DND refuses to say if it received secret F-35 report from U.S.

The Canadian military is refusing to say whether it received a new and potentially controversial U.S. government audit on the F-35 fighter jet.

The Department of National Defence has refused to answer questions about whether the Pentagon shared a recent report on the F-35 with the Royal Canadian Air Force, illustrating the secrecy surrounding the planned purchase of the American stealth fighter. The report was completed by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) in July, but the Pentagon barred it from public release.

Previous reports by the U.S. government watchdog, GAO, have been highly critical of the F-35 program, warning about a lack of spare parts and pointing out about the plane’s lack of availability for flight operations as well as technical problems.

The Block 4 version of the F-35, the type that Canada plans to buy, is at least $6 billion over budget and five years behind schedule, the GAO revealed on Sept. 3, 2025.

In addition, the GAO released another report in early June 2026 that determined the F-35s are only fully mission capable about 25 per cent of the time. Being fully mission capable means the aircraft can perform all assigned missions. In 2021, the F-35 was deemed to be fully mission capable 38 per cent of the time.

But it was the GAO’s next report — an audit in July on the production and modernization of the F-35 — that the Pentagon completely blocked from public release.

GAO officials confirmed it was the first time in 20 years of F-35 reports that an entire study was kept secret from the public.

DND has acknowledged receiving and reviewing past GAO reports on the F-35. But this time, DND spokesperson Laura McIntyre-Grills would not say whether the department had received the latest study.

This stands in contrast to another F-35 user, the United Kingdom. Luke Pollard, the UK’s secretary of state for defence readiness, confirmed Sept. 11 to the U.K.’s House of Commons that the country’s defence department has not seen the GAO report in question.

The Pentagon has argued the report contains “Controlled Unclassified Information,” a term meaning the information didn’t qualify for a formal security classification such as a secret label but nonetheless is sensitive.

Canada’s purchase of American-built F-35 fighter jets has become highly controversial in the midst of deteriorating relations between the two nations.

Royal Canadian Air Force generals have advocated for buying the planes, and further integrating and co-operating more with the U.S. military even as President Donald Trump threatens to economically cripple Canada and eventually annex this country.

DND spokesperson Andrée-Anne Poulin stated in an email that the first F-35 was transferred to Canada on Oct. 9 and the second on Oct. 21. “Both aircraft were flown to Luke Air Force Base, Arizona on October 22, 2026, at which point they will be turned over to the RCAF to support pilot training,” she added.

While Canada has committed to purchasing 16 F-35s, Prime Minister Mark Carney initiated a review last year of whether to buy the remaining 72 jets the RCAF wants. It is unclear when Carney will make his decision on the F-35.

Canada is also considering purchasing the Swedish Gripen fighter jet.

There are also other issues with the F-35. In March 2025, the Ottawa Citizen revealed the U.S. controls all software upgrades for the aircraft and owns the parts for the planes. That did not matter previously since the U.S. was considered a reliable ally of Canada. But U.S. allies around the world have watched with concern about the various actions of the Trump administration.

Any decision to stay with the American jet comes as the price of the F-35 for Canada continues to increase. In 2025, Auditor General Karen Hogan issued a report that Canada’s F-35 purchase had already jumped in cost from $19 billion to $27.7 billion. Another $5.5 billion will be needed to achieve full operation capability for the planes, Hogan added.

DND’s refusal to answer questions about the latest GAO report wasn’t the first time the department had been secretive about F-35s.

In February, RCAF commander Lt.-Gen. Jamie Speiser-Blanchet travelled to an assembly facility in Fort Worth, Texas, for a ceremony to mark a production milestone for Canada’s first F-35. During the event, Speiser-Blanchet was photographed signing the fuselage bulkhead to be installed on the jet.

Usually such a ceremony would be worthy of publicity by both F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin and the Canadian Forces.

But the military refused to release the photo of the event. The Ottawa Citizen used an access to information request to try to obtain the photo, but all that was released was a black-and-white photocopy of the image.

Now the DND and military are refusing to release records, requested under the Access to Information Act, regarding its internal discussions on the decision to suppress the image. The Ottawa Citizen filed that request on April 24. The newspaper has filed a complaint to the Information Commissioner of Canada about the military’s decision to withhold the records.

Shannon Clark Larkin, the executive director of the Department of National Defence’s access-to-information branch, did not respond to a request for comment.

David Pugliese is an award-winning journalist covering Canadian Forces and military issues in Canada. To support his work, including exclusive content for subscribers only, sign up here: ottawacitizen.com/subscribe