Equipment Procurement

Sustainment / Maintenance

F-35 Home Page
  • The cost of sustainment for the F-35 aircraft is anticipated to be comparable our current CF-18s or other equivalent fighter aircraft.
    • We estimate the cost of sustaining the fleet at $250-300 million per year.
  • Currently, we are working with the other Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) partners to identify ways of cooperating on sustainment. Canada also anticipates significant savings throughout the life-cycle of the aircraft due to the collaborative approach of the global partnership to the sustainment and follow-on development.
    • As an example, we are looking at pooling our spare parts with the other partners. This could mean almost a 50 per cent reduction in the number of spare parts Canada would need to buy to set up its own support system.
  • As a partner on the JSF program, we have access to all known costs associated with sustaining the fleet. 
  • In fact, the Department of National Defence (DND) knows far more about sustaining the F-35 than we have known about sustaining any previous fleet. This foresight can help DND better plan for the future and lead to real cost savings.