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CoVer I t has been a saga that started with the Chrétien Liberals sign- ing Canada onto the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter consortium as a partner nation in its development and heated up during the waning years of Stephen Harper's government. More recently, it has come to the forefront after Justin Trudeau's Liberals gained a majority government, after campaign- ing on a promise to exclude the F-35 from any competition. Since 2015, the F-35 has finally been permitted to par- ticipate in the competition, and Boeing has found themselves to be the target for far more aggression from Canadians after their failed attack on Bombardier's CSeries for what Boeing alleged to be dumping. The Super Hornet was widely considered to be the odds-on favorite of the Liberal Government until that mo- ment, and there was much speculation that Dassault's Rafale was also a front- runner. At this point, it's anyone's guess as to who the favorite is, especially given the rapidly disintegrating relationship between Canada and the United States at present. I personally feel that there's a lean towards the European offerings, but that there is still hope for the F-35. What follows is a summary of the in- formation I have compiled, laid out to illustrate each layer of consideration in order based on perceived importance. Cost (Flight Hour Cost) The following is a list of the various costs of each aircraft. The information makes use of documents from various sources and is as accurate as I could get it, but in areas such as cost per flight hour, it's very hard to be precise, as there isn't one exact standard that companies or governments follow. For example, the Saab Gripen E will most certainly not cost $6,000 USD or less. Even the Su- per Hornet, with a claimed $10,500 cost per flight hour (CPFH), is actually more www.vanguardcanada.com APRIL/MAY 2018 13 than double that amount when you factor in what amortization, salaries and other costs that have previously only been af- fixed to the F-22 and F-35 do to impact the numbers. So, the costs are as follows in Table 1 (true operating costs on the left and claimed costs on the right). The F-35's true flight hour costs have recently started to come to light due to all of the controversy around the program. The DOD's claims of a marginal CPFH of $28,455 are actually quite mislead- ing since when the amortized cost of the F-35 over its 8,000-hour life is factored in, along with other crew and service costs not originally accounted for, the number is closer to $49,000. Once the logistics system is online, the software is matured and stabilized, and there are more units in service, those costs will likely be cut in half in the same way the F-22's CPFH was. Another consideration is the fact that less airframes are required per mission than legacy platforms, thanks to force multipli- cation provided by the platform – which also bodes well for minimizing mainte- nance costs (Figure 2). The Super Hornet is often touted as a much cheaper choice. While from a total CPFH standpoint that is true, one thing that must be factored in is the constant need to upgrade in the future as the threats evolve. The Super Hornet has limited air- frame space, and as such, it must rely on PODs and other hardpoint hogs to improve its capabilities from an electronic warfare standpoint. These PODs also degrade per- formance by inducing drag. Eventually upgrades won't be possible, and by 2025, that will pose a huge problem: overhaul- ing the internal systems will cost nearly as much as a brand-new Super Hornet. Not to mention carrying external stores adds more strain and thus wear and tear on the wings and fuselage, which increases the costs of maintenance as the airframe ages. This will be the same problem all of the other aircraft face with the exception of the F-35. The Eurofighter Typhoon – as was re- vealed a few years back by Sir Peter Luff, the former Parliamentary Under-Secretary for State Defence in the UK – has a true CPFH of £70,000 ($97,349 USD in 2018). Austria, on the other hand, has re- ported a true CPFH of €70,000 ($86,195 Item Cost Per Flight Hour Claim (CPFH USD) F-35 $47,000 – $49,000 $28,455 (DOD) F/A-18E or F Super Hornet $22,000 – $24,000 $10,500 (DOD) Eurofighter Typhoon $86,000 – $97,500 $18,000 (Eurofighter) Dassault Rafale $70,000 – $72,000 $16,500 (Dassault) Saab Gripen E $17,500 – $18,500 $4,700 (Saab) Table 1: Cost Per Flight Hour (CPFH) in USD unless otherwise specified exercise DND

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