National Post

What happens to Canada if the U.S. scraps the F-35?
The Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter-bomber was supposed to serve as the backbone of the U.S. Air Force while bringing affordable radar-evading stealth technology to medium-sized U.S. allies including Australia, the Netherlands and Canada. Now senior Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee are openly musing about scrapping the most expensive defence program in history. The F-35, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), is 13 to 30 months late meeting revised deadlines. The price per unit has doubled. Last week the Pentagon issued what Senator John McCain called a “jaw-dropping” estimate of US$1-trillion to keep a future 2,400-plane U.S. fleet of F-35s flying for five decades. Canada has been counting on the F-35 to defend its airspace. The Post’s Adam McDowell looks at what is at stake if this option is taken away.