Equipment Procurement

Mandatory Capabilities / Requirements

F-35 Home Page
  • Mandatory Capabilities: The short-list of high level, qualitative mandatory capabilities includes the following characteristics that take into account NORAD and NATO requirements:
    • Range:  The aircraft must be capable of flying long distances from various Canadian Forces bases at home and abroad, without air-to-air refuelling support, allowing for one stop along the way, if required.
    • Endurance:  The aircraft must have the endurance to be capable of operating from a range of geographical locations, while maintaining a combat air patrol.
    • Speed:  Our next fighter must have the speed to be capable of successfully conducting an intercept such as fighters or bombers.
    • Air-to-Air Refuelling:  The fighter must be capable of receiving fuel in-flight to extend its range and endurance.
    • Deployability:  Our next fighter must be capable of deploying locations domestically and worldwide in a full range of geographic, environmental, climatic and threat conditions.
    • Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance:  The fighter must be capable of providing superior intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance data, before, during and following the deployment of weapons. 
    • Sensors and Data Fusion: The aircraft must be capable of accurately detecting, tracking, identifying, prioritizing, engaging and assessing a range of air-to-air and air-to-surface contacts in all weather conditions, day and night, in permissive and non-permissive environments.
    • Weapons:  The aircraft must precisely deliver a range of air-to-air and air-to-surface weapons in all weather conditions, day and night, in threatening and non-threatening environments, and provide a spectrum of tailored weapons effects.
    • Survivability:  The aircraft must be capable of defending itself and its crew by employing a range of self-defence technologies and minimizing the risk of detection, engagement and damage in threatening environments.
    • Interoperability: The aircraft must be capable of effectively operating in joint (land, sea and aerospace) and combined environments with Canada’s allies.
    • Growth Potential:  The aircraft must be capable of continuous growth to maintain interoperability, survivability and operational capabilities for the duration of its lifetime.
    • Fleet Size:  The fleet must be large enough to conduct assigned missions and roles while remaining combat ready while simultaneously maintaining training new crews and maintenance of aircraft.
    • Certification:  The aircraft must be capable of certification and sustainment in accordance with Canadian standards.
    • Delivery:  To ensure Canada maintains a sovereign, independent fighter jet capability, delivery of the new fighter must begin in 2016 to ensure crews are trained and ready in time for the CF-18’s projected retirement in 2020.
  • Mandatory Requirements: The Next Generation Fighter Capability (NGFC) mandatory capabilities were further defined into Mandatory Requirements.  These mandatory requirements are grouped into five categories.  These five categories are:
    • System Effectiveness Requirements;
    • Sub- System Effectiveness Requirements;
    • Performance Measures;
    • Personnel and Training Requirements; and
    • Scheduling Requirements
  • The requirements in each of these categories were derived by examining the current and perceived roles and missions that the NGFC will be responsible for and the environments, both physical and threat, in which it will be operating.
  • An analysis led to the determination that one of the System Effectiveness requirements and four of the sub-system requirements could only be satisfied by a fifth generation aircraft.  A general description of these is as follows;
    • The possession of stealth capabilities that make detection by enemy sensor systems exceedingly difficult.
    • Capable of secure data link communications permitting operations in a hostile environment.
    • Capable of permitting the pilot to visually operate the aircraft in no-light conditions. 
    • Capable of automatically sharing data and sensor information between friendly aircraft to maximize own aircraft and formation effectiveness.
    • Capable of permitting the pilot to effectively detect and engage small targets at tactically significant ranges.