By Alan Williams
In a recent opinion piece regarding Canada’s intention to purchase the F-35A, Richard Shimooka regurgitates the same arguments put forward by the Government in 2010 to support its decision to purchase the F-35A without a competition. Both the Government and Mr. Shimooka were convinced that it was the best jet at the best price as well as being the best option economically. Fortunately, upon examination, Canadians discovered that, at that time, none of those assertions were valid.
With respect to costs, in 2010 the average procurement cost for an F-35A was about $126 million including the cost of the engine. However, at this time Lockheed Martin was just in its fourth low rate initial production contract. Costs were significantly higher than expected and delays were occurring. More ominously, were the high life cycle costs. Its hourly costs were estimated at over $30,000 per hour, double that of the F-18 Super Hornet.
With respect to the F-35A, in 2010 it was impossible to state that it was the best aircraft for Canada. It was still in its embryonic stage of development. At the time of the announcement, the block 1 software had not yet been completed. Timing of the future software upgrades was still in flux. No one could be assured of its capabilities.
With respect to economic opportunities, they would certainly be plentiful. In fact, that is why I signed the memorandum of understanding with the U.S. in Feb. 2002 committing Canada to the program. Without joining the program, our industry would have been excluded from bidding on contracts valued at $200 billion-dollars. Nevertheless, it was recognized at that time, that these industrial benefits were not guaranteed and would pale in comparison to the level of benefits bidders would have to guarantee in a competition.
Lastly, when spending billions of taxpayers’ money, it is vital that there is transparency in the process. Furthermore, the only way to objectively ensure that the military is getting the best product to meet its needs is through a competition. The decision to sole-source in 2010 was unnecessary and the linchpin for the chaos that followed.
Mr. Shimooka is right when he says, ”this decision set up a decade of strife”. However, he believes we should have gone through with the sole-source decision at that time. I believe we should have conducted an open, fair and transparent competition to replace our jets in a timely fashion.
