Analysts warn that the U.S. will have full control over software upgrades needed for the Canadian military’s new fleet of F-35s.

The Liberal government announced in early 2023, that it would purchase 88 F-35s in a project costing $19 billion. DND officials also confirmed the full life-cycle cost for the F-35 project would eventually tally $70 billion.

The first of Canada’s F-35s will be first delivered to a U.S. military base in 2026 and then into Canada in 2028. Canada plans to operate the aircraft until 2060.

In recent days, some Canadians have voiced concerns online that the U.S. has installed a specialized kill switch that could disable the Royal Canadian Air Force’s F-35 fleet.

DND spokesperson Kened Sadiku said no such switch exists on the aircraft, but he did acknowledge that the U.S. is in charge of both software and hardware upgrades for the planes.

  • jaxxed@lemmy.ml
    3·
    3 days ago

    And be subject to the same issue from the Russians!?! The European initiatives (and Sweden) are a much better idea, even if they are still a generation behind.