About 15 years ago, I spoke with a then-reserve Israel Air Force (IAF) F-16 pilot at the Latin American Defense Expo (LAAD) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The topic of discussion was the trials and tribulations of being a customer of major US defense companies.
Specifically, he described how you face new struggles once you have acquired a fighter aircraft or air defense system. Even though this is now technically “your” weapon system, Washington is still always telling you what you are allowed (or, more often, what you are not allowed) to do when operating or modifying it.
When it came to the issue of how Israel has had years of back-and-forth disputes on this score, he was a bit frustrated.
“You never really, actually ‘own’ anything you buy from the US,” he told me. “You think it is yours to do with as you please, but the reality is far different. I can only imagine how arduous of a process this is going to become once we begin operating the F-35.”
Little did he know how accurate his assessment would be all these years later—and that his country would play a role in a dispute resulting from this never-ending conflict.
Controlled Support Items and F-35
Canada’s embroiled political and trade conflicts with the US are prompting the newly elected government under Prime Minister Mark Carney to consider exiting the F-35 program and procuring another aircraft.
But what is adding weight to this argument now is a set of questions about the future of support and spare parts for Canadian aircraft.
Specifically, Ottawa objects that despite parts for Canada’s F-35 fighter being stored at air bases in Quebec and Alberta, these components will nonetheless officially be “owned” by and controlled by the US Government. That the US is authorized—as required—to requisition these parts and send them anywhere it wants was not a well-known fact until now.
This issue came to the fore this past March when NATO member Denmark found the US Government taking F-35 components stored in their country and transferring them to Israel. The situation became public knowledge when the Danish national newspaper Berlingske, reported on it.
The Danish government was forced to admit that, under the terms of the agreements signed along with the F-35 procurement, it had no option but to accede to the US Government’s instructions. In general, shipping these parts to Israel not only seemed to intrude on Denmark’s sovereignty, but it was also counter to the nation’s foreign policy guidelines regarding Middle East conflicts.
The entire incident also transpired under conditions of less-than-optimal timing. Not lost on Canada is that Washington’s usurping of Copenhagen’s authority took place in parallel with US President Donald Trump discussing options for taking control of Greenland from Denmark, creating concerns about the US attempting to use the F-35 program as leverage in any future dispute.
Since then, the Chairman of Denmark’s parliamentary defense committee has reacted, saying he regrets advocating for the F-35 procurement.
“As one of the decision-makers behind Denmark’s purchase of F-35s, I regret it,” Rasmus Jarlov, MP for the Conservative People’s Party, wrote on social media.
Some Assembly Required
Ottawa has not revealed whether it has signed up to a similar arrangement. Retired Canadian military officers who spoke to 19FortyFive suggest that the Denmark story is not helping their country’s case for sticking with the F-35 procurement.
In the background, a 2023 report from the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) confirms that Canada is in the same boat as their Danish NATO allies: until they are on-board an aircraft, F-35 parts being stored in-country are still the property of the US government.
In response to press inquiries from Canadian media, Department of National Defence (DND) spokesperson Andrée-Anne Poulin confirmed in an email that F-35 spare parts are indeed “centrally managed” by the US Government “for the benefit of all customers.”
She also confirmed that the spares only belong to Canada once the traditional “some assembly required” procedure has been completed and installed on Canadian-procured F-35s.
“When pooled sustainment spares are incorporated into an F-35 air vehicle or other end item, title to the spare transfers to the participant who has title to the air vehicle or end item,” the email read.

A U.S. Air Force F-35 Lightning II taxis during a cross-servicing event at NATO Allied Air Command’s Ramstein Flag 2025 exercise April 4, 2025. Successful cross-servicing at RAFL25 is an example of the importance of integrated logistics and maintenance training that enhances U.S. warfighting readiness by strengthening United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa’s ability to deploy, sustain, and project fifth-generation capabilities across the European theater. (Royal Netherlands photo by Sgt. Maj. Jan Dijkstra)

A new F-35A Lightning II fifth-generation fighter aircraft flies over the Alaska Canada Highway en route to its new home at the 354th Fighter Wing, Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, April 21, 2020. The F-35 represents a new model of international cooperation, ensuring U.S. and Coalition partner security well into the 21st Century. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Adam Keele)
According to her messages, these spare parts will be stored in specialized warehouses at air bases in Cold Lake, Alberta, and Bagotville, Quebec.
The DND and the Canadian Armed Forces would not respond to questions about the spare parts being controlled in the US, which could jeopardize Canada’s national security or hamper operational effectiveness.
This issue is one of the items on Carney’s government’s agenda, which has prompted a review of the $19-billion F-35 procurement. It will have no small impact on the tendering of a final decision.
About the Author:
Reuben F. Johnson is a survivor of the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and is an Expert on Foreign Military Affairs with the Fundacja im. Kazimierza Pułaskiego in Warsaw. He has been a consultant to the Pentagon, several NATO governments and the Australian government in the fields of defense technology and weapon systems design. Over the past 30 years he has resided in and reported from Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Brazil, the People’s Republic of China and Australia.
