DEFECTIONS HAVE BEGUN: Canada Rejects The Pricey F-35 Joint Strike Fighter [View all]

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http://www.businessinsider.com/canada-backs-out-of-f-35-deal-2012-12



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Then last spring Auditor General Michael Ferguson called out a bunch of party conservatives who'd been low-balling the jets costs.
From Canada.com:

Last spring, Ferguson ignited a political firestorm when he reported that the top-line cost cited by the Conservatives in the 2011 election campaign – $9-billion for 65 planes, or $15-billion including maintenance and other life-cycle costs – was $10-billion below the Defence department’s internal estimate.

Even the internal figure of $25.1-billion was suspect, critics said, because it assumed a 20-year life cycle. The longevity of the Lockheed-Martin-built aircraft, according to the Pentagon, is 36 years.

KPMG’s audit, due out next week, has confirmed the contention, long made by critics such as former assistant deputy minister (materiel) Alan Williams, that the F-35 program’s real cost would be much higher than any previously stated government estimate, sources say.


Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/canada-backs-out-of-f-35-deal-2012-12#ixzz2EMsMmpBU