Pentagon Blasts Sky-High Cost of F-35s

U.S. wants to review 'unaffordable' fighter jet purchase, while Canada not backing down from multibillion-dollar deal.

As the Conservative government plans to move ahead with the purchase of 65 F-35 fighter jets – estimated to cost as much as $15 billion to $22 billion over 20 years – it seems the Pentagon, a paragon of restraint and understatement, wants a review of a similar acquisition program in the U.S., calling it “unaffordable” and “unacceptable.” Ashton Carter, an under-secretary of defence, said forecasts show that the cost of the 2,443 aircraft, made by Lockheed Martin, “has doubled in real terms” over the program’s lifetime – from US$69 million to about US$103 million per plane. Carter blamed the cost overruns and delays on the plane's complexities and radar-evading equipment, along with the short-takeoff and vertical-takeoff versions. Japan is also having second thoughts about the fighter jet, citing production delays. During the recent federal election, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, in response to criticism from the Liberals, insisted the government has a special arrangement with the U.S. that will protect it from the F-35’s increasing costs.