Should Canada buy the F-35?

An election issue that is being debated is the decision by the Conservative Government to purchase F-35 jet fighters as replacements for the CF-18's.

The Conservatives argue it's the best plane available in the time frame that Canada needs a replacement and is coming in at a good price. The Liberals are criticizing the Conservatives because they want to enter into an untendered contract (i.e. no competitive process) and that they are purposely low-balling the cost estimates (not to mention there is no requirement for industrial offsets - something that is very common in these types of contracts, regardless of which country is buying the equipment). Many sources (including the Parliamentary Budget Officer - Kevin Page) are coming out and saying that the actual costs are going to be significantly higher (see my other post about the PBO posted on March 18, 2011). Before you take sides, consider this: if you're going to undergo a major renovation on your house, are you going take a quote from one company, or are you going to ask for at least three or four quotes? Mike Holmes would say you get a few quotes before you decide and Mike is never wrong!

The process that picked the F-35 is flawed. The debate should not revolve around whether the F-35 is the best plane, since this is a simplistic argument. What is the definition of 'best'? Of course if you ask the military what they want, they'll want the 'best' and shiniest piece of hardware they can find, not unlike a child that wants an expensive toy. The reality is that there are competing forces on taxpayers' money, not to mention that the top 5% in system performance usually accounts for a significantly disproportionate amount of the unit cost. The way this process is supposed to work is that the Government makes defence policy (when is the last time the Canadian Government issued a white paper on defence?). Defence planning is developed from this policy and consequently, manpower is allocated and equipment procured. Getting back to the purchase of the F-35's, a statement of requirement should be developed based on the government's defence policy (and not written to a particular platform, which is sometimes engaged in these types of contracts). A request for proposals should be sent to potential suppliers to see what's available to meet the requirements. If there are insufficient candidates because the requirements are too stringent, then the statement of requirements can be revised to list what are must-haves and which requirements can be less stringent (with alternative benefits) to include more suppliers. After an initial vetting process, shortlisting to three contenders allows the government to wrangle some significant concessions out of the suppliers during final negotiations. In the end, maybe Canada will choose the F-35, but it will ensure it got it at a competitive price and with industrial offsets. Something that was done during the purchase of the CF-18s but is not guaranteed at this point of the new fighter aircraft purchase. Makes sense doesn't it?

So even if the Conservatives form the next government, there's still an opportunity for Canadian voters to make it known to their elected representatives that Canada needs a competition to choose it's next front line fighter aircraft. But it doesn't hurt if voters make their thoughts known to their candidates during the election, because candidates are seeking your vote and they're more likely to listen! P.S. Remember my "PMO watches the movie Wag the Dog" post (March 22, 2011)? I heard in the media recently that one of the reason's that a Canadian general is leading the NATO task force is that the CF-18's have old technology that "can't communicate" with American forces so this was an opportunity for Canada to make a significant contribution (or words to that effect). I find this hard to believe. There are NATO standards that every NATO member must meet. Communication is certainly one of them. I think this was a little tidbit sent out into the ether to support the purchase of the F-35's. I'm just sayin'...