Shameful record of military acquisition failures and still continue | National Post

The autumn report has been presented by the Auditor General of Canada, Michael Ferguson. Due to this report, doubts have arisen and national security and even long-term security have been questioned. In fact, it has been said that it has destroyed the liberal plan to keep the CF-18 flying until 2032.

As such, CF-18s do not meet the requirements required to provide national security. In fact, the report reads, “The combat force could not meet the requirement because the National Defense already had shortages of personnel, and the CF-18 was old and increasingly difficult to maintain”.

Taking up the story

It should be noted that Canada has a long history of failures in completely catastrophic military acquisitions. An example of this is the replacement of the Sea King helicopter of several decades. Likewise, the disastrous purchase of rusty British submarines to replace Canada’s old underwater fleet. To this is added the pathetic end of service for the last two supply ships. It should be noted that they were removed without replacement. This was because they simply were not safe to operate for longer in their advanced age.

Meanwhile, the Liberal government’s handling of the replacement of the CF-18 fighter aircraft of the Royal Canadian Air Force still stands out as a particularly shameful display. In fact, it has been said that incompetence is now superimposed on bad management to such an extent that it is almost impressive to contemplate.

It should be noted that the squadrons of the CF-18 have been presenting a series of problems since April 2018. Similarly, the CF-18 of the air force assumed a shortage of 22 percent in technical positions. Added to this, something that is extremely alarming is that many technicians were not fully qualified to perform maintenance on them.

It is logical that the fleet of CF-18 aircraft came presenting problems. And the CF-18 is approaching 40 years of age. Which is double the expected lifespan. The basic design is a few years older than that. The Jets have been well maintained and updated periodically, and they are still effective weapons. Despite this, there is a real risk that they really can start to fall apart, even in the air.

There is only one solution. New planes and those planes will certainly cost a lot of money.

Source: National Post