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

The Pentagon has blocked the release of a recent report on the F-35. Photo by HANDOUT /US AIR FORCE/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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RCAF Lt.-Gen. Jamie Speiser-Blanchet travelled to Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth, Texas, facility on Feb. 2 for a ceremony to mark a production milestone for Canada’s first F-35. CANADIAN FORCES PHOTO Photo by Canadian Forces

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

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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.

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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.