BEST FIGHTER FOR CANADA

WARNING:  THE ABOVE VIDEO CONTAINS SPOILERS! (Seriously though, the movie's 15 years old, go see it already!) So that's it.   After weeks of pitting various fighters against each other, the dust has finally cleared and we are left with...  What exactly? I would like to be able to say that after examining all of the aircraft potentially available, one aircraft has stood out.  That aircraft enjoyed an undefeated streak in FJFC and is unequivocally the best fighter for Canada. I would like to say that...  But I can't. I am no expert.  I have no inside knowledge about these aircraft, their systems, nor their operating procedures.  What I have is access to is the information that if publicly available to anyone with an internet connection.  In other words, all comparisons were made based on the obvious.  Does that mean "Fighter A" is better than "Fighter B"?  Of course not.  My scoring was basic.  ...

Funny how things go full circle. When I started gripen4canada.blogspot.ca  a few years ago, I was convinced that the Gripen NG (now Gripen E/F) would be a much more suitable replacement for Canada's aging CF-18s.  Much has changed since then, and I have attempted to broaden my scope to look at other fighter aircraft in order to find the "best fighter for Canada". Anyone following the Joint Strike Fighter's saga over the years knows that it is a troubled program.  Despite assertions of progress from both Lockheed Martin and the Pentagon, there is no escaping the fact that the F-35 is still nowhere near the fighter it is supposed to be. When I devised "Fighter Jet Fight Club" I decided that I would need to compensate for the F-35's issues, otherwise I would be shot down as clearly biased against it.  In order to do this, I added two rules: All equipment will work "as advertised".  No buggy software, etc. Cost is not considered. ...

When the UK, Spain, Germany, and Italy got together to design the Eurofighter Typhoon, one wonders why they simply did not decide to procure the F-15 Eagle instead.  Instead, they decided to to go one better and develop a new medium-sized multirole fighter.  In theory, this had the benefit of both producing a fighter for the 21st century (hence the "Eurofighter 2000" moniker) as well as keeping the European aerospace industry up to date. Did they succeed?  In a word...  Yes.  But not without difficulty.  The Typhoon program has been beset with cost overruns, maintenance issues, and dissent among the partner nations.  Much of this is due to simple timing.  With the Cold War ended, many questioned the need for a cutting edge fighter. In recent years, economic concerns have led to austerity measures.  Now, the Eurofighter partners are looking for foreign buyers to help breath new life into the Typhoon. The F-15 had no such issues. ...

Imagine, if you will, a single fighter aircraft.  That fighter aircraft needs to fulfill multiple roles, in multiple services.  This includes, but not limited to, air-superiority, ground attack and reconnaissance.  This fighter must also have a carrier variant.  This single fighter type will make up the majority of the fighter fleet and must serve as a tireless workhorse. These two fighters represent that ideal.  Both the F-35 and the Rafale epitomize the "multirole" fighter type.  These aircraft are true "jack-of-all-trades" following in the footsteps of aircraft like the F-4 Phantom II.  The JSF takes things a couple of steps further by adding stealth and a STOVL variant, both of which have proven to be controversial additions. Despite their similar design goals, these aircraft are extremely different.  Not only in design, but their construction and the very philosophy behind them.  The F-35 is a multinational effort with investo...

Growing up, I was obsessed with fighter aircraft.  Almost every flat surface of my bedroom was festooned with plastic models.  Bookshelves were a virtual air show static display in 1:48ths scale.  From the ceiling hung a 1:72 air battle as NATO aircraft escorted a B-1B bomber against a fleet of Soviet MiGs.  I blame my inability to ever do calculus on the brain cells lost due to the fumes given off of enamel-based paint and Testor's model glue . As I approached sixteen and the learner's driving permit that age entailed, my interest in military aircraft waned.  Fighter jets came down, and pictures of Lamborghinis (and Samantha Fox ) went up...  Where once able to quote the top speed of F-4 Phantom II, now I rattled off 0-60mph times. As I dove into magazines like Road & Track, Car and Driver, and Motor Trend, something became very apparent.   European marques were far more desirable.   How much interest can you really give a Pon...