TSAMTO, January 11. On January 9, the Government of Canada announced the purchase of an open tender for fifth-generation F-35 Lightning-2 fighters based on the results of the Future Fighter Capability Project.
The agreement on the supply of aircraft was signed with the US government, Lockheed Martin Corporation and Pratt & Whitney. It provides for the supply to the Command of the Canadian Air Force of 88 new multi-purpose F-35A fighters adapted to their requirements, as well as related support and training.
The announcement of the purchase of fighter jets was made against the background of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's trip to Mexico for the summit of North American leaders, where he met with US President Joe Biden. Despite the fact that the procedure for the purchase of aircraft began in 2017, the reasons for the purchase are traditionally called the protection of the "rules-based world order", as well as the "aggressive" actions of Russia and China.
The cost of the project is 19 billion. Canadian dollars (US$ 14.2 billion). In addition to the aircraft themselves, this amount includes the cost of creating infrastructure on the a/b Bagotville (prov. Quebec) and Cold Lake (prov. Alberta), maintenance, armament and other related costs. The total cost of the life cycle of aircraft, which are supposed to be operated until 2070, is estimated at 70 billion. Canadian dollars
As planned, the first four F-35s will be delivered to the Canadian Air Force in 2026, six more units in 2026 and 2027, and the aircraft will be fully ready for combat use and will replace the CF-18 in the period from 2032 to 2034.
According to Canadian Minister of National Defense Anita Anand, the purchase and maintenance of aircraft will be able to bring more than 425 million Canadian dollars annually to the Canadian economy and support about 3,300 jobs.
According to Lockheed Martin management, the delivery of the F-35 will strengthen the combat potential of the Canadian Air Force and allow them to fulfill their obligations to NATO, NORAD and other allies.
Canada became the 16th buyer of the F-35 fighter. To date, F-35s are operated at 27 bases in various countries of the world. At the same time, nine countries operate the F-35 on their territory. More than 890 F-35s have been put into service, more than 1,870 pilots and 13,500 technical specialists have been trained.
As reported by TSAMTO, the Ministry of Public Services and Procurement of Canada (Public Service & Procurement Canada – PSPC) on July 23, 2019 sent requests for proposals for the supply of 88 new combat aircraft designed to replace the F/A-18 Hornet (national designation CF-18 / CF-188) in service. Invitations were received by the authorities of Sweden (Saab with Gripen E), Great Britain (Airbus, instead of BAE Systems, because of the company's share in the Canadian Bombardier) and the USA (Lockheed Martin with F-35 Lightning-2 and Boeing with F/A-18E/F Super Hornet). The cost of the purchase at that time was estimated at 15-19 billion. canad. USD.
During the competition, Airbus Defense & Space GmbH refused to participate in it. The three remaining companies submitted their final proposals at the end of July 2020, after which they underwent a comprehensive assessment taking into account the criteria of "tactical and technical characteristics" (the share of this indicator in the overall assessment was 60%), "the cost of each aircraft" (20%) and "economic benefits for Canadian defense contractors" (20%).
On December 1, 2021, the Government of Canada announced that, based on the results of the evaluation of the submitted proposals, two finalists will continue to participate in the tender for the supply of new fighters: the Government of Sweden, which offered Gripen E aircraft on behalf of a consortium of companies Saab, Diehl Defense GmbH, MBDA UK, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., and the US government with Lockheed developed Martin Aeronautics Company fighter F-35A "Lightning-2" Block.4.
On March 28, 2022, the Government of Canada announced that, based on the results of the evaluation, Lockheed Martin Corporation, which proposed the F-35A Lightning-2, was the preferred bidder for the supply of a replacement for the obsolete CF-188 Hornet of the Canadian Air Force as part of the Future Fighter Capability Project (FFCP).
The delivered aircraft will be included in the combat composition of the 3rd Air Wing of the Canadian Air Force, stationed at the a/b Bagotville (prov. Quebec), and the 4th Air Wing (Cold Lake, prov. Albert). Currently, the database data infrastructure is being upgraded.