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Paul Maillet: F-35 Too Big A Risk For Taxpayers, Says Former Senior Air Force Officer

CP  |  By Posted: 04/25/2012 11:59 am Updated: 04/26/2012 9:25 am

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OTTAWA - A former senior air force flight engineer says the F-35 is currently too big a risk for the Canadian taxpayer.

Retired colonel Paul Maillet, a former Green party candidate who also managed the CF-18 fleet during his time in the military, says his biggest worry about the stealth fighter program is that the aircraft is still in development.

He says it will be a decade before it's clear whether the multi-role jet lives up to its billing.

Maillet says a lot can change in aerospace development between now and 2020 and suggests that the air force consider whether unmanned drones can fill some of operational needs.

Speaking on behalf of the Rideau Institute, an Ottawa-based, left-leaning think-tank, Maillet said the Harper government should take a lesson from its experience with the CH-148 Cyclones, the maritime helicopters ordered by Paul Martin's Liberals.

The choppers are still in development, years behind schedule and far over budget.

Maillet's remarks come as the House of Commons public accounts committee is set to open hearings into the auditor general's latest report, which takes aim at the F-35 program by accusing National Defence and Public Works of hiding the total cost of the program and not following the government's procurement rules.

Auditor general Michael Ferguson said in his April 3 report the F-35 would cost taxpayers at least $25 billion, rather than the $14.7 billion the Harper government has been saying.

Maillet said development aircraft come with a "high, high risk" and the auditor general's estimate is likely on the low side because it's still uncertain how much it will cost to maintain the radar-evading jet once it hits the flight line.

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OTTAWA - A former senior air force flight engineer says the F-35 is currently too big a risk for the Canadian taxpayer.Retired colonel Paul Maillet, a former Green party candidate who also managed the...
OTTAWA - A former senior air force flight engineer says the F-35 is currently too big a risk for the Canadian taxpayer.Retired colonel Paul Maillet, a former Green party candidate who also managed the...
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Spanky McFarlane
ILLEGITIMUS NON CARBORUNDUM.
179 Fans
01:50 PM on 04/26/2012
He is dan right it's a huge risk. Look at waht was spent by the US developing the 'Osprey'. It reached a point where it 'was too big to fail' & the Marines not only lost soldiers to it but they are left with a peice of crap with a helicopter with rotors that tilt forward- big whoop! Some pointy heads wet dream that should never have seen daylight, IMO.
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hat1701d
We're all just one flush away....
197 Fans
07:03 PM on 04/29/2012
First off, the Osprey IS expensive. However, military personel have been lost in every aircraft ever developed, especially those developed specifically for troop transport. The Blackhawk has lost many, many troops both during it's development and during it's operational life. Yet it is used world wide. Now, better do some research, several companies are developing civilian aircraft tiltrotors very much like the Osprey for regional passenger aircraft use.
As to the F-35, it IS a boondoggle. Former Sec. Defense Robert Gates "promised" the American Tax payer that the F-35 would cost "less than half" of each F-22 bought by the U.S. Air Force. The last F-22 that rolled off Lockheed's assembly line was 137 million dollars. The F-35 due to setbacks and cost overruns is now figured to cost over 160 million per aircraft. Now added to the list of problems plaguing the design is the helmet that is designed with the integrated "HUD". It does not function properly of years of design and development. It would be easier and cheaper to build an additional 75 F-22s, buy a variant of the F-16 Block 60 "Desert Falcon" and add the F-15 SE "Silent Eagle" to the U.S. Air Force instead of selling it to 3rd world nations.
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