Key report on F-35 rivals now complete; cabinet to decide on open competition

The Canadian Press - ONLINE EDITION

By: Murray Brewster, The Canadian Press

Thursday, Apr. 17, 2014 at 4:19 PM | Comments: 0

OTTAWA - The ball is now firmly in the Harper government's court when it comes to deciding whether to stick with the oft-maligned F-35 fighter jet program.

After almost 18 months of exhaustive research and analysis, a key report that will determine whether there will be an open competition to replace the air force's aging CF-18s has been completed, the public works minister said Friday.

The analysis looks at fighter jets already on the market, how suited they would be for Canada's defence needs, their cost and potential benefits.

The review was part of a package of research the Conservative government ordered as a way to douse the political fire started in 2012 following a scathing report by the auditor general, which accused National Defence and Public Works of low-balling the enormous cost of the stealth fighter program and not doing their homework.

Diane Finley did not release the findings of the market analysis, conducted by four outside defence experts.

"Over the next several weeks we will be carefully reviewing a number of reports relating to the evaluation of options, industrial benefits, costs and other factors related to the decision to replace our CF-18 fleet," Finley told a Vancouver business audience.

She described the research as "both rigorous and impartial."

Read more from the original source:
Key report on F-35 rivals now complete; cabinet to decide on open competition