Chris Wattie / Reuters Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan speaks during a news conference in Ottawa on June 7, 2017.

OTTAWA — The federal government announced Tuesday it will wait five years before choosing a replacement for Canada's aging CF-18 fighter aircraft and purchase second-hand 30-year-old Australian aircraft instead in an effort to fix a capability gap that industry observers describe as "fictional." "It is absolutely, totally, nonsensical," Alan Williams, the former assistant deputy minister (materiel) for national defence, told HuffPost Canada ahead of the announcement. "There is no need to have interim jets. There is no need to waste billions of dollars, no need to train people on different platforms," he said. "Even if you admit there is a gap — which I don't think anyone seriously believes — the way to go about resolving it is exactly the opposite of what they are doing." 'You are not reinventing the wheel' The fastest way to fix the problem is through a competition, he said. "Everything is out there. You are not reinventing the wheel... There is no justifiable process reason to delay it. They can easily get it out, should they so desire." The Liberals promised during the 2015 election campaign that they would "immediately launch an open and transparent competition to replace the CF-18 fighter aircraft." The Grits pledged not buy the F-35 — a plane the Tories had favoured and misled the public about its cost — and instead promised to focus on a lower-priced aircraft that would meet basic needs related to the defence of North America. But 25 months after forming government, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's team is only now launching the competition. Tuesday, the government said it expects to award a contract in 2022 with the first planes delivered as early as 2025. "They could have announced they would run a competition two years ago," Williams said, "and be well done with it." Earlier: Trudeau 'disappointed' by hefty U.S. duty on Bombardier jets

Last week, Transport Minister Marc Garneau confirmed the government's decision to purchased used Australian aircraft. The 18 planes are the same age as Canada's CF-18s — jets that Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan has said "should have been replaced 10 years ago." While the Grits have promised to buy 88 fighter aircraft, Sajjan told reporters more planes are needed to address an "interim capability gap." That gap is the number of jets required to fulfil Canada's NATO and NORAD commitments simultaneously. The National Defence Department won't say what missions might be compromised if new jets aren't purchased and for decades successive governments have managed the risk believing it was unlikely all those aircraft would be needed at the same time. "For reasons of operational security, the RCAF cannot comment further on how it manages the employment of its CF-18 fleet," Daniel Le Bouthillier, the head of media relations at DND, told HuffPost Canada. The high-end of Canada's NATO obligation is a promise to have six jets ready to fly in short order, said David Perry, a senior analyst with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. The NORAD commitment is classified. "It would be the worst case scenario — literally, the Russians are coming," Perry said.

Kevin Coombs / Reuters Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attends a press conference ahead of a NATO Summit in Brussels, Belgium on May 25, 2017.