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OTTAWA — A model F-35 sits in a place of prominence on the corner of Lt.-Gen. Eric Kenny's desk. The miniature grey aircraft is propped in the air by a plastic stand as if it is flying, and Royal Canadian Air Force markings are visible on its wings.
"It's an exciting time," he said in an interview."The F-35 is going to not only bring us into being a fifth-generation Air Force, it's really going to change how the Department of Defence looks at security and data and information, and what we do with that data." Yet while Kenny and his staff have developed a carefully choreographed plan to make the transition as seamless as possible without putting the country at risk over the next decade, it isn't without its risks.Like the rest of the Canadian Armed Forces, the Air Force is struggling to recruit and retain enough people to fill its ranks. Kenny revealed the Air Force is short nearly 2,000 full-time members and 500 reservists, at a time when it is supposed to be expanding.
"All this only works if we have people," he said."So I have to balance the people piece, not only of today, but of the future." Plans to modernize the North American Aerospace Defence Command, or Norad, which is responsible for guarding the continent against airborne attack, will also require significant investments in sensors and control centres over the next decades — including in the Arctic.
The Kingfishers were an example of how a carefully laid plan by the Air Force got derailed by delays, with Kenny having to reassign transport planes and air-to-air refuellers to save Canadians in distress while waiting for the new planes to be ready.
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