F-35 fighter jets: Australia could pay millions more for new jets after Canada exit

Australia could end up paying up to $100 million more for the purchase of new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets as a result of Canada’s exit from a nine-nation program to develop the jets.

F-35 Lightning II fighter jet Source: AAP

US Air Force Lieutenant General Chris Bogdan said a decision by Canada to withdraw from a joint program to purchase F-35 fighter jets will increase the costs for the other eight countries committed to the plan, including Australia.

Australia, Canada and the US have been in a nine-country deal to build what has been described as the world’s most expensive weapon.

The other partners include Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Turkey and the UK.

Canada's newly elected prime minister Justin Trudeau has promised to cancel plans to buy 65 F-35 fighter jets and instead open a new tender for a cheaper plan to replace his country’s ageing fleet of jets.

The head of the F-35 program, US Air Force Lieutenant General Chris Bogdan, told a congressional hearing in Washington that Canada’s exit would add about $1 million to the cost of each plane purchased by the US military or other partners.

“If there are 65 less A-model airplanes in that production profile from any country – whether that be Canada or someone else – we have estimated the increase in price to everyone else is about 0.7 to 1 per cent. For an A-model today that is about $US1 million ($A1.38 million) copy for everybody else,” he said.

In Australia this could translate to a cost blowout of almost $100 million, as former PM Tony Abbott had committed the country to buying a total fleet of 72 F-35 jets.

Bogdan told lawmakers he was speaking in general terms since it would be inappropriate to comment on the impact of the election of Justin Trudeau as Canada's prime minister. He also added that he had not received formal notification of Canada’s decision to withdraw from the program.

He said the cost for a follow-on development program would also increase for the other eight partners in the program as Canada had been set to cover 2 per cent of that cost.

Australian Defence Force officials told a senate inquiry earlier this week that the budget for the F-35 purchases was $17 billion, but the initial outlay and ongoing costs have been put as high as $24 billion.

Speaking ahead of General Bogdan's comments, Australian officials also told the senate estimates hearing that the Canadian decision to withdraw was not likely to increase costs for Australia.

With Reuters