By Scott Taylor
On June 15, the CBC ran a news item by reporter David Common entitled 'What Canada's fighter jet decision could mean for NORAD'.
To add gravitas to his reporting, Common and his camera crew made the trek to NORAD Headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The leading premise of Common's story was that the Pentagon is losing patience with their Canadian counterparts. Provided to Common on background was the statement "The Canadian government's delays and lack of transparency around the ongoing F-35 review are just one example of politics over our shared responsibility for North America's defence."
For those who only pay casual attention to all things Canadian military here is a very brief summary of the F-35 purchase saga to date. Realizing that the RCAF would eventually need to replace the current fleet of CF-18 aircraft, the F-35 was considered a front runner while it was still on the drawing board back in 1997.
That's correct folks, this cutting edge fifth generation aircraft design is already thirty years old. In 2010 the Harper conservative government announced they would buy 66 of the F-35's. However due to cost overruns and teething troubles of the F-35 aircraft, Harper's government had no choice but to push the reset button on the purchase.
In 2015 the Trudeau Liberals ran on a campaign promise that if elected they would purchase any other aircraft but the F-35 to replace the aging CF-18 fleet. Of course the Trudeau Liberals swept into power only to realize the real power wielded by the US State department when it comes to defence projects.
The RCAF were to hold a competition to select the replacement for the CF-18's and the Lockheed Martin F-35 was to be allowed to compete. Given the RCAF's dyed in the wool penchant for the F-35 and only the F-35 it won that competition albeit through a set of criteria that was largely tilted in its favour.
In 2023 the Trudeau Liberals ordered a total of 88 F-35's at a purchase cost of $19 billion. However, in that first tranche only 16 aircraft were actually contracted for purchase.
Then came the re-election of US President Donald Trump in November 2024. He immediately began threatening Canada with annexation and once in office he levelled crippling tariffs on Canadian goods.
In response, Prime Minister Mark Carney vowed to spend more money on defence but also move away from our near total reliance on the US to supply our military hardware. To back up his statements Carney ordered the RCAF to review the remainder of their as yet uncontracted F-35 purchase, the result of which has yet to be released.
With that slight opening, SAAB of Sweden made an offer to supply their Gripen fighters and to actually assemble them in Canada, thereby creating thousands of jobs in the aviation sector. That deal was linked to the acquisition of the Global Eye surveillance aircraft which are based on a Bombardier airframe already built in Canada. That contract was announced by Carney at the CANSEC Trade show in Ottawa late May.
Which brings us to the CBC story. Common was keen to push the narrative that the F-35 and only the F-35 is needed for our NORAD commitment. However, he should have done his homework. US Air Force General Gregory M. Guillot, the very NORAD Commander that Common interviewed for his piece, is on the record stating that F-35s are not his first choice of aircraft for intercept missions over North America. “Frankly we don’t need fifth (generation) to defend our borders,” Guillot told the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on March 19.
The NORAD commander said fifth-generation jets, considered the most advanced type of aircraft, had a role to play in attacking overseas targets. “Those capabilities are better used overseas where their stealth, air to ground weapons and penetration capability are needed,” Guillot added.
For the record, Guillot's comments were widely reported across Canadian media at the time because they directly contradict statements by senior Canadian generals who have repeatedly insisted they require F-35's for our NORAD obligations.
In his piece Common also interviewed Lt. General Iain Huddleston the Canadian Deputy Commander at NORAD. The question to Huddleston was whether or not Canada could maintain a mixed fleet of two different fighter jets. The illogical response from Huddleston was to point to the fact that there is currently a 33 per cent shortfall of pilots in our fighter squadrons so training them on two separate platforms would be a challenge. If that is the case, why even buy new fighters?
The same day that Common aired his pro-F-35 puff piece, it was reported by the US Government Accountability Office that the availability rate of the F-35s in US service continues to plummet. According to the GAO the F-35 fleet achieved a dismal full mission capable rate of 28.5 percent in fiscal year 2025. For the record, the SAAB Gripen boasts an availability rate of between 80 - 90 percent.
Given that the hourly flying cost of a Gripen is estimated at between $8,000 - $22,000 and the F-35s burn through $34,000 - $42,000 this purchase review should be a no-brainer.
Take the 16 F-35's already contracted and scrap the deal for the remainder, including the 14 long lead time items that we just ordered for the next tranche. Build the 66 Gripen fighters on offer in Canada and at least they will be available and affordable enough to fly on domestic air defence missions.
