BEST FIGHTER FOR CANADA

  [Welcome to "NITPICK"!  For the next few weeks I will be examining a single aspect of the potential fighters that just drives me nuts.  These are not dealbreakers, or even major flaws.  They are simply one aspect of the aircraft THAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE BETTER.] Something has been bugging me about the Super Hornet Block III.   In the grand scheme of things, it is pretty minor.  For most intents and purposes, it is all but insignificant.   But it DOES bug me.  (Pardon the pun) The Super Hornet Block III adds multitude of improvements over the "vanilla" Super Hornet.  Better avionics and cockpit displays, conformal fuel tanks, and an IRST option.  All-in-all, a fantastic upgrade.   Except... Look at this picture of an early Block III demonstrator: Look how sleek it is!  No bulky external fuel tanks.  No targeting pods, no nothing.  Yet it still carries substantial quantities of fuel.  Even a "comb...

  It is time to face facts.   Despite years of debates, arguments, virtual shouting matches, and almost infinite nitpicking...  It does not matter which fighter Canada chooses.   This is contrary to the mission statement of this particular blog...  But true.   Ultimately, there is no "wrong choice".  The selection of one fighter over another will not result in the dismantling of the RCAF or Canada as a sovereign nation.  The Government of Canada will not be forced into bankruptcy if it chooses a fighter ends up being more expensive than estimated.  Nor will Canada be successfully invaded if it picks a fighter lacking in certain capabilities.   No matter which fighter Canada chooses, life will go on.   There will be issues, of course.   It is almost impossible to find a single military acquisition that has not been plagued by some sort of controversy.  Budgets get blown, delivery timelines get missed, and reliability is nev...

  A bit of a bombshell was dropped a few weeks ago when the USAF admitted to flying a new prototype of its " Next Generation Air Dominance " fighter.  Not many details were revealed besides that.   This, of course, has led to rampant speculation as to what  this new fighter could be.  What does it look like?  What capabilities does it have?  Who makes it?  How soon will it be before it sees service? The timing is certainly odd.  Only a few weeks prior, the USAF announced it would be launching a new "eSeries" designation of aircraft .  These new aircraft, of which the T-7 Red Hawk (now eT-7) would be the first, utilize "digital engineering" to speed up the development...  Which makes you wonder what the hell  they used to develop aircraft like the F-22 and F-35.  Draft paper and slide rules? The F-35 has yet to reach adolescence so it is curious as to why the Pentagon would be willing to devote resources to "the next big th...