Diplomats, defence officials posted abroad told to call scathing F-35 report a ‘bureaucratic’ issue,

http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/06/25/diplomats-defence-officials-posted-abroad-told-to-call-scathing-f-35-report-a-bureaucratic-issue-emails-show/



Diplomats, defence officials posted abroad told to call scathing F-35 report a ‘bureaucratic’ issue, emails show
Lee Berthiaume, Postmedia News | 13/06/25 | Last Updated: 13/06/25 5:00 PM ET

OTTAWA — Canadian diplomats and military officers posted abroad were encouraged to downplay a scathing report by the auditor general on the F-35 stealth fighter in discussions with their foreign counterparts last year, emails show.

At one point, they were even instructed to refer to the criticism as a “bureaucratic” issue rather than a substantial problem.

The instructions were part of a broader Defence Department damage-control effort, and represented the second time in as many months that Canadian officials found themselves reassuring jittery international partners that Canada was not walking away from the fighter jet project.

~snip~

Each partner is tightly linked to the others when it comes to the stealth fighter, because any change in the number of aircraft to be bought by one country, or even the timeline for purchasing, has a ripple effect on the rest.



[i[]unhappycamper comment: Lockheed Martin has been ramping up their outsourcing to get buy ins from politicians. Contracts awarded this week so far:

]http://www.australiandefence.com.au/news/lovitt-technologies-wins-f-35-contract
http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2013/06/21/Fokker-Elmo-gets-more-F-35-work/UPI-66711371844648/
http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2013/06/19/Magellan-to-produce-F-35-horizontal-tails/UPI-53081371665790/
http://vtdigger.org/2013/06/19/danish-firm-terma-enters-into-contract-to-supply-parts-for-f-35/
(Italy Takes $1 Billion Risk With F-35 FACO) http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/AW_06_17_2013_p0108-586855.xml
http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2013/06/25/AIM-Norway-gets-F-35-work/UPI-88341372185230/