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Defence Watch

Media in Russia are reporting that Canada will provide for free surplus CF-18 fighter jets to Ukraine’s military. In addition, an offer has been made to provide RCAF personnel to train Ukraine pilots on the aircraft, according to the reports.

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Officials with the Department of National Defence officials as well as Defence Minister Rob Nicholson’s spokesperson, however, tell Defence Watch that is not the case.

“This report is false,” said Johanna Quinney, the minister’s spokeswoman.

At times, the Canadian military has looked for a home for surplus CF-18s. In 2001 I wrote about an effort to determine if there was a market to sell 42 CF-18s.

Then air force Col. Wally Istchenko, director of the Directorate of Aerospace Requirements, told me that the issue was whether the planes were worth more for sale or valuable to the air force for spare parts.

Istchenko acknowledged at the time it could be tough to sell the planes, not only because they were old but because of they were originally purchased from the U.S. in the mid-1980s. U.S. State Department approval would be needed for any potential foreign sale and there could be numerous restrictions on what countries they could be sold to, he noted.

“They are an old airplane and if anyone were to buy them they would be looking at doing a very significant modernization program to them,” Istchenko said. “So it begs the question about who would buy them?”