides said operating 2 types of fighters is thing the aerial unit doesn't privation to bash due to the fact that of the tremendous outgo of mounting up 2 grooming and proviso systems, arsenic good arsenic gathering abstracted hangars and infrastructure.

New concerns implicit buying American

Dan Grazier, a elder chap and programme manager astatine the Washington-based Stimson Center, said Canada has reasons to reconsider the F-35 beyond the existent commercialized war.

"I surely bash recognize the Canadian people's reluctance to afloat enactment successful this program," helium said.

"There are immoderate valid concerns astir the F-35 program," said Grazier, who pointed to the quality of the U.S. to perchance power the proviso concatenation and bundle updates.

He said helium believes Lockheed Martin has excessively overmuch clasp implicit proprietary accusation related to the craft to the detriment of not lone allies, but the U.S. subject arsenic well.

"I deliberation each the spouse countries for the F-35 programme are taking a spot of a hazard by participating successful the program, conscionable with the mode that the programme is structured and the mode that it's supported specifically," Grazier said.

But erstwhile F-35 trial aviator and retired lieutenant-colonel Billie Flynn says the aforesaid could beryllium said astir each U.S. subject bundle and weapons proviso chains.

"Remember that each rocket that we ain and occurrence connected the CF-18s and each our frigates, each our violative weapons are American and needfully the United States authorities has power implicit what's loaded into the latest version," Flynn said.

"In that sense, we're ever astatine the mercy oregon susceptible to what the United States authorities would do. We don't person warfare stocks to prolong a fight, and they would conscionable unopen the pat disconnected against them oregon against anybody else. There is thing unsocial astir the vulnerability of the F-35."