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U.S. expects Canada to buy F-35
U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said here on Thursday that he expects Canada's continued support for the F-35 joint strike fighter plane program,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], which is under fire from opposition politicians here.Gates, in Ottawa for a meeting with Peter MacKay, his Canadian counterpart, waded into a debate on Canada's purchase of the F-35. The 16-billion-Canadian dollar (about 16.11 billion U.S. dollars) purchase and maintenance deal is expected to be an important issue in a federal election campaign that could come as early as April.
At a news conference after the meeting, Gates made it clear that the Obama administration expects Canada and other U.S. allies to buy the F-35."Without getting into domestic affairs in Canada I would just say that my hope is,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], for all of our sakes,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], that all of our partners continue to move forward with us on this program,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]," Gates said.
He downplayed criticism of the F-35,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], saying the air force version,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], unlike the vertical take-off naval variant, has had few production problems and cost over-runs. He said he expects about 3, 000 F-35s to be built for the United States and its allies.The Liberal Party of Canada opposes the purchase of 65 of the F- 35s,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], saying they are too expensive and are technically not suited to Canada's needs. The Liberals have already put commercials on Canadian TV channels to attack the deal.
Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff also claimed the government should have sought bids from other aircraft builders,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], rather than make an untendered deal with Lockheed Martin,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], the builder of the F- 35."We need this aircraft," MacKay told reporters. "It is the only fifth-generation aircraft that has the capability and the on-board equipment and the stealth capacity and the weapons radar system that is interoperable with our colleagues and our allies in the United States through NORAD."
"The Liberal opposition is playing political games with this issue and that is a risk for the Canadian Forces,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]," said MacKay.MacKay said Canada's aerospace industry has already begun to benefit from the F-35 purchase. And,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], he said,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], the country's fleet of F-18s will be worn out by the time the first F-35s are delivered in 2017.
The minister said killing the deal would result in an " operational gap.""There is,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], shall we say,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], a sweet spot in terms of the delivery time and the investment that allows us to be in that production line, that global supply chain when we start taking delivery," said MacKay.
MacKay stressed the F-35's compatibility with the U.S. air force and navy fleet, and said purchasing the plane makes Canada's military more able to work with the U.S. armed forces.During their meeting,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], MacKay and Gates discussed issues related to the security of the Western Hemisphere,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], such as the situation in Mexico and Central America.
They also pledged to continue to support the work of civilian law enforcement agencies in countering illicit activities such as narcotics,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], human trafficking,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], piracy,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], and cyber threats.MacKay and Gates also discussed the ongoing mission in Afghanistan, with Gates praising Canada's contribution and offering sympathy and thanks to the families of Canadian soldiers killed there,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], as well as NATO and global challenges like Iran.
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