The Life Cycle Cost of Canada’s F-35 Program – A Fiscal Analysis

Communications

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• The total estimated cost of the development, acquisition, operations and sustainment, and disposal of the new fleet of fighter jets is $73.9 billion over a 45-year period.

• The total cost of the acquisition phase, including not just the purchase cost of the fighter jets but all acquisition phase activities, is projected to be $19.8 billion according to our analysis.

News Release

{"id":56,"created_at":"2023-11-01T13:47:50-04:00","updated_at":"2023-11-02T08:57:05-04:00","slug":"life-cycle-cost-of-new-f-35-fighter-jet-fleet-estimated-at-739-billion-says-pbo-le-cout-du-cycle-de-vie-de-la-nouvelle-flotte-de-chasseurs-f-35-est-estime-a-739-milliards-affirme-le-dpb","title_en":"Life cycle cost of new F-35 fighter jet fleet estimated at $73.9 billion, says PBO","title_fr":"Le co\u00fbt du cycle de vie de la nouvelle flotte de chasseurs F 35 est estim\u00e9 \u00e0 73,9 milliards $, affirme le DPB","body_en":"The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) today released an independent assessment of the life cycle cost of Canada\u2019s F-35 program.\n\nPursuing our commitment to providing independent analysis and transparency on major defence procurement initiatives, this report presents the PBO\u2019s own analysis of the full life cycle costs of the F-35 program, with estimates for each of the major life cycle phases: development, acquisition, operations and sustainment, and disposal.\n\n\u201cThe total estimated cost of the development, acquisition, operations and sustainment, and disposal of the new fleet of fighter jets is $73.9 billion over a 45-year period,\u201d says Yves Giroux, PBO. This is broadly in line with the Government\u2019s own estimate of \u201cabout $70 billion\u201d.\n\nThe first four of the planned 88 aircraft are expected to arrive in 2026, with deliveries increasing annually to a maximum of 18 per year in 2029. This rate is expected to be sustained until the final 18 aircraft are delivered in 2032.\n\n\u201cThe total cost of the acquisition phase, including not just the purchase cost of the fighter jets but all acquisition phase activities, is projected to be $19.8 billion according to our analysis\u201d, explains Mr. Giroux.\n\nThe operations and sustainment phase is estimated at $53.8 billion and is slated to begin in 2025-26, in advance of the delivery of the first F-35s to the Royal Canadian Air Force. These phase will end in 2061-62 once the last aircraft has reached the end of its useful life.","body_fr":"Le directeur parlementaire du budget (le DPB) a publi\u00e9 aujourd\u2019hui une \u00e9valuation ind\u00e9pendante du co\u00fbt du cycle de vie du programme des F 35 du Canada.\n\nDonnant suite \u00e0 notre engagement d\u2019offrir une analyse ind\u00e9pendante et de favoriser la transparence des grandes initiatives d\u2019acquisition de d\u00e9fense, ce rapport pr\u00e9sente l\u2019analyse que fait le DPB des co\u00fbts du cycle de vie complet du programme des F-35, ainsi que des estimations pour chacune des grandes \u00e9tapes du cycle de vie : d\u00e9veloppement, acquisition, exploitation et maintien en service, et d\u00e9mant\u00e8lement.\n\n\u00ab Le co\u00fbt total du d\u00e9veloppement, de l\u2019acquisition, de l\u2019exploitation, du maintien en service et du d\u00e9mant\u00e8lement de la nouvelle flotte de chasseurs est estim\u00e9 \u00e0 73,9 milliards de dollars sur 45 ans \u00bb, d\u00e9clare le DPB, Yves Giroux. Il s\u2019agit d\u2019une estimation semblable \u00e0 celle du Gouvernement, qui a estim\u00e9 ces co\u00fbts \u00e0 \u00ab environ 70 milliards de dollars \u00bb.\n\nSur les 88 a\u00e9ronefs pr\u00e9vus, les quatre premiers devraient arriver en 2026, le rythme de livraison annuel augmentant pour atteindre un maximum de 18 a\u00e9ronefs par an en 2029. Ce rythme devrait se maintenir jusqu\u2019\u00e0 la livraison des 18 derniers appareils en 2032.\n\n\u00ab Selon notre analyse, le co\u00fbt total de l\u2019\u00e9tape de l\u2019acquisition, incluant non seulement le co\u00fbt d\u2019achat des chasseurs mais aussi toutes les activit\u00e9s li\u00e9es \u00e0 cette \u00e9tape, devrait s\u2019\u00e9lever \u00e0 19,8 milliards de dollars \u00bb, explique M. Giroux.\n\nL\u2019\u00e9tape de l\u2019exploitation et du maintien en service est estim\u00e9e \u00e0 53,8 milliards de dollars et devrait commencer en 2025-2026, avant la livraison des premiers F 35 \u00e0 la Marine royale canadienne. Cette \u00e9tape prendra fin en 2061-2062, lorsque le dernier a\u00e9ronef aura atteint la fin de sa vie utile.","release_date":"2023-11-02T09:00:00-04:00","is_published":"2023-11-02T08:57:05-04:00","internal_id":"COM-2324-056","permalinks":{"en":{"website":"https:\/\/www.pbo-dpb.ca\/en\/blog\/news-releases--communiques-de-presse\/life-cycle-cost-of-new-f-35-fighter-jet-fleet-estimated-at-739-billion-says-pbo-le-cout-du-cycle-de-vie-de-la-nouvelle-flotte-de-chasseurs-f-35-est-estime-a-739-milliards-affirme-le-dpb"},"fr":{"website":"https:\/\/www.pbo-dpb.ca\/fr\/blog\/news-releases--communiques-de-presse\/life-cycle-cost-of-new-f-35-fighter-jet-fleet-estimated-at-739-billion-says-pbo-le-cout-du-cycle-de-vie-de-la-nouvelle-flotte-de-chasseurs-f-35-est-estime-a-739-milliards-affirme-le-dpb"}},"pivot":{"publication_id":768,"news_release_id":56}}