By Kris Osborn, Warrior

(Washington DC) As the Canadian government and its military leaders evaluate whether to complete a 2023 deal to buy 88 F-35s, the decision calculus hangs in a delicate balance of political and military considerations.  Canada arguably needs an air envelope of protection for its borders as well as an ability to defend its interests and align with allies for security purposes. This means Canada is now faced with the question of completing the original F-35 order, of which 16 have arrived, or picking another potentially less expensive fighter such as Saab’s JAS Gripen multi-role fighter. 

Do tariff-related negotiations or tensions between the US & Canada cast a shadow of uncertainty upon the future of the F-35 in Canada? Perhaps the more operative question is whether Canada can afford “not” to buy the F-35, given that Canadian Defence Minister David McGuinty has been clear about his country’s commitment to acquiring a new fleet of advanced, high-performing fighter jets. 

McGuinty’s office was quoted in a Reuters news agency essay stating “we are committed to procuring what the Air Force needs.”

F-35 for Canada

Regardless of how things unfold with tariff discussions, budget deliberations and other political variables involving Canada and the US, there is a clear security reason why Canada would be best served by a fleet of F-35s.  There are many clear, security related reasons for this, given the global presence of F-35s and the aircraft’s performance parameters. Certainly Canada would want an ability to operate a protective air envelope throughout its airspace, with a particular focus on deterring potential threats from Russia to its Western border South of Alaska. Russia could also pose a threat to Canada’s Northern border through the Arctic. 

F-35 Formations 

In a scenario of this kind, a collection of 16 F-35s would be ill equipped to protect Canadian shores because it simply would not be enough to establish a 5th-generation defensive perimeter along the vast expanse of its borders. As for the particular merits of the F-35 for Canada, there are many factors to consider related to geography and 5th-gen stealth fighter jet technology as well. It seems clear that fighter jets tasked with defending Canadian airspace would need to “network” across vast distances, something which would require a much larger fleet of F-35s. 

The advantage of the F-35 in this kind of contingency can be observed through its common, interoperable, fleet-wide data sharing technology called MADL, for Multi-function Advanced Data Link.  This means time-critical threat data gathered by F-35’s Distributed Aperture System (DAS) sensors could instantly be “networked” across an entire formation of F-35s. This vastly expands battlefield presence and any commensurate need to track and destroy threats across a wide geographical expanse. 

Russian Su-57

Since Russian weapons and air power are likely the largest threat for Canada, any defensive air power the country has would need to confront, stop or potentially destroy Russian 5th-Gen Su-57s. Despite the fact that Russia appears to suffer from an ongoing production problem related to its efforts to build a full fleet of Su-57s, the aircraft presents a threat Canada is likely to take seriously given how reachable its Northern and Western shores are to Russian air attack.  As a known 5th-gen fighter as well, the F-35 could not only potentially outmatch the Su-57 but also deploy a much larger 5th-gen fleet.  A Saab Jas Gripen, by contrast, is not-only non-stealthy but regarded as a 4.5-gen aircraft which is “not” 5th-gen, a circumstance potentially making it more vulnerable to Russian Su-57s. 

Multi-National Strength

There is yet another major reason why Canada would be well-served by the F-35, and it relates to allies and potential multi-national formations. At least 20 countries operate with F-35s throughout Europe and Asia, so Canadian air war support from numerous F-35 nations could merge and align with Canada’s F-35s in the event of a great power war. This is an advantage which alternative fighter jets simply could not parallel.

Kris Osborn is the President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a highly qualified expert in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University