OTTAWA — An expert who’s tracked the controversial F-35 stealth-fighter program says the Canadian government is not going far enough — and should conduct a thorough audit of what the new jet can and cannot do.
Winslow Wheeler, of the Washington-based Centre for Defence Information, says the debate following last week’s auditor general report needs to move beyond the eye-popping cost and muddied procurement process.
The Harper government last week committed to reviewing the acquisition and sustainment costs of the F-35, among other things.
But Wheeler says no one in Canada or the U.S. is asking what they’re getting for the billions of dollars they’re about to spend, and whether the aircraft will perform as promised.
Wheeler, who’s testified before Parliament and spent years working for the U.S. General Accounting Office, says auditor general Michael Ferguson’s report was actually tame, and what’s needed now is an independent, fact-based analysis of the claims made by the manufacturer.
The country’s top military commander, Gen. Walt Natynczyk, gave the plane a vote of confidence today, saying it will have all the tools the air force needs to protect Canadian sovereignty.