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Life cycle cost of new F-35 fighter jet fleet estimated at $73.9 billion, says PBO

Ottawa (Ontario), November 2, 2023

The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) today released an independent assessment of the life cycle cost of Canada’s F-35 program.

Pursuing our commitment to providing independent analysis and transparency on major defence procurement initiatives, this report presents the PBO’s own analysis of the full life cycle costs of the F-35 program, with estimates for each of the major life cycle phases: development, acquisition, operations and sustainment, and disposal.

“The total estimated cost of the development, acquisition, operations and sustainment, and disposal of the new fleet of fighter jets is $73.9 billion over a 45-year period,” says Yves Giroux, PBO. This is broadly in line with the Government’s own estimate of “about $70 billion”.

The first four of the planned 88 aircraft are expected to arrive in 2026, with deliveries increasing annually to a maximum of 18 per year in 2029. This rate is expected to be sustained until the final 18 aircraft are delivered in 2032.

“The total cost of the acquisition phase, including not just the purchase cost of the fighter jets but all acquisition phase activities, is projected to be $19.8 billion according to our analysis”, explains Mr. Giroux.

The operations and sustainment phase is estimated at $53.8 billion and is slated to begin in 2025-26, in advance of the delivery of the first F-35s to the Royal Canadian Air Force. These phase will end in 2061-62 once the last aircraft has reached the end of its useful life.

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author={Kho, Albert and Penney, Christopher and Busby, Carleigh},\n title={The Life Cycle Cost of Canada\u2019s F-35 Program - A Fiscal Analysis},\n institution={The Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer},\n year=2023,\n \n address = \u0022Ottawa, ON\u0022\n}","fr":"@techreport{DPB-RP2324018S,\n author={Kho, Albert and Penney, Christopher and Busby, Carleigh},\n title={Le cout du cycle de vie du programme des F-35 du Canada - une analyse financi\\`{e}re},\n institution={Bureau du directeur parlementaire du budget},\n year=2023,\n \n address = \u0022Ottawa, ON\u0022\n}"}}