| Story Views | |
| Now: | |
| Last Hour: | |
| Last 24 Hours: | |
| Total: | |
Canadian government re-thinking purchase of F-35 multirole fighter
Anything and everything anytime
The federal government says it won’t make a final decision on which fighter jet to buy until it completes every step of the complex process it laid out last spring following a blistering report from the auditor general about the escalating costs attached to the F-35.
Those costs have now been set at $45.8 billion over the jets’ full 42-year life cycle, in an independent audit released Wednesday.
But officials didn’t say Wednesday how long its evaluation process will take to find new planes, or whether the aging CF-18 Hornet jets in service now will hold up if there is a significant delay in finding replacements.
Officials also said that all fighter jets currently in production or scheduled to be in production will be considered to replace the CF-18s. That includes the Eurofighter Typhoon, the Boeing Super Hornet and others.
The F-18 Super Hornet would save Canadian taxpayers millions of dollars if the government decides to purchase the jet. As the price lists below show:
F-35 Lightning II
| Role | Stealth multirole fighter |
|---|---|
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Lockheed Martin Aeronautics |
| First flight | 15 December 2006 |
| Introduction | After 2016 |
| Status | In initial production, in U.S. service for training only |
| Primary users | United States Air Force United States Marine Corps United States Navy Royal Air Force |
| Produced | 2006–present |
| Number built | 63 |
| Unit cost | F-35A: US$154 million (flyaway cost, 2012) F-35B: US$237.7M (weap. sys. cost, 2012) F-35C: US$236.8M (weap. sys. cost, 2012) |
| Developed from | Lockheed Martin X-35 |
F-18 Super Hornet
| Role | Carrier-based multirole fighter |
|---|---|
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | McDonnell Douglas Boeing Defense, Space & Security |
| First flight | 29 November 1995 |
| Introduction | 1999 |
| Status | In service, in production |
| Primary users | United States Navy Royal Australian Air Force |
| Produced | 1995–present |
| Number built | 500 as of April 2011 |
| Program cost | Total procurement: US$48.09 billion (through FY2011) |
| Unit cost | US$66.9 million (2012 flyaway cost) |
| Developed from | McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet |
| Variants | Boeing EA-18G Growler |
The F/A-18F is a two seat version. The extra pilot controls advanced jamming equipment for attack missions.
2012-12-13 16:40:04
Source:
