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The department and the minister have decided that's an efficient and a necessary use of resources

“In terms of value for dollar of extending this aircraft out to 2032 and allowing it to achieve operational parity with current threats, the department, the (chief of the defence staff), the (deputy minister) and the minister have decided that’s an efficient and a necessary use of resources,” Balfe explained of the upgrade program.

He said the first two of the 18 used Australian F-18 jets are now flying in RCAF colours and the addition of those aircraft will boost the numbers of planes available to 94.

“The first two jets entered operational service on the 28th of June, and then the next 16 will come over the next 18 months,” he said.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said those extra jets are needed to deal with a “capability gap” as Canada does not have enough fighters to handle its commitments to NATO as well as protecting North America.

But Conservative MPs say the capability gap didn’t exist and was concocted by the Liberal government to delay a larger project to buy new jets, a competition that might end up selecting the F-35 stealth fighter the Liberals vowed never to purchase.

The Conservatives have argued that it makes more sense to go immediately into the purchase of new jets instead of buying the 18 used Australian planes.

In November 2018 the Auditor General’s office issued a report noting that the purchase of the extra aircraft would not fix the fundamental weaknesses with the CF-18 fleet which is the aircraft’s declining combat capability and a shortage of pilots and maintenance personnel.