BEST FIGHTER FOR CANADA

Mistral- class Amphibious Assault Ship By now, most have heard the controversy surrounding France's agreement to sell two Mistral- class amphibious assault ships to Russia.  This is despite current tensions regarding to what is happening in the Ukraine.  France has been criticized for this, and calls have been made to halt the sale . Canada's own Prime Minister has called for continued sanctions over Russia , and Canada has been quite outspoken in it support for the Ukraine .  We are even sending fighter jets over there.  There was even a rumor that the RCAF would donate  aircraft, but this rumor has been quashed . France is in a bit of a "no-win" situation here.  It cannot just simply cancel the sale this late in the game.  One ship is scheduled for delivery this fall and construction of the other is well under way.  The two Mistral -class ships are being sold without weaponry, so they are technically considered "civilian hulls".  T...

Past its prime, but still sent into action. In a bewildering show of "why bother", Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has sent a force of six RCAF CF-18s to bolster NATO forces near the Ukraine .  Sending six 30-year-old fighters against one of the most powerful air forces in the world is pretty much the equivalent of sending Barney Fife for back up.  Only the oldest Russian aircraft are near the same vintage as the CF-18, with the majority of their fighter fleet (Su-27s and MiG-29s) being far newer. Both the Su-27 (Flanker) and MiG-29 (Fulcrum) are newer designs than the CF-18, and unlike similar aircraft used by Libya and Bosnia, Russian Flankers and Fulcrums have been thoroughly upgraded throughout the years and their pilots are well trained.  The Su-27 was always superior to the CF-18, it being the Russian equivalent to the F-15.  It's more powerful, longer ranged, and wields a powerful radar along with a dizzying array of air-to-air weaponry. ...

Scared yet? Okay... Given the recent  excitement   in what used to be part of the Ukraine, now is just as good a time as ever to start seriously discussing the great big bear  elephant in the room, the Russian Sukhoi T-50 PAK FA. When I started this blog, I never honestly thought that I would be writing it under the pretense that Russian expansionism would be a thing.  As a child of the Cold War, I remember watching those silly " duck and cover " films at school and referring to the Soviet Union as " The Evil Empire ".  I still remember watching the 7 o'clock news reporting that Soviet Su-15s had shot down a civilian passenger jet, KAL Flight 007 . The threat of nuclear annihilation was still very much a thing in the early 80s.  Movies like WarGames, Red Dawn, and The Day After   helped put fear of " The Russkies" into us.  But it turns out the Cold War was even harder on the Soviets .  Years of military buildup, as well as a failed...