It's probably better to buy fewer F-35s. We've seen the allies who are involved in the program all starting to cut back their buys for budgetary reasons. But every time you cut one aircraft, the distribution of per unit cost will go up for everyone. The actual amount of savings you're going to accrue by reducing it is questionable down the road.
Why would anyone be surprised if the costs of any major military development program run over? They always do. No matter what you do, it will happen. It's very predictable. The question is how much and to what extent it gets to be too much. But strategically there is no other alternative for us.
You can look economically at the question of the alternatives. If Canada still wants to have a significant role in this strategic world, the aerospace world, it has no alternative but this platform. It cannot go down to a Super Hornet. It cannot go down to a SAAB Gripen. It can't go down to old technology Eurofighters or Rafaels. We're not going to buy Russian. We're not going to buy Chinese, of course. This is it. If we don't want to do this any more—and that's a political decision—everything in terms of working in coalitions with our allies will disappear, because this is the way our allies are going.