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But that was before Auditor General Michael Ferguson raised significant concerns about the way the F-35 project had been managed, prompting the Conservative government to pause in late 2012 and re-examine its options.

The government has refused to say when it will announce a decision to either purchase the F-35 without a competition, or hold an open competition to replace the CF-18s.

It has been sitting on a report, outlining the pros and cons of either option as well as of upgrading the CF-18s, since April, and provided no hints as to which way it is leaning or why the decision is taking so long. The government has refused to release a version of the report that was supposed to be made public.

However, documents obtained by the Citizen show that no matter what the government decides, the delays mean the Royal Canadian Air Force will now be stuck using the CF-18s until well into the 2020s. That will cost money, the documents suggest.

“Irrespective of the fighter replacement option chosen, the CF-18 Estimated Life Expectancy will need to be extended,” deputy minister Richard Fadden wrote in a secret briefing note to then-defence minister Peter MacKay and associate defence minister Julian Fantino in May 2013.

“Extending the useful life of the CF-18 will likely require expenditure authority and contract authority for associated capital investments,” Fadden added.

Fadden wrote that National Defence was conducting a “thorough examination” of the CF-18 fleet, which would include “the cost of necessary upgrades to maintain safe and effective operations” past 2020. Those cost estimates are included in the options report now sitting with the government.