Super Hornets likely cheaper than F 35s, finance officials told minister

Federal officials tried to cut through the fog of war last year when they told Finance Minister Bill Morneau that it would probably be cheaper to replace Canada’s aging Air Force fleet with Super Hornet fighter jets rather than F-35s.

The cost of each warplane has been a matter of sharp debate for years as successive Canadian governments have wrestled with the politically thorny question of how best to usher the force into the 21st century.

That uncertainty was evident in a secret briefing note that was presented to Morneau in August and obtained by The Canadian Press through the Access to Information Act.

But using publicly available information, officials were able to provide “rough estimates’’ of the cost of each of the different warplanes that were in the running to replace the CF-18s.

The Super Hornet came out on top: officials pegged the average cost of each jet at between $88 million and $110 million, depending on the source of information and which of the various options were included.

That compared to between $110 million and $144 million for an F-35, while two European fighters that are also in the running were even more expensive.

Officials cautioned that the actual price to Canada would depend on a number of factors, such as the exchange rate, what Canadian-specific modifications were included, and ultimately the number of aircraft purchased.

They also said they were unable to determine the full cost not only of buying, but also operating and maintaining each type of jet — details that some analysts consider to be even more important than the sticker price.

But the figures do provide insight into the information that has been presented to decision-makers in Ottawa when it comes to one of the most politically sensitive and contentious military projects in recent political history. A few months after the note was presented to Morneau, the Liberal government announced plans to sole-source 18 Super Hornets as a stopgap measure before running a full competition to replace the CF-18s.

The government says the Super Hornets are urgently needed because of a shortage of airworthy CF-18s, but opposition critics and others allege the plan is actually part of a larger effort to avoid having to buy the F-35.

The figures contained in the briefing note suggest buying those 18 Super Hornets would cost between $1.5 billion and $2 billion, though manufacturer Boeing has until the fall to provide a final cost.