BEST FIGHTER FOR CANADA

Boeing T-X concept (pre-Saab partnership) Saab and Boeing dropped a bombshell late last year when they announced that they would be joining forces to submit a bid for the upcoming T-X program.  The T-X program intends to replace the venerable T-38 Talon in use by the USAF as a high performance jet trainer.   What will this collaboration look like?  Early reports on a "decontented" Saab Gripen have been dispelled.  This will be an "all new" aircraft .  Given the context of the T-X program, it is very likely that much of the project will be off-the-shelf in order to keep risk and costs down.   Designing an all new aircraft does give put the Saab/Boeing T-X bid in a riskier position than the other T-X contenders.  All the other bidders are proposing existing aircraft in order to keep risks to a minimum.  Lockheed Martin is partnering up with Korean KAI in offering the T-50 Golden Eagle, Northrop Grumman is partnering with BAE in offeri...

I can't understand why MacKay didn't want to be Minister of Defense anymore! With rumors that the fighter jet "reset" process might finally be winding down soon , I thought I'd make some wild speculations as to what might happen. I'm going to do so based mostly on political motivations, not on whether something is truly a wise choice.  The current Conservative government hasn't had it easy in the public eye over the last year, what with senate scandals , spending cuts , library closures , and other silliness.  Keeping this in mind, and the fact that an election will likely be called for 2015, I'm going to assume that 2014 will be the year that the ruling Conservatives try to appeal to their base, as well as undecided voters.  To do so, they will need to do the following. Give the appearance of being fiscally responsible.   Support the military. Convince voters that they have made sound decisions while in power. The CF-18 replacement is ...

Take out your tin-foil hats, it's time for some wild conjecture. "Louie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." Previously, we looked at reports that Saab and Boeing are joining forces to offer a bid for the USAF's T-X program.  Most likely, offering a decontented two-seat Saab Gripen as a contender to replace the aging T-38 Talon trainer.  The move makes sense for all the parties involved, Boeing gets to offer a high performance, low maintenance airframe; while Saab manages to sell more Gripens (or derivative thereof) than it ever would have been able to on its own.  Additionally, the USAF gets access to a worthy platform capable of preparing pilots to fly the F-35, F-22, and possibly whatever other manned fighters the USAF introduces in the next 30-50 years. But it doesn't stop there.  The winning contender for the T-X program will likely find itself performing other roles besides simply preparing pilots to fly high performance jets. ...