Standing Committee on National Defence (September 15, 2010) MPs are examining the federal government’s $9-billion deal to purchase F-35 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin. The Conservatives have been attacked for its sole-source contract for the 65 new jets, which is one of the largest military purchases in Canadian history. The total cost could climb to as high as $16 billion with maintenance costs.   Defence Minister Peter MacKay, Industry Minister Tony Clement, and Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose were the first witnesses. In the second panel, MPs heard from Lieut. Gen. J.P.A. Deschamps, chief of the air force, Dan Ross, assistant deputy minister for materiel in the Department of National Defence, Michael Slack, F-35 project manager at DND, and Col. D. C. Burt, director of the new generation fighter capability at DND. The third panel consisted of Paul Kalil, president of Avcorp Industries Inc., Claude Lajeunesse, president and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada, and J. Richard Bertrand, vice-president of government affairs for Pratt & Whitney Canada. The final panel featured Ken Epps and John Siebert of Project Ploughshares, and Rob Huebert, associate director of the University of Calgary’s Centre for Military and Strategic Studies.