RCAF wants more than 1,200 security personnel to protect F-35s, other planes

An F-35A Lightning II fighter jet practices for an air show appearance in Ottawa, Friday, Sept. 6, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

OTTAWA — The Royal Canadian Air Force wants to hire more than a thousand new security personnel over the next five years at bases across the country — just as it brings its new F-35 stealth fighter jets into service.

Internal documents from spring 2025, obtained by The Canadian Press through the Access-to-Information law, show the Air Force drafted a plan to first hire 199 new security personnel by 2028, then expand that security force to 747 in 2029 and 1,227 by 2030.

The information comes from a presentation on the RCAF’s submission to the future structure plan — basically the Canadian Armed Forces’ personnel planning document — and outlines a scenario for staff growth that was drafted when Lt.-Gen. Eric Kenny commanded the Air Force.

It’s not a final plan, but its public release shows the Air Force is getting serious about stepping up security across the country as it takes on advanced equipment that hosts sensitive data and operational information.

Defence Minister David McGuinty’s office said the RCAF is working on adding 140 new aircraft to its fleet — including the F-35 stealth fighters, CC-330 Huskies, P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol craft and long-range remotely piloted aircraft such as the MQ-9B SkyGuardian drones.

“With the transition to these new platforms, the RCAF has undertaken important work not only to meet fighter staffing levels but also to define security requirements for these, and future, advanced technologies,” ministerial spokesperson Maya Ouferhat said in an emailed statement.

“This includes looking at increasing security forces to ensure wings, personnel and data are properly protected given the sensitive nature of these new platforms.”

When asked about the need for new security staff in a recent interview, RCAF Commander Lt.-Gen. Jamie Speiser-Blanchet told The Canadian Press the personnel would be deployed initially at fighter bases, “primarily” due to preparations for the delivery of the F-35s in 2028.

“We will also need more security forces at almost all of the wings because of either where the F-35s could be operating at a deployed operating base or because of the remotely piloted aircraft system,” she said. ”Also the P-8. These will all have that advanced and secure data that will need to be protected.”

She said the plan is still evolving as the Air Force studies how allies are handling their own security needs.

“We’re learning what did they do as they were implementing and onboarding some of their advanced equipment, and we are working with (counter-drone) technology and various things to ensure that we are doing so as rapidly but as prudently and judiciously as possible,” Speiser-Blanchet said.

The internal document lists more than 500 new core personnel positions for the Future Fighter Capability Project — the program to acquire new fighter jets to replace the CF-18s. They include aviation techs, pilots and other civilian defence employees; the Air Force wants most of them in place by 2028-2029.

The Department of National Defence has said it plans to bring the F-35s into service in 2029 and 2030, while the drones are expected to come online between 2027 and 2030.

For nearly a year now, the Liberal government has been reviewing its plans to acquire 88 F-35 jets from Lockheed Martin in light of the ongoing trade war with the U.S. Ottawa has committed to buying at least 16 of the jets.

A 2025 auditor general report found the Future Fighter Capability Project faced delays in building new squadron facilities to protect the new aircraft in Cold Lake and Bagotville. The audit said the facilities would “incorporate significant protection for classified and sensitive information.”

But none of the various financial audits of the program conducted by parliamentary spending watchdogs have looked into the cost of employing hundreds of additional security personnel on an ongoing basis.

The RCAF has some 15,000 personnel in total; the internal document suggests that figure could grow by as much as 5,400 over the next two decades.

The Air Force is also looking at taking on new people in the surrounding communities where fighter wings are located, Speiser-Blanchet said.

Those people would include aircrew, technicians, intelligence personnel and mission planners, along with staff needed for housing and medical services.

Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press