National Defence committee  The answer is that we've lost too many fighter pilots. We are adjusting our approach to retention or to mandatory service after pilot wings. We have done that with respect to pilots generally, but it's not the only solution. It's certainly not the silver bullet. What we need to

National Defence committee  I would say no, and I will explain the reason. The forward operating locations are already fit for purpose for fighter operations. They need to be refreshed and renovated in order to support the F-35, but the fundamental structures will, to a great extent, support F-35 operation

National Defence committee  I could try to...

National Defence committee  I don't have the exact figures. We are currently in the planning and needs determination period. With the decision on F-35s still pending, we do not have all the details with respect to the infrastructure requirements. Therefore, there is a planning period that needs to be focu

National Defence committee  I'll get into the details. That hangar used to be useful for us to forward-deploy our Hercules tactical tanker. It was used for no other reason. The forward operating location in Inuvik is fully capable of supporting the F-18s. We no longer use the Hercules tactical tanker to sup

National Defence committee  Affirmative.

National Defence committee  For the F-35s, I don't have the initial operational capability date in mind. I was focused on prepping for search and rescue questions. However, the F-35 is being delivered in conjunction with a huge investment in infrastructure that will properly support the fighters and the de

National Defence committee  Thank you, sir. Thank you, Mr. Chair, for the question. With respect to the green hangar specifically, it is not essential to our NORAD or search and rescue operations in the north. However, it's certainly useful, as any infrastructure is in the north for things like storage or

National Defence committee  That's not my area of expertise. I'm the operational commander. I've certainly heard the things that you've just suggested. I think potentially Admiral Auchterlonie or Jon Quinn would be better placed to answer that question for you, Mr. Chair.

National Defence committee  Thank you, Mr. Quinn. You've covered it all very well. The fighters and the supporting structure for the fighters are our defeat mechanism. They're meant to engage the threats that we see, but they will also contribute significantly to domain awareness, the surveillance of the s

National Defence committee  I don't, unfortunately, have knowledge of the Canadian involvement in the missile defence aspect of NORAD headquarters. That would have to be a question that we would take on notice to be answered more fulsomely at a later time.

National Defence committee  I can attempt to follow up on what General Pelletier was saying. We are challenged in our ability to detect and track the most modern missile systems or weapon systems that both the Russians and the Chinese possess, but part of NORAD modernization is to get after some of that pro

National Defence committee  Thank you for your question. I would say we don't have enough personnel to perform infrastructure maintenance, but we also need personnel to maintain our aerospace capacity. Aviation technicians, in particular, come to mind. Our surveillance teams are also affected, but as I sa

National Defence committee  Mr. Chair, I believe that question is for the military side of the house. We are very focused on the government's commitment to net zero, and we're doing our best to ensure that our aircraft are moving forward in that direction. Primarily, our efforts that are going to be succes

National Defence committee  Thank you, sir. My responsibilities include reconstitution and the retention effort for the RCAF. I'm not involved in recruitment, although my division is focused on supporting recruitment through improving RCAF attractions. What we mean by that is selling ourselves effectively