RCAF - No Documented Fighter "Gap" Evidence

By: David Pugliese, The Ottawa Citizen 

Neither Canada’s top soldier nor the commander of the air force had or produced any records about a fighter jet “capability gap” in the year leading up to the Liberal government’s announcement that such a critical issue had to be dealt with by spending billions to buy aircraft.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan used the capability gap argument in November 2016 to justify a $5-billion program to buy new Super Hornet jets, a deal since scuttled, and later a $500-million program to purchase used F-18 planes from Australia.

But in the year leading up to Sajjan’s announcement about the urgent need to acquire such planes, neither Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Jon Vance nor Lt.-Gen. Mike Hood, then head of the Royal Canadian Air Force, produced any documentation indicating there was ever a capability gap, according to Department of National Defence’s Access to Information branch. In addition, no such documents exist among the records of various members of Sajjan’s staff, according to the department.

A Royal Australian Air Force F-18 Hornet performs during the Australian International Airshow in 2015.PAUL CROCK/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

It would be normal practice to have hundreds, if not thousands of pages of records, discussing such a key defence issue or gap if it existed, military insiders tell Postmedia.

But records obtained by Postmedia through the Access law do show that just before Sajjan’s announcement that the 18 jets were needed in the “interim” to deal with the capability gap, the minister was told the existing fleet of CF-18s was in better shape than expected and could keep flying until 2032.


Conservative MPs allege the capability gap didn’t exist and was concocted by the government to delay a larger project to buy new jets, a competition that might end up selecting the F-35 stealth fighter the Liberals vowed never to purchase.

When asked about the lack of documentation about the capability gap, a DND official said the department could not comment.

Taxpayers may get more information Tuesday when the Auditor General’s office releases its examination of the fighter jet plan.

The deal to buy the 18 Super Hornets as “interim” jets eventually collapsed after the aircraft’s U.S. supplier, Boeing, angered the Liberals by complaining to the Trump administration that a Canadian firm was receiving unfair subsidies to build civilian aircraft. Because of that complaint, the government deemed Boeing an unreliable partner and instead struck a deal to buy used F-18 jets from Australia. That project is estimated to cost $500 million.

Those jets are needed on an interim basis not only to help fill the capability gap but because the current fleet of CF-18 fighters is too old, the government has stated.

But nine days before Sajjan held his November 2016 news conference to announce the original Super Hornet interim jet deal, the minister was told the CF-18 fleet was in better shape than expected.

“Analysis over the summer indicates that the structural damage is less than anticipated and that all aircraft can be flown and retired at a predicted rate beyond 2025 without additional investment in structural work,” Sajjan was told by deputy defence minister John Forster. “Doing so would require an investment to 2032 (when the last legacy aircraft would retire).”

Shortly after Sajjan’s news conference, Hood explained to a Senate committee it was the government that brought in a policy change that required the RCAF to meet both its NATO and North American air defence commitments at the same time. That, in turn, created the capability gap.

“That demands a certain number of aircraft that our present CF-18 fleet is unable to meet on its day-to-day serviceability rate,” said Hood, who has since retired. “They’ve (the Liberals) changed the policy of the number of aircraft I have to have.”

Hood said he didn’t know the reason for the change. “I’m not privy to the decisions behind the policy change,” added the general.

In addition, a 2014 report produced by Defence Research and Development Canada recommended against the purchase of such “bridging” aircraft to deal with gaps in capability. “The costs involved with bridging options make them unsuitable for filling capability gaps in the short term,” the report states. “Any short-term investment results in disproportionately high costs during the bridging period.”

That report, which had been in the public domain for years, was removed from the DND website. The DND claimed it was pulled down from its website because the report was found to contain classified information.

Auditor general takes aim at Liberals' fighter-jet plan with new probe

By: Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press - Published to BNN Bloomberg 

OTTAWA -- Six years after helping blow up the Harper government's plans to buy F-35 stealth fighters without a competition, auditor general Michael Ferguson is about to release a new report on Canada's tumultuous attempts to buy new fighter jets.

This time, the focus will be on the Trudeau government's handling of the file, which includes adopting several stopgaps while taking its time on a competition to buy new planes for the Canadian Forces.

Ferguson is expected to report specifically on the financial and technological costs of flying Canada's venerable CF-18s -- plus a handful of second-hand Australian jets -- into the early 2030s, when the aircraft will be nearly 50 years old.

The auditor general is also expected to train a spotlight on the air force's problems recruiting and retaining fighter pilots, the question of whether Canada has enough jets to defend itself -- and whether the Liberals followed procurement laws.

Ferguson's report follows several years of criticism over the Trudeau government's decision not to launch an immediate competition to replace the CF-18s, which started flying in the 1980s and were supposed to be retired by 2020.

It has been highly anticipated in political and defence circles given the damage that Ferguson's previous report on fighter jets dealt to the Conservatives and because of the shroud of secrecy that has surrounded the Liberals' decision-making on the file.

The Trudeau government has forced hundreds of federal civil servants and contractors working on the fighter-jet project to sign lifelong non-disclosure agreements, while many documents associated with the issue have been declared cabinet secrets.

Canada's attempts to buy fighter jets have dragged on for nearly a decade since the previous Conservative government announced in 2010 that Canada would buy 65 F-35s without a competition, with the first to be delivered in 2015.

The Tories pushed the reset button in 2012 after Ferguson released a scathing report that found defence officials twisted procurement rules and misled Parliament. National Defence later revealed the jets would cost $46 billion over their lifetimes, much more than the sticker price.

The Trudeau Liberals waded into the issue in the 2015 election when they campaigned on a promise to hold an open and fair competition while at the same time vowing not to buy the F-35s.

But rather than launch a competition right away, as many suggested, the Liberals said in November 2016 that they would wait until 2019. In the meantime, they planned to use a hole in the federal procurement laws to buy 18 "interim" Super Hornets without a competition.

The Liberals said at the time that the Super Hornets were urgently needed because Canada did not have enough CF-18s, but opposition parties and several retired military officers accused the government of bending the rules and wasting taxpayer dollars just to avoid buying the F-35.

They demanded the government launch an immediate competition to replace the CF-18s rather than wait; the government insisted more time was necessary to ensure due diligence and a successful procurement after years of trouble.

The government ultimately scrapped the plan to buy Super Hornets from Boeing for more than $6 billion due to a trade dispute between the U.S. aerospace giant and Montreal rival Bombardier.

But rather than launch a competition, it announced plans to buy 25 second-hand fighter jets from Australia for around $500 million.

The $19-billion competition to replace the CF-18s is slated to begin officially in the spring, though a winner won't be selected until 2021 or 2022. Delivery of the first of 88 planes is scheduled for 2025, with the last due in 2032.

The F-35 has been allowed to compete, despite the Liberals' election promise not to buy it. It is up against the Super Hornet as well as two European designs: the Eurofighter Typhoon and Saab Gripen. A French company with a fifth option dropped out last week.

In the meantime, the government is looking to spend upwards of $1.5 billion to keep the CF-18s and Australian fighters in the air long enough for the new planes to be delivered.

Defence analyst David Perry of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute said they key question leading up to the report's release is what impact it will have on the Liberal government and Canada's attempts to buy a new fighter jet.

"I hope it doesn't set back our fighter program by another 10 years," he said. "Because what the auditor general found -- and the way it was interpreted last time -- set the fighter-jet program back by a decade."

USAF to Take 136 F-18s Out of Service; But Don't Count on Any for Canada

By: David Pugliese, Defence Watch 

The U.S. Navy is removing from service 136 of its older F-18s. That has immediately prompted suggestions in some parts of the Canadian defence community that the aircraft could be used to bolster Canada’s aging CF-18 fleet.

But don’t count on that happening.

The USN is hoping to provide the U.S. Marines with the best of the surplus aircraft to bolster the Marines’ fighter capability. And then it intends to use the others for spare parts for its F-18s still operating. The 136 aircraft will be removed from service between now and 2020.

Canadian defence sources say discussions between Canada and Australia for the purchase of 18 surplus F-18s are moving smoothly along. There is no need to look at U.S. surplus aircraft even if the USN was interested in providing them to Canada, they added.

CF-18 Life-Extension To Cost at Least $1.5 Billion

By: David Pugliese, The National Post 

Canadians could be paying more than $1.5 billion extra as the operating life of the military’s aging CF-18 fighter jets is extended for another 14 years.

CF-18 Hornet fighter jets takes off from 4 Wing Cold Lake.Trevor Robb/Postmedia/File

The jets were to be taken out of service after 2025, but as Postmedia recently reported, delays in the Liberal government’s plan to buy replacements means the jets will need to continue operating until 2032. While the Department of National Defence says it still has yet to figure out how much that will cost, a December 2014 report produced by DND and the Canadian Forces raised concerns about further extending the life of the CF-18s.

“Rough order of magnitude incremental costs for an Estimated Life Expectancy of 2030 are just over $1.5 billion and are primarily due to the requirement for a new structural life extension program needed to enable the CF-18 to be flown beyond its current safe life,” said the report, which was prepared for the previous Conservative government.

That roughly $1.5 billion would be on top of the $500 million the Liberal government has set aside to buy 18 used Australian F-18s as a stop-gap until it can acquire new planes.

Some savings could be found from the cost of extending the service of the CF-18s if the military reduces their flying hours, the report said.

The jets, first received in 1982, will be 50 years old when they are retired.

“The government has stated the need to invest further in the life extension and continued operation of the CF-18 fleet,” said DND spokesman Dan Le Bouthillier. “The cost will be known once investigations are complete.

“Life extension would occur under continuing in-service support using already proven engineering and maintenance processes,” he said.

During the 2015 election campaign the Liberals promised to immediately launch a competition to buy replacements for the CF-18s. Once elected, they instead decided to buy 18 Super Hornets from Boeing as a temporary measure, then scuttled that arrangement over a trade dispute between the U.S. aircraft manufacturer and Canadian aerospace firm Bombardier.

They have committed to buying 88 new fighter jets in a program that could cost as much as $19 billion, a price which does not include long-term maintenance. Troy Crosby, director general of defence major projects at Public Services and Procurement Canada, said that a request for proposals from companies for the new jets is expected to be issued in spring 2019, with a contract likely not signed until late 2021 or early 2022.

Canada’s CF-18 jets, first received in 1982, will be 50 years old when they are retired. Trevor Robb/Postmedia/File

The department said it is still evaluating information from various fighter jet companies and will at some point release a list of those firms approved to take part in the upcoming competition.

The first replacement aircraft for the CF-18s are expected to arrive in 2025 but the delivery of all 88 planes would not be completed until 2030, according to federal government documents distributed to industry representatives at a Jan. 22 meeting in Ottawa. The last CF-18s would then be retired in 2032.

Aerospace industry officials have privately said it would have made more sense to launch an immediate competition and fast-track the purchase of new aircraft instead of dumping money into keeping older jets airborne.

Over the last decade the Canadian Forces have investigated various options to replace the CF-18s, which have been upgraded over the years.

In 2001 a modernization project was launched to allow the planes to continue operating until 2017-2020. Structural improvements to maintain the fleet have been ongoing and another upgrade program is in the works to keep the planes flying until 2025, according to the RCAF.

That will provide the planes with various systems to allow them to operate with allied air forces as well as meet new rules to fly in domestic and international airspace, and could potentially involve upgrades to weapons.

It is unclear how extensive another upgrade beyond that would need to be to keep the planes flying from 2025 to 2032.

GoC Restricts Fighter Jet Purchase Information

By: David Pugliese, National Post

Capt. Denis Beaulieu flies the CF-18 upside down at the Wings Over Springbank air show at Springbank Airport west of Calgary, Ab., on Saturday July 18, 2015.Mike Drew/Calgary Sun/Postmedia Network

The federal government says it needs to tightly control the type of information being circulated about its $19-billion fighter jet replacement program because it knows best what the public should be told.

In early February, Postmedia revealed that companies interested in the government’s planned purchase of new fighter jets were warned not to talk to journalists. That came in advance of a Jan. 22 industry day to discuss the basic details of the jet purchase.

Public Services and Procurement Canada, which is co-ordinating the project, confirmed that the media blackout for companies was in place but defends that as necessary.

“As fighter aircraft and their component systems are sensitive, heavily controlled goods, it is also critical that (government) procurement officials remain the definitive source of publicly shared information, to ensure the integrity of the overall process,” the department noted in an email to Postmedia.

Procurement Canada also noted that the same rules will apply throughout this year and next as meetings are held with various companies on the jet deal. Such meetings “will require sharing extensive amounts of information, including sensitive technical data” that needs to be protected, the department added.

A CF18 Hornet prepares to resume its activities after being refuelled by a CC150 Polaris during Operation Impact, on February 4, 2015. Photo: Canadian Forces Combat Camera, DND

But sources who leaked details of the industry day meeting and the department’s plan to limit information to the news media, scoffed at government claims about the need to protect sensitive information. Industry executives often talk to journalists about government bungling of military procurements, not about the secret details of their respective products, sources pointed out.

They predicted that the media blackout won’t stop details about problems associated with the jet program from leaking out.

Public Services and Procurement Canada noted it is “committed to provide regular updates” to the public and media as the jet project proceeds.

The Liberal government’s quest to buy new fighter jets has been controversial from the beginning, with mixed signals and bungled deals.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau originally said his government wouldn’t buy the F-35 stealth fighter, later claiming it didn’t work. The government then reversed course, pointing out that F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin was welcome to offer their plane to Canada in any competition.

In 2016, the Liberals launched a plan to buy new Super Hornet jets from Boeing as an interim measure, only to scuttle that deal a year later because of a trade war involving the U.S. firm.

Instead, the government says it will now buy used F-18 jets from Australia. But that purchase is already running into delays.

Pat Finn, the Department of National Defence’s assistant deputy minister of materiel, told the Commons defence committee in February that Canada is looking for delivery of the used aircraft in the summer of 2019. The Liberal government originally planned for the arrival of the first used aircraft in January 2019.

The purchase of new jets, which will eventually replace all of Canada’s CF-18s as well as the used aircraft acquired from Australia, will unfold over the next 14 years. Some of those who attended the industry day in January noted that the purchase, which would see a contract awarded in 2021 or 2022, seems drawn out, considering federal procurement officials have been involved in trying to buy a new jet since 2010.

The restrictions on what industry can say about the jet project is not the first attempt by the Liberals to crack down on what information might make its way to the public or news media about the multi-billion-dollar program.


As fighter aircraft and their component systems are sensitive, heavily controlled goods, it is also critical that (government) procurement officials remain the definitive source of publicly shared information

In November 2016, it was revealed the government brought in an unprecedented gag order that prevents 235 military personnel and federal workers from ever talking about the program. The non-disclosure agreement for the equipment project puts the fighter jet replacement on the same level as top secret counter-terrorism missions undertaken by the Joint Task Force 2 commando unit, as well as clandestine operations by the country’s spies, military sources say.

The permanent non-disclosure agreements were at the time uncovered by Conservative defence critic James Bezan after he requested information through the House of Commons “inquiry of ministry” process.

The DND claimed that such agreements have been used with procurement staff before on occasion.

But Alan Williams, the former assistant deputy minister for materiel at the DND, has said that he had never heard of such agreements.

dpugliese@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/davidpugliese