DND claims key F-35 document is 'classified' But other Statements of Operational Requirements available on website. By Carl Meyer Published February 23, 2011

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The Department of National Defence says it is hiding a key F-35 document from the public because that type of document is classified. Yet its own website hosts many of these same types of papers for public downloading, almost all of which are marked as "unclassified."

This has prompted allegations the Harper government and military have "twisted" Canada's procurement process so it can buy the billion-dollar planes.

The document, called a "Statement of Operational Requirements," is a well-established centerpiece of the military's procurement process. Save for certain classified bits of information, it is typically released publicly so Canadians can examine what their armed forces need before their tax dollars are spent.

However in an unusual step, the Harper government did not release an operational requirements statement before announcing its plan to replace Canada's fleet of ageing CF-18 fighter jets with the F-35. In fact, the military has admitted it chose the F-35 before it even drew up the Statement of Operational Requirements.

Despite this, the department has continued to hide the document from public view, saying in an email that "an Air Force project's Statement of Operational Requirements is an internal Department of National Defence document."

"SORs are classified documents" that are "not disclosed publicly," added spokesperson Evan Koronewski.

However, those claims don't appear to hold water as the government's own publicly accessible website currently hosts at least four of these types of documents, three of which explicitly state that they are unclassified. One such document even concerns another recent Air Force equipment purchase.

What's more, their publication dates show that the department has often declassified and released versions of these documents before signing any contracts. This means it would not be unprecedented for the department to release the document now since Canada does not expect to sign with F-35 lead contractor Lockheed Martin until 2014.

For example, one requirements document that is publicly available on the department's website laid out what the military needed in terms of strategic airlift capability. That resulted in the delivery of the Air Force's four CC-177 Globemaster IIIs in 2007-08.

The document was published in June 2006, eight months before the contract was awarded to Boeing. And it states clearly at the outset that it is "an unclassified Department of National Defence document."

Another public, declassified document on the department's website describes what the military requires in its new support ships, which would replace Canada's two aging Protecteur-class auxiliary vessels.

Like the F-35, that support ship program is still being developed, meaning the department has released and declassified this document of requirements before signing anything.

Peter Cairns, president of the Shipbuilding Association of Canada, who has had experience with military procurement, said it was his experience in general that these documents are made public.

"In general, I think they are open for release to the public, with the exception of certain classified bits, if there are any," he said. He added that there are several versions of the document that allow for the department to remove any sensitive information in its public version.

Elsewhere on the web there are other public, declassified requirements documents. One of those, the project to replace the aging Sea Kings, was made public over a decade ago, according to the department's online procurement schedule, and was declassified four years before the government awarded a contract to Sikorsky.

The department says that in place of a Statement of Operational Requirements for replacing the CF-18s, it has released another document called "High Level Mandatory Capabilities" that discusses required capabilities.

But military experts and former defence officials have cast doubt that this document can be a suitable replacement. The document is an excerpt from a speech given by Air Force head Lt.-Gen. Deschamps at the National Defence committee in October and runs only a few pages. Official requirements documents go much more in depth, ranging from over 30 pages to over 100.

Military experts are calling for the release of the operational requirements document as they say if it is not released, the heated political rhetoric in Canada over the F-35, which could spill over into an election as early as next month, will continue to be based on merely speculation and allegations.

They say the onus is on the government to release the military's requirements in order to clear the air.

The situation is even more pressing after media reports last fall showed that the military had been recommending the F-35 as far back as 2006, even though Lt.-Gen. Deschamps said in November that the document was finalized internally in early 2010—meaning that the military bypassed its own procurement process.

Furthermore, this past fall's auditor general report criticized the department for deliberately understating the cost of equipment to the Treasury Board, and warned similar problems could be brewing with the government's choice to buy F-35s, throwing the department's judgment in question.

Former assistant deputy minister for materiel Alan Williams, who has worked with these documents, told Embassy last week that he is unaware of any other major procurement project that has not produced a public statement of requirements.

Defence Minister Peter MacKay's office did not respond last week to questions about why he has not demanded the document, instead deferring to departmental spokespeople.

The department did not immediately respond to questions about why it considers these documents to be classified and not able to be disclosed to the public.

cmeyer@embassymag.ca

STATEMENT OF OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS

The following is a list of some of the SORs that are publicly available for past and current projects:

Strategic Airlift Capability—LED TO THE GLOBEMASTERS

Joint Support Ships—ONGOING

The project to replace the Sea Kings—LED TO CYCLONES AND CHINOOKS