F-35 costs soar nearly 50% amid delays, AG reports – National [Video]

The estimated cost of Canada’s incoming fleet of advanced stealth fighters exploded by nearly 50 per cent in just a few years, auditor general Karen Hogan said Tuesday in a new report.

The fighter jet audit was one of eight tabled in the House of Commons by Hogan and environment commissioner Jerry DeMarco. The reports flag problematic procurement contracts, a backlog in applications for First Nations status and a delay in reducing the amount of federal office space.

An investigation by the auditor general concluded that costs associated with the F-35 advanced fighter jet program are running $8.7 billion higher than the original estimates.

And it warns the program is being plagued by delays and critical shortfalls — including a lack of qualified pilots.

The report lands in the middle of an active review ordered by Prime Minister Mark Carney to examine possible alternatives to the F-35. He ordered the review in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s …