The Harper government may have "hit the reset button" on the purchase of F-35s, but planning for the stealth fighter continues -- and Canada is facing a series of deadlines that will increase pressure to stick with the program.
One year after the Harper government committed to buying the F-35 fighter, defence planners overseeing the project expressed concern about how much it would cost to maintain the sophisticated jet once it arrived.
Lockheed Martin, the giant U.S. defence manufacturer, has kicked-off a cross-country public relations campaign to convince Canadians that its F-35 stealth fighter jets are the best option to replace Canada’s aging fleet of CF-18s.
Opposition parties say the Harper government should exclude the F-35 from its search for replacements for Canada's CF-18 jets after a new Pentagon report found more flaws with the stealth fighter.
The Harper government's plan to buy the oft-maligned F-35 fighter is expected to face another blow with a series of deep spending cuts about to unfold in the United States.
An independent report has produced a number of prescriptions for Canada's ailing military procurement system, but stops short of suggesting how the Harper government should administer the cures.
Stinging criticism of the political and bureaucratic fiasco surrounding the F-35 by the country's budget officer and even the auditor general was edited out of the final version of a parliamentary investigation, a draft copy of the report shows.
A questionnaire meant to gauge what options exist to replace the air force's aging CF-18 fighters has landed on the desks of aerospace companies in North America and Europe.
The navy's long-delayed, much-studied joint support ship program is expected to come under the political microscope within weeks in what is likely another defence equipment embarrassment for the Harper government.
The government is “hitting the reset button” on its plan to replace the country’s aging fighter jets with a fleet of 65 Lockheed Martin F-35s, following a report that pegs the total cost of the purchase at $45.8-billion over a 42-year period.
