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to me if you have a small airforce, then you need as many force multipliers as you can get. You get the best force multipliers in a fifth generation fighter.
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As a pilot, former CF Reserves officer, and total aviation geek, I don't disagree that the F-35 is the best fighter available, but is it overkill for our
needs? What are the CF's mission requirements for a manned jet fighter? Is there more than one aircraft that meets those requirements? If so, which one has the lowest total cost of ownership (not the lowest initial purchase price)? If the F-35 is the only plane capable of meeting our needs, then going ahead with this purchase makes perfect sense. How do we know that Canadian taxpayers are getting the best possible deal without an open bidding process, though?
Super Hornets, for example, aren't as sexy as F-35s, but they're more than $35 million cheaper per aircraft (according to wikipedia). Likewise, the per aircraft price of the Eurofighter Typhoon is approximately $25 million less (also from wikipedia) than the Lightning II. Do either the Super Hornet or Typhoon meet or exceed all the operational requirements for Canada's next manned fighter? True, they're both 4.5 generation aircraft, but does our air force actually need the latest and greatest 5th generation fighter? The last time we upgraded our fighter fleet, we opted for F-18s over the superior F-14s and F-15s because they were much better value while still being capable of meeting our mission requirements.