Program directory · National Defence
Air and Space Force Development
- Department
- National Defence
- Program code
- BUQ04 (ND)
- Core responsibility
- Future Force Design
- In Departmental Plans
- 2018-19 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
The Air and Space Force Development program develops and manages the execution of activities that introduce new or modified capabilities in order to achieve desired effects during Defence operations, activities or services.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2018-19. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air and Space Force Development | This program | 2018-19 – 2028-29 | $1.73B |
No earlier or later program in the same department has a similar name.
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | Employees (FTEs) 109, against 403 in 2018-19 (−73%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
| 2019-20 | Spending $70M, against $209M in 2018-19 (−67%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2020-21 | Spending $97.9M, against $70M in 2019-20 (+40%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2023-24 | Spending $688M, against $96.9M in 2022-23 (+610%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2024-25 | Employees (FTEs) 87, against 117 in 2023-24 (−26%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
| 2024-25 | Spending $481M, against $688M in 2023-24 (−30%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2025-26 | Planned spending $128M, against $481M in 2024-25 (−73%). | Latest Departmental Plan |
| 2026-27 | Planned employees (FTEs) 132, against 78 in 2025-26 (+69%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
| 2026-27 | Planned spending $194M, against $128M in 2025-26 (+52%). | Latest Departmental Plan |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
% of new Royal Canadian Air Force capability requirements satisfied by a resourced minor capital project
Expected result: Royal Canadian Air Force capability requirements are satisfied by a resourced minor capital project
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 85% | 2019 | 85% | Met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 85% | 2020 | 75% Result is below target value because the number of identified projects will always outpace funding provided. | Not met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 85% | 2021 | 107% During FY 2020-21, out-of-cycle submissions were received and funded, resulting in a higher number of funded projects than the number of projects at the start of the FY. | Met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 85% | 2022 | 100% | Met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 85% | 2023 | 100% | Met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 85% | 2024 | 100% | Met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 85% | 2025 | 100% | Met |
% of Royal Canadian Air Force minor capital equipment projects that were on budget
Expected result: Royal Canadian Air Force minor capital projects remain on budget
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 85% | 2019 | 85.6% | Met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 85% | 2020 | 99% | Met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 85% | 2021 | 69% This indicator measures projects that are “on budget”. This means projects must demonstrate an ability to be within + / - 2% of the estimated expenditure for the FY. The majority of projects under spent significantly FY 2020-21 due to COVID-19 delays and supply chain issues. | Not met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 85% | 2022 | 86% | Met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 85% | 2023 | 94.9% | Met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 85% | 2024 | 82% Minor underperformance in individual project cost forecasting can be partly attributed to the inflationary environment, which impacts total project values over extended periods (typically 12 months or more). Additionally, a lack of local project management experience contributes to underestimations of costs and insufficient inclusion of contingency amounts. | Not met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 85% | 2025 | 89.3% | Met |
% of Royal Canadian Air Force minor capital equipment projects that were on schedule
Expected result: Royal Canadian Air Force minor capital projects remain on schedule
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 85% | 2019 | 92.4% | Met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 85% | 2020 | 78% The reason for a decreased result for FY 2019-20 has not been specifically identified due the variability of numerous contributing factors amongst the multiple projects. Projects were able to remain on scope and budget, despite being out of schedule. The program will be further investigated to clearly identify root causes and rectify any internal issues. | Not met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 85% | 2021 | 74% The majority of scheduling delays this year were related to COVID-19 due to border closures, industry closures and slowdown, procurements delays, etc. This metric does not mean that projects did not progress, rather that some projects did not reach their intended goals and estimates. | Not met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 85% | 2022 | 42% The continued impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on supply chains and materiel availability was observed to have a compounding impact on the Royal Canadian Air Force minor projects and introduced significant schedule slippages throughout FY 2021-22. Additionally, in FY 2021-22 the Royal Canadian Air Force created an aggressive program to increase oversight and tracking of the Minor Project program.… | Not met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 85% | 2023 | 45.6% The RCAF was unable to meet its overall minor capital project schedule target due to personnel shortages, supply chain issues with industry partners. | Not met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 85% | 2024 | 48% Among the delayed projects, which account for 52% of all minor projects, 42% experienced delays due to insufficient contracting capacity (including departmental, PSPC, and SSC resources). Additionally, 33% were delayed because of vendor delivery issues, and 25% were affected by a shortage of personnel and/ or expertise (including project management, material management, and financial management).… | Not met |
% of Royal Canadian Air Force minor capital equipment projects that were within scope
Expected result: Royal Canadian Air Force minor capital projects remain within scope
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 85% | 2019 | 92% | Met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 85% | 2020 | 99% | Met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 85% | 2021 | 99% | Met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 85% | 2022 | 93% | Met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 85% | 2023 | 99% | Met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 85% | 2024 | 98% | Met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 85% | 2025 | 96.4% | Met |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
% of new Royal Canadian Air Force capability requirements satisfied by a resourced minor capital project
Expected result: Royal Canadian Air Force capability requirements are satisfied by a resourced minor capital project
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 85% | 2027 | — | Planned |
% of Royal Canadian Air Force minor capital equipment projects that were on budget
Expected result: Royal Canadian Air Force minor capital projects remain on budget
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 85% | 2027 | — | Planned |
% of Royal Canadian Air Force minor capital equipment projects that were within scope
Expected result: Royal Canadian Air Force minor capital projects remain within scope
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 85% | 2027 | — | Planned |
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
% of Royal Canadian Air Force minor capital equipment projects that were on schedule
Expected result: Royal Canadian Air Force minor capital projects remain on schedule
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 85% | 2028 | — | Planned |
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | $256M | $209M |
| 2019-20 | $191M | $70M |
| 2020-21 | $174M | $97.9M |
| 2021-22 | $68.7M | $90M |
| 2022-23 | $92.3M | $96.9M |
| 2023-24 | $101M | $688M |
| 2024-25 | $104M | $481M |
| 2025-26 | $128M | — |
| 2026-27 | $194M | — |
| 2027-28 | $197M* | — |
| 2028-29 | $194M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 1,169 | 403 |
| 2019-20 | 498 | 109 |
| 2020-21 | 81 | 85 |
| 2021-22 | 152 | 88 |
| 2022-23 | 89 | 107 |
| 2023-24 | 92 | 117 |
| 2024-25 | 97 | 87 |
| 2025-26 | 78 | — |
| 2026-27 | 132 | — |
| 2027-28 | 133* | — |
| 2028-29 | 133* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 plan | $256,163,400 | $258,166,741 | $261,486,878 | ||||||||
| 2019-20 plan | $191,261,189 | $198,797,865 | $208,410,876 | ||||||||
| 2020-21 plan | $173,806,985 | $177,349,272 | $183,575,311 | ||||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $68,727,515 | $69,136,943 | $70,556,993 | ||||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $92,330,148 | $92,897,269 | $92,338,805 | ||||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $100,771,519 | $96,476,290 | $95,587,136 | ||||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $104,109,931 | $112,795,556 | $113,076,513 | ||||||||
| 2025-26 plan | $127,645,365 | $139,593,257 | $142,312,526 | ||||||||
| 2026-27 plan | $194,180,071 | $197,496,388 | $194,160,160 | ||||||||
| Actual | $208,910,928 | $69,979,216 | $97,895,593 | $90,036,701 | $96,895,121 | $687,506,693 | $481,243,636 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
