Preserving capacity, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, Keys to Canadian SAR
Issue link: http://vanguardcanada.uberflip.com/i/1537168
14 JUNE/JULY 2025 www.vanguardcanada.com F E AT U R E B Y B G en ( Ret'd) T E R RY L E V E R S E D G E F-35 THE LOGISTICS CASE FOR THE ACQUISITION FOR CANADA LIGHTNING II A part from the Lockheed F-35 Lightning II's ad- vanced stealth characteristics and operational capabilities, there is a more important argument to continue the purchase of all 88 F-35 fighters for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF); and it's that of logistics (in it broadest terms). The logistics and maintenance support for any air force fleet is crucial not only in peacetime or wartime but especially over the entire life span of is already struggling to support its modern fleet of Sikorsky-built CH-148 Cyclone helicopters. That's because no other na- tion has bought a military version of the Cyclone like the RCAF's aircraft and the source of spare parts and components are already in short supply very early in the helicopter's life cycle. The track record of European manufacturers having sufficient spare parts for modern fleets in operation is similarly not stellar. The history of the CF-188 Hornet is a prime example of the need to have an ex- tensive logistics support base within Cana- dian industry and in close cooperation with our allies. Canada originally acquired 138 Hornets starting in 1982. The original es- timated life expectancy (ELE) for a fighter of that era was 20 years. But the ELE for the Hornet fleet has been progressively "You will not find it difficult to prove that battles, campaigns, and even wars have been won or lost primarily because of logistics." — General Dwight D. Eisenhower the aircraft and even more so towards the end of its life. The RCAF has a proven track record of supporting and maintaining aircraft fleets over exceptionally long periods of time and the most successful of these have been aircraft types with an extensive logistics and supply chain to draw upon. Examples include the Lockheed / Canadair T-33 Silver Star, CF-104 Starfighter, Lockheed CP-140 Aurora, and Sikorsky CH-124 Sea King to name a few. By contrast, the RCAF