F-35 Purchase An Economic Boon For Canada?

Controversy is growing in some political circles regarding Canada's planned purchase of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to replace the country's aging fleet of CF-18 Hornets. This article in Wings argues the advantages of the purchase for the Canadian aerospace industry.

Shortly after the din of the recent federal election had subsided there were discussions between Canadian military fighter aircraft experts and the US with regard to the production of the F-35, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter. This multi-purpose stealthy fighter aircraft has been designed for the US Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps as well as British RAF and Navy, and was first rolled out on Feb. 19, 2006. Currently, planned production figures will likely exceed 2,000 and, unless another more suitable plane comes on the horizon, the F-35A may well be chosen to replace the current Canadian Forces F-18s when they run out of airframe time, which is expected to be sometime in the next decade.

By: Shelldrake