Supply chain logistics and sustainment costs. If a Canadian F35 aircraft urgently needs a spare part on the other side of the world, Canada could purchase the

Supply chain logistics and sustainment costs. If a Canadian F35 aircraft urgently needs a spare part on the other side of the world, Canada could purchase the spare part from another F35 user in the region and not have to wait until the part is flown from the other side of the world. Pilots from allied countries could potentially fly the same aircraft type regardless of which country owns an individual aircraft. Thus if a country is short on trained pilots, the aircraft could still potentially be piloted by an ally. These aircraft are estimated to have a sustainment cost USD$8-10M/yr/aircraft (July 2021) or for the 88 aircraft to be procured by Canada, USD$880M/yr (July 2021). These costs would no doubt be higher if Canada were to select or develop an equivalent aircraft that only a small number of countries use as production of a completely different set of spare parts would be required for many decades. The costs would also be higher due to Canada needing to install additional or upgraded equipment during the lifespan--radios, armaments, etc. Instead of benefiting from shared R&D costs of the US and other countries, Canada would need to develop and sustain customised equipment for the aircraft themselves. An argument against consolidation and centralisation of the supply chain would be the fragility of only having one aircraft type. Perhaps there is only one factory producing a critical spare part that is forced to halt production, or a software defect impacts all F35 aircraft of all users at once, or as a generalised aircraft it is disadvantaged against adversaries with specialised aircraft, or countries such as Canada get placed at the back of the queue by the US when it comes to production and support. [1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/sebastienroblin/2021/07/31/f-35a-jet-price-to-rise-but-its-sustainment-costs-that-could-bleed-air-force-budget-dry/?sh=4387929232df https://www.forbes.com/sites/sebastienroblin/2021/07/31/f-35...