This is the second in a series of posts discussing U.S. military strategic overreach. 

By any reasonable metric, the F-35 fighter is an impressive piece of military engineering. It boasts stealth capabilities, sensor fusion, and interoperable systems that promise to keep Canada in the front ranks of allied air power. Yet, beneath the glossy marketing and Lockheed Martin hype lies a truth so quietly alarming that it should give every Canadian policymaker pause: Canada does not fully control its own F-35s, not even the spare parts sitting on its own soil.

A recent Ottawa Citizen article revealed a startling fact: all spare parts for Canada’s F-35 fleet remain the legal property of the United States government until they are installed into an aircraft. Even parts that Canada has paid for, warehoused, and stored at Canadian bases are subject to U.S. control. The implications for sovereignty are both profound and disturbing.

This is not a bug in the system, it is a feature. The F-35 program operates under a U.S.-controlled global logistics system, originally known as ALIS (Autonomic Logistics Information System) and now being transitioned to ODIN (Operational Data Integrated Network). This system governs not only parts distribution, but also mission data, performance diagnostics, and maintenance schedules. In short, Canada cannot operate or maintain its F-35s without ongoing U.S. authorization.

What does this mean in practice? It means that in any scenario, be it a geopolitical crisis, a domestic emergency, or even a diplomatic spat, Canada’s operational readiness is beholden to U.S. goodwill. If Ottawa wanted to deploy its F-35s in a mission that Washington disapproved of, access to critical spare parts could be curtailed or denied. Even worse, Canada wouldn’t have a legal leg to stand on. That’s not interoperability, that’s dependency.

The Trudeau government, and now the Department of National Defence under Minister Bill Blair, has justified the F-35 purchase on the grounds of performance and alliance coherence, but this latest revelation should force a hard rethink. The fighter itself may fly, but Canadian sovereignty is grounded every time we accept conditions that limit our own use of military equipment.

This is not just a theoretical concern. Recent U.S. behaviour, whether through protectionist trade moves, political instability, or withholding of military assistance to allies, underscores the risk of over-reliance on a single partner, even one as historically close as the United States.

To be clear, this is not an anti-American stance. Cooperation with the U.S. remains vital to Canada’s defense posture. But there is a stark difference between cooperation and concession of control. The F-35 deal, as it stands, crosses that line.

Ottawa should demand contractual clarity and sovereign guarantees, including ownership and full control of spare parts. If that’s not possible within the F-35 framework, then we must have the courage to explore alternatives, however inconvenient or politically difficult they may be.

Because no matter how advanced the aircraft, a fighter jet that can’t be flown without permission isn’t a tool of national defence, it’s a symbol of diminished independence.

Sources
Ottawa Citizen F-35 fighter jet spare parts remain U.S. property until installed in Canadian aircraft https://ottawacitizen.com/public-service/defence-watch/f-35-fighter-jet-spare-parts-u-s-canada