A man cleans the canopy of a F-35 fighter jet at Singapore Air Show on Feb. 9, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Joseph Nair
March 28, 2014 - 10:28 AM
WASHINGTON - A report highly critical of joint-aircraft programs like the controversial F-35 stealth fighter is being presented today in Washington.
The presentation at a congressional briefing points to data that shows unexpectedly high costs and military risks associated with all-in-one fighters like the F-35.
The report, produced by the Rand Corp. think-tank, strongly urges the U.S. military against embarking on similar joint programs in the future.
The paper, which looks at 50 years of such programs, concludes that the attempt to cram the needs of multiple services into one aircraft leads to expensive engineering challenges.
It also argues that there are military risks involved in all service branches putting their eggs in the same technological basket.
One of the study authors says the report doesn't offer any conclusions for the F-35 program or whether Canada should indeed be part of it, but is rather intended to offer advice to U.S. policy-makers for future generations of acquisitions.
Ottawa is evaluating potential alternatives to its original plan to purchase 65 F-35 aircraft. A 2012 auditor's report warned that the total bill, including service and support, could be as much as $45.8 billion over 42 years to replace the current stable of CF-18 fighters, which are due to be retired in 2020.
The government stepped back from the program after the auditor general accused National Defence of hiding $10 billion in continuing costs and Public Works of not doing enough research to justify the purchase.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2014