Despite flap, F-35 still best jet for Canada, (Lockheed Martin) company official says

[unhappycamper]

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/national/Despite+flap+still+best+Canada+company+official+says/7934727/story.html

Despite flap, F-35 still best jet for Canada, company official says
By Lee Berthiaume, Postmedia News February 7, 2013

OTTAWA — The vice-president of U.S. defence company Lockheed Martin says he is confident the F-35 will emerge as the best fighter jet for Canada as the Harper government looks at all options for replacing Canada’s aging CF-18s.

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“I am 100 per cent sure we believe the F-35 can meet Canada’s requirements,” O’Bryan told Postmedia in an interview Thursday. “But I would never speak for the Canadian government or tell the Canadian government what to do or speculate how this will come out.”

Lockheed Martin and the F-35 appeared headed for a smooth flight after the Harper government announced in July 2010 that Canada was purchasing 65 of the stealth fighters.

Instead, the project has been bombarded with cost and schedule concerns, and the auditor general raised concerns last April about the way the program — now estimated to cost $45 billion — was managed.