Evaluation of options for the replacement of the CF-18 fighter fleet : Évaluation des options de remplacement de la flotte de CF-18 : rapport sommaire

This methodology, which is described in the next section, was used to determine the mission needs of the Canadian Armed Forces five to 30 years into the future, to assess the ability of the Armed Forces to meet those needs at the present time, and to forecast the capabilities required to meet them in the future relative to a range of evolving threats. [...] As the only Canadian aircraft assigned to that role, CF-18s are on continuous alert to respond to potential aerial threats to the safety of Canadians and the security of Canada and the continent. [...] IFOSTP re-certified the design life of the CF-18 to measure the fatigue life of the platform, and in this way replaced the use of flight hours as a measure of fatigue life. [...] The maintenance burden of the aircraft is likely to increase, and the reliability of their key systems and components to decrease, as the aircraft age. [...] Supportability refers to the maintenance and logistics support to the aircraft over the lifespan of the fleet.