In early January, former Minister of Defense Anita Anand announced that Canada had inked a US$14.2 billion deal with Lockheed Martin to acquire a fleet of 88 F-35 fighter jets to replace the aging F-18 fleet of the Royal Canadian Air Force.
The acquisition would be made in four initial tranches starting 2026 through 2028, for 32 F-35s. The rest of the fleet would be delivered by 2032.
“Canada’s F-35 program is Canada’s acquisition of 88 F-35 fighter jets, including all programmed costs from the initial program development through the end of their useful life,” Giroux said during a news conference.
Giroux added that the four phases of the program – development, acquisition, operations and sustainment, and disposal – will cost Canada some C$73.9 billion. “This is roughly in line with the governments own estimate of about C$70 billion,” he added.
The operations and sustainment phase alone would cost C$53.8 billion over a period of 30 years, Giroux said, adding that the last of the F-35 would be retied in 2060-2061.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau campaigned in the 2015 elections, promising not to acquire the F-35 fighter jets fleet as proposed by former Prime Minister Stephen Harper.