BEST FIGHTER FOR CANADA

Airbus C295 Well...  That only took...   Forever. Twelve years  after announcing a need to purchase new fixed-wing search and rescue (FWSAR), the Federal Government announced plans to procure 16 Airbus C-295 aircraft .  These C-295s will replace aging CC-115 Buffalo and CC-130 Hercules currently used. The FWSAR replacement has been an ongoing reminder of just how broken Canada's military procurement process can be.  After starting a competition in 2004, the program has been in a state of " on-again/off-again " with allegations of rigged requirements that were too favorable to the Alenia C-27J. Potential candidates for Canada's FWSAR included: Alenia C-27J Spartan Airbus C-295 Embraer KC-390 C-130J Hercules (new build) Bell/Boeing V-22 Osprey Bombardier Q400 "DHC-5NG" (new build Buffalos with modern engines) The Q400 fails to meet the requirement for a rear loading ramp.  The Osprey was pitched but was likely too deemed too costly. ...

"PEW-PEW-PEW!" Sometimes, once in a blue moon or so, news coming out of The Pentagon actually makes sense. The folks at Defense News recently reported that the USAF is in the preliminary stages of evaluating a light attack aircraft to supplement its A-10 fleet.  These new aircraft would then partially replace the aging Warthog over low-threat environments.  Aircraft like the F-15E and F-35 would take over duties in higher-threat situations. The reasoning is simple.  Aircraft like the F-35 and F-15E are complete overkill when it comes to dealing with violent extremists that use pickup trucks armed with machine guns ("technicals").  While there is no debating the tactical need, one has to question the financial argument of using a multi-million dollar aircraft that costs $30k per flight hour dropping a bomb that costs more than its target . As much praise as the A-10 receives for its mastery in the CAS role, even it has been complete overkill for most of ...

Well...  That was...   Expected. The Liberal Party of Canada's first  Federal budget  since forming the government is finally here.  To the surprise of pretty much no one, defense spending is once again put on the back-burner.  This, despite an eye-watering $29.4 billion deficit projected for this year. Those hoping for increased funding will have to wait until 2020 before funding for large scale projects (CSPS, CF-18 replacement, etc) takes effect.  This is precariously close to the end of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's mandate.  In all possibility, this increase in funding could very well hinge on the outcome of the  next  federal election.  (insert groan here) Ugh. One might view this as a possible return to the "Days of Darkness" that occurred under Prime Minister Jean Chretien...  And rightly so. To be fair, however, this budget does not make an about-face in Canadian military spending.  The previous St...

Sadly, these guys won't be in charge. When the Liberal government took power late last year, they inherited an extremely troubled military procurement system .  To be fair, that broken system was in turn inherited by Conservative Party of Canada when it came to power back in 2006.  While there may have been a few bright spots along the way , some would argue that Chretien's "Decade of Darkness" for the Department of National Defense has lasted for an entire generation. Thankfully, there are some signs to suggest we may soon see some positive movement. First of all, there is finally some movement in the agonizing process to replace Canada's fixed wing search and rescue (FWSAR) fleet. Next comes word that the government has formed a cabinet committee to look over future high-profile defense purchases .  While a committee can be a place where good ideas go to die, the high profile of the participants may suggest otherwise. Then again, Harjit Sajjan...

CC-115 Buffalo If an individual ever had doubts about just how bewildering Canada's military procurement methods are, look no further than the efforts to replace its fixed-wing search and rescue (FWSAR) fleet.   Announced in 2004 , the FWSAR replacement project has seen countless delays .  Even more frustrating is that none of these delays are caused by technical issues.  Instead, the FWSAR has been a victim of politics and bureaucracy gumming up what should have been a straight-forward project. The need is there to replace Canada's aging CC-115 Buffalo .  The 60s era airframe has not been built since 1986.  Parts are increasingly difficult to procure and maintenance is a challenge.   Cost is not an issue.  Compared to the $9 billion CF-18 replacement and the $38 billion National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy ( NSPS ), the $3.1 billion (service contract included) FWSAR project is unlikely to raise any objections.   Politi...

Not yet ready to fly off into the sunset. Looks like this blog might be around for a while yet... By all accounts, it looks like Canada won't able to start receiving new fighter aircraft until 2018 at the earliest.   There has been some progress however, as the "secretariat" seems to have finished looking at the CF-35 and its rivals.   It is now up to the federal government to make the next step. What will that next step be? If the Canadian government decides to continue on with the F-35, it needs to plunk money down now in order to take delivery in 2018.  That's looking more and more unlikely.  A general election is scheduled for October 2015 ( possibly earlier ) and the current government will likely hold off any decision until after that.  Dropping billions towards new fighters will simply evaporate any hope of the Conservative Party of Canada's (CPC) promise to balance the budget. The Buffalo will roam for a little while longer too. The cu...

The Buffalo roams...  But for how much longer? Canada is in desperate need for fixed wing search-and-rescue (FWSAR) aircraft.  It's current fleet of CC-115 Buffalo aircraft started service with the RCAF in 1967.  Like the Sea King helicopter, there is nothing glaringly wrong with the Buffalo current performance, but it is getting more difficult and expensive to maintain and find parts for this Canadian icon.  These new aircraft will also relieve the CC-130H Hercules from its search and rescue (SAR) duties. The process to procure new FWSAR aircraft has been ongoing for close to 10 years now , with next to no movement into the process.  Compared to replacing the CF-18, finding an acceptable FWSAR aircraft should be a relative cakewalk, politically speaking.  The aircraft themselves are likely to be far more affordable than cutting edge jet fighters, and Canadians are generally far more willing to see their tax dollars being spent on equipment devoted ...