BEST FIGHTER FOR CANADA

  Reports that there would be a "down selection" in the competition to replace Canada's aging CF-18s have turned out to be true...  Sort of.   Despite "industry insiders" predicting that the Saab Gripen will be removed from consideration , that dubious honor will go to Boeing's Super Hornet instead.  This is indeed a big surprise...  If you have not been paying attention.   The most striking fact about the Super Hornet's departure is that, at one point, it WAS going to be Canada's next fighter.  Well...   On an interim basis, anyway .  When the Liberal government formed in 2015, they had done so on the promise of cancelling Canada's F-35 purchase.  The F/A-18E/F seemed to be the most likely alternative.  In 2016, it was announced that Canada would be purchasing 18 Super Hornets as a way of filling a " capability gap ".  While these 18 Super Hornets would not be a replacing CF-18s per se , they could have definitely been u...

Everything looked so promising for Boeing just a few years ago. In 2017, the Liberal government came this close  to purchasing 18 Boeing Super Hornets in order to plug a "capability gap".  Such a move would have almost certainly have given a leg up on its competition to replace the CF-18 fleet as a whole.  Boeing could have easily turned that "interim" order of 18 fighters into 88, keeping its St. Louis factory busy and scoring a much needed win against  Lockheed Martin. Instead of taking the easy win, Boeing decided to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory . We all know the story by now.  Boeing used its influence with Trump White House to impose massive tariffs on Bombardier's promising but troubled C-Series.  This decision was eventually overturned , but by then the damage was already done.  Bombardier had little option but to hand over the C-Series to Airbus and has since announced plans to exit commercial aviation altogether . Needl...

For years, the Pentagon and the USAF have extolled the virtues of the F-35 Lightning II.  The message has been very clear:  Fourth-generation fighters are now obsolete, no matter how good they may have been in the past.  The JSF is a complete game-changer, a paradigm shift in air combat.  Whatever the mission, the F-35 is superior. While the USAF will not come out and say it, it is clear that they are they are not as enamored with the F-35 as the public relations material would suggest.  Earlier this month, the USAF proposed to cut F-35 orders down to 78 from 84 . And then...  In its 2020 budget, the USAF is swapping out JSF orders in favor of the F-15EX .  cut its F-35 orders from 54 units a year to 48.  This will free up enough money for the USAF to procure 8 F-15EXs instead.  Moving forward, F-15EX deliveries will ramp up to 18 per year. This certainly pokes a AMRAAM-sized hole in the press material that states that the JSF is su...

Here we go again... After finding out that nobody was interested in its "stealthy" F-15SE Silent Eagle, Boeing is now promoting yet another F-15 variant, the F-15X "Super Eagle ". Those of you not familiar with the "Silent Eagle" can be forgiven.  Boeing concocted the idea when it realized it was running out of fighters to build .  The F-15SE was a valiant effort.  Building upon the much loved F-15E Strike Eagle, the SE updated the platform with modern avionics, sensors, and even stealth improvements.  Aimed towards current F-15 operators, the Silent Eagle promised a happy compromise between the F-35 bleeding edge stealth and the F-15's performance and reliability. Unfortunately for Boeing, the Silent Eagle never found a buyer.  The closest it came was South Korea's FX-III  competition, when its competitors (Typhoon and F-35) failed to meet budget targets.  In the end, South Korea decided on a reduced number of F-35s instead. One can u...

After more than 50 years, the USAF's aging T-38 is finally getting a replacement. On September 27, Boeing was announced as the winner of the T-X trainer competition .  Being the only real clean sheet design entered, many saw it as Boeing's to lose. Victory was no assured, however.  Submitting a clean-sheet design was a risky proposition when it comes to affordability and risk.  So much so that Northrop Grumman (maker of the T-38) abandoned the competition after going so far as to building a prototype . As the competition came to a close, Boeing faced the Leonardo T-100 and Lockheed Martin/KAI T-50 Golden Eagle.  Both of these aircraft had the advantage of being mature, proven designs.   The T-50 had the extra advantage of being represented by the juggernaut that is Lockheed Martin.  Without a Stateside sponsor, the T-100 was certainly a political dark horse. While other designs, like the Textron AirLand Scorpion were submitted, none of them rea...

Block III Super Hornet The Boeing/Bombardier brouhaha can now be delegated to the annals of history.  The C Series is alive and well , thank you very much. After encouraging the Trump administration to impose stiff tariffs on the Canadian-designed airliner, Bombardier fought back with an Airbus partnership .  That partnership would render those tariffs moot by building C Series in the USA.  If that was not enough, the U.S. International Trade Commission unanimously voted to overturn those tariffs .  After suffering that one-two punch, Boeing has decided to drop its case against Bombardier . In its zeal to smother the C Series in its crib, Boeing stepped on toes and made enemies .  First, it raised the ire of the Canadian government.  This resulted in Boeing losing a $6 billion Super Hornet order which otherwise would have been a sure thing.  Not only that, but Boeing also ticked off Great Britain (which builds part of the C Series) and Del...

Brothers from different mothers? For those of you whom have been living under a rock the last 24 hours, Bombardier has now partnered with Airbus in order to save the C-Series. No actual money has exchanged hands, but Airbus now owns 50.01% of the C-Series program.  This gives Airbus controlling interest in the jetliner moving forward.  While this may seem like a blow to Bombardier to see its pride and joy become the property of someone else, this partnership all but assures the future of the C-Series and Bombardier as a whole. Under this new partnership, C-Series headquarters will remain in Montreal and production will continue in Bombardier's Mirabel assembly plant.  Airbus will expand C-Series production by utilizing its pre-existing plant in Mobile, Alabama.  This will allow the C-Series to circumvent the U.S. Department of Commerce's crippling 300% import tariffs.  Airbus will also contribute its considerable marketing and supply chain prowess. ...

It sure doesn't look scary... [Note:  Sorry to dwell on the Boeing/Bombardier dispute instead of jet fighters...  But what is happening with the C-Series will have lasting repercussions to Canada's aerospace industry.  The Federal government's response to cancel its plans for an interim Super Hornet not only shakes up Canada's upcoming fighter competition, it puts the entire thing in a blender.  This point in history will be remembered as a pivotal moment for Canadians, right up there with the cancellation of the Avro Arrow.] Bombardier got hit with another  tariff this past week.  The US Commerce Department imposed an 80% anti-dumping tariff on the CS100.  This is in addition to the 220% "countervailing" tariffs imposed the week before by the same office .  These tariffs come at the behest of Boeing; which accuses Bombardier of both receiving unfair government subsidies and selling the CS100 at below market prices in order to gain ma...