Why is the naval destroyer program wrapped in secrecy? The F-35 saga offers insights

The Canadian shipyard building the navy's new destroyers and the British defence contractor responsible for the basic design recently signed a collaboration contract, marking the next step forward in the multibillion-dollar program that the federal government has largely wrapped in secrecy.

Much of the program's plans and costs remain shrouded in mystery and obfuscation — including precisely how much each of the first three warships will cost.

Word of the agreement, between Halifax-based Irving Shipbuilding Inc. and BAE Systems Inc. of the United Kingdom, came in a British publication a little more than a week after the federal government revealed it had signed an $8-billion implementation contract with the shipyard to begin construction of the long-delayed replacements for the navy's Halifax-class frigates.

The Department of National Defence and Public Services and Procurement Canada say the implementation contract with Irving is a down payment for the first three destroyers, a procurement which on its own is expected to cost taxpayers $22.2 billion.

The navy is expecting to acquire 15 of the ultra-modern naval destroyers, the largest — in terms of dollars — military procurement in the country's history.

Other allied nations, including the United States, Australia and the U.K., are more forthcoming about the costs associated with their warship construction. The data is publicly available.

The Defence Department says there are other costs — ammunition and training — included in the overall $22.2-billion price tag, but officials refused to disclose a detailed breakdown.

"At this point we have not specifically attributed a 'per-ship' cost for the delivery of Batch 1 ships, we have only attributed the cost to deliver all three ships," the Defence Department said in a statement. There's also no publicly available estimate for the second batch of three ships.

Despite repeated requests for clarification from CBC News, neither federal department explained why the cost estimates were not being released.

Experts say they must exist somewhere in the navy or the federal government, writ large.

Part of the reluctance may relate to the fact that the final design for the warships is not completed, and not expected to be finished — and approved — until 2028. The federal government is essentially designing and building at the same time, using the British Type 26 hull design as the basis and completing the design as combat systems are added.

But experts say there's more at play in the secrecy than simple design mechanics.

As strange as it may sound, there are many political ghosts and an unhealthy dollop of institutional paranoia left over from the long-buried F-35 saga still lurking within the new destroyer program.

The first attempt by the former Conservative government to acquire the Lockheed Martin-built stealth fighter floundered over political fights, as well as watchdog and public outrage over the enormous cost of the advanced warplane and the sense the figures were being deliberately lowballed.