An expert on defence budgeting says the federal governmentâs plan to hold a five-year competition to scout out a replacement for the militaryâs aging aircraft fleet is âridiculousâ and could be done much quicker.
âThe question of why we need five years I think is one that hasnât really been fully answered,â David Perry, a senior analyst and fellow with Canadian Global Affairs Institute, told CTVâs Power Play.
The Liberal government announced Tuesday that it plans to âexplore the acquisitionâ of 18 Boeing Super Hornet jets until it has settled on a new, permanent aircraft purchase to replace the current fighter jets, which are more than 30 years old.
A competition will be held to allow the federal government to consider a variety of jet models. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said the process is expected to last five years.
Itâs hardly the first time the issue has been studied, Perry said.
âThe air force leading up to 2010 had made a recommendation, after which point the last government was unhappy with how that proceeded, and basically went through a full analysis starting from scratch. This government came in and has done the same thing,â he said.
âSo since 2012, thereâs basically been four years of looking at this issue. So I just find it incredulous that it would then take five years in addition to this to actually run a competition.â
Perry also cast doubt on the governmentâs proposed timeline to purchase the Super Hornets, which are considered a temporary placeholder until a permanent solution is made.
âIf you look at the past two big aircraft weâve purchased through non-competitive processes -- our Hercules and our Chinook aircraft -- those took three and five years, respectively,â he said.
Asked whether Canada could receive the Super Hornet jets by the time the five-year competition is over, Perry said: âI donât think thatâs out of the question.â
Perry insisted that the government could slash the competitionâs timeline to as short as one to three years.
âI think five years to actually compete this thing sometime starting next spring is ridiculous. It could start today,â he said.
Sajjan: Jets should arrive by late 2020s
Sajjan defended the governmentâs timeframe, saying the process must be done âin a thorough manner.â
âBy having an open competition that we donât cut corners on allows us to make sure that we can look at every aspect,â Sajjan told CTVâs Power Play. âThis is a significant investment, so weâre going to make sure that we get this right.â
Sajjan said the timeline was developed based on the advice of government officials with knowledge of the fighter jets.
âWeâd love to be able to move it faster, but we want to make sure that the process itself is going to be thorough.â
But the five-year competition doesnât mean Canadaâs new jets will be in the sky by 2021. Sajjan said the new aircraft will require new training for pilots and mechanics, and the fleet will be gradually phased in.
âItâll start as early as in five years, but it will take until the late 2020s to get the full fleet in,â the minister said.
The minister also slammed the previous Conservative government for failing to solve the problem while it was in power.
âWe should have replaced our jets a long time ago. The previous government should have done this. Our fighters are over 30 years old,â he said. âWe cannot take a chance with flying older aircraft.â