Cancellation of the Arrow was a wise decision

The Arrow had the right decision made for it 

The Avro Arrow Project was cancelled on Feburary 20, 195 by Prime Minister John Diefenbaker. The reason for the cancellation? There is more than one. Factors such as the cost, necessity and pressure from the USA together have caused the cancellation of a near success project.

The cost to build 169 Arrows rose from $2 million to $12 million and was estimated to rise to $2 billion by 1964. This was taking up too much from Canada’s defence budget. Because the government needed its defence budget for other uses such as military services also, the Arrow Project was barely afforded. To worsen the situation, the Unite States were pressuring the Canadian government to use their Bomarc missiles for defence after Canada has joined the NORAD. The government could not afford to fund the Arrow Project and purchase the Bomarc missiles.

The other factor in which caused the cancellation of the Avro Arrow Project was that the project was behind schedule. The Arrows were designed to stop Soviet bombers in the Arctic oceans in case of an outbreak of war. However, when the arrows were near completion and were tested, the Soviet Union launched the world’s first satellite. This proved that if the war was to break out, the Soviets would use long range missiles instead of bombers, which would make the purpose of the Arrows useless. Without a purpose, building the Arrows seemed useless and a waste of money considering no one would purchase them due to the cost. “What was the use of building the planes? If there was no one to buy them and if there was an attack it would be by a missile. So we realized that the time of that plane was past and it would cost a fortune to keep up with the construction. The government had no choice except to abandon the project.” Says Pierre Sevigny, the cabinet minister.

Indeed, the cancellation of the project may not have favoured the A.V. Roe, but it did save the Arrows from being completed however useless. What is the purpose of building something that has no further use of what it was intended to be built for? If the Soviet Union were to attack, they would use missiles. That way, Canada would need the Bomarc missiles from the United States. If the Avro Arrow project was not cancelled, the Canadian government would not be able to afford the Bomarc missiles. If Canada doesn’t purchase the Bomarc missiles and the Soviet launches their missiles at us, we would be in grave danger because the Arrow can’t do anything to help us.