F-35 program could be on chopping block
Canada's plans to replenish its aging air force with a new generation of high-tech fighter jets could be affected by U.S. budget cuts.
U.S. Defence Secretary Leon Panetta warned Congress this week that the U.S. military is looking at some ugly choices if lawmakers cannot come to an agreement on how to cut US$1.2 trillion from the deficit.
Should Congress fail to make progress on the deficit by Nov. 23, Panetta said the military will be legally obligated to slash $500 billion from its operations over a 10-year period, in addition to $450 billion in cuts that are already underway.
Panetta wrote a letter to two members of the Senate Armed Service Committee outlining what some of those cuts would be.
"Facing such large reductions, we would have to reduce the size of the military sharply," Panetta said in the letter sent to Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham on November 14.
"Rough estimates suggest after ten years of these cuts, we would have the smallest ground force since 1940, the smallest number of ships since 1915, and the smallest Air Force in its history. We would also be forced to terminate most large procurement programs in order to accommodate modernization reductions that are likely to be required."
In his letter, Panetta said the Department of Defence could decide to "terminate" its Joint Strike Fighter program.
His letter does not say how likely it is that the U.S. military would actually kill the Joint Strike Fighter. But he said that doing so could save Washington an estimated $80 billion.
Canada has made plans to spend billions on an F-35 fleet of its own, which will be built by the U.S.-based Lockheed Martin.
But if Washington pulls the plug on its own F-35 plans, it is unclear what will happen to the development timeline for the planes that Canada wants to replace its aging fleet of CF-18 Hornets.
Canada's plans to replenish its aging air force with a new generation of high-tech fighter jets could be affected by U.S. budget cuts.
U.S. Defence Secretary Leon Panetta warned Congress this week that the U.S. military is looking at some ugly choices if lawmakers cannot come to an agreement on how to cut US$1.2 trillion from the deficit.
Should Congress fail to make progress on the deficit by Nov. 23, Panetta said the military will be legally obligated to slash $500 billion from its operations over a 10-year period, in addition to $450 billion in cuts that are already underway.
Panetta wrote a letter to two members of the Senate Armed Service Committee outlining what some of those cuts would be.
"Facing such large reductions, we would have to reduce the size of the military sharply," Panetta said in the letter sent to Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham on November 14.
"Rough estimates suggest after ten years of these cuts, we would have the smallest ground force since 1940, the smallest number of ships since 1915, and the smallest Air Force in its history. We would also be forced to terminate most large procurement programs in order to accommodate modernization reductions that are likely to be required."
In his letter, Panetta said the Department of Defence could decide to "terminate" its Joint Strike Fighter program.
His letter does not say how likely it is that the U.S. military would actually kill the Joint Strike Fighter. But he said that doing so could save Washington an estimated $80 billion.
Canada has made plans to spend billions on an F-35 fleet of its own, which will be built by the U.S.-based Lockheed Martin.
But if Washington pulls the plug on its own F-35 plans, it is unclear what will happen to the development timeline for the planes that Canada wants to replace its aging fleet of CF-18 Hornets.
