Friday, November 23, 2012

Canadian government response to AG report is useless

The Canadian government has put forward a response to a previous Auditor General effort on the countries proposed CF-18 fighter replacement.

This response is basically useless for the following reasons:

-It mentions a 2009  U.S. select acquisition report about the F-35 but does not mention the latest one which is even more troublesome. This includes the fact that the latest SAR has separated costing of the airframe and motor.

-There is no direct reference on flying hour assumptions per year for each aircraft. For example with current ops budgets, Canada might be able to afford flying 30 or so F-35s per year. And that is generous because it allows for a fleet of non-faulty aircraft.

-There is no mention of a severe 2011 report by the U.S. about F-35 engineering difficulty.

-Throughout the response one gets the impression that few, if any, Canadian government decision-makers have any grasp of F-35 risks.

There is more, but in the end, not much has changed. Canada's CF-18 replacement is still in trouble. No one of any credible skill can put forward a reason why the nation should embark on a high risk project to replace current aircraft with faulty aircraft.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Oh, how frustrating this may be for you. The Canadians aren't giving you the damning inditement of the F-35 you so desperately want. Oh, so sad. Ah well, I'm sure you will get some suitable comments from Sweetman, APA or some other fringe element.