BEST FIGHTER FOR CANADA

A billion dollar fighter? A recent article in the Hill Times (pay wall, sorry) states that total operating costs for the F-35 could reach $71 billion under a "worst case scenario".  Basically, the previous figure of $46 billion for 65 jets over 42 years could very well creep up depending on currency fluctuation, delays in production, or other unforeseen events.  This figures out to $1.09 billion per aircraft, over its lifetime in the RCAF. Yikes. Mind you, a lot of these factors would likely increase the price of ANY aircraft, but so much about the F-35's eventual cost is up in the air.  This uncertainty was the primary reason for its disqualification from South Korea's fighter selection , as well as giving other countries second thoughts.   Testing is still problematic,  and U.S. Government funding isn't exactly a sure thing right now . Even the $9 billion slotted to buy the initial 65 aircraft is looking overly optimistic , with the estimated cost q...

Winner, winner, kimchi dinner. After eliminating the F-35 from South Korea's FX fighter competition, Seoul has now disqualified the Eurofighter Typhoon from the process as well.  Although EADS Typhoon bid came under the 8.3 trillion won ($7.2 billion US) budget, it did so by reducing the requested amount of two-seat fighter from 15 to 6, as well as basing prices on the British pound.  (S. Korea's insistence on 15 two-seat fighters begs the question of why the single-seat only F-35 was even considered). So what can Canada learn from South Korea's FX selection? The main reason the F-35 was disqualified was because Lockheed Martin could not offer a fixed price based on the US government's foreign military sales regulations.  By American law, no foreign country can acquire US made military hardware for less than what it costs the US military.  Since the F-35 is still in development, final pricing is still unknown. Also, since the F-35's price will be determ...

Looks like the F-35 will have to sit the rest of this one out. Two of the three manufacturers vying for South Korea's FX fighter competition have both submitted bids under the US $7.2 billion dollar budget.  This effectively excludes the the third , as Seoul has made it very clear that none of the manufacturers could make it under the proposed budget, steps would be taken to restart the process from scratch. F-15SE "Silent Eagle" Both Boeing and Eurofighter have submitted last minute bids that undercut the budget limit.  Doing so, the F-15SE "Silent Eagle" and Typhoon tranche 3.  Unsurprisingly, it was Lockheed Martin that was unable to follow suit with the F-35A.  The Pentagon's foreign military sales program (FMS) forbids foreign military buyers from getting a better price than the U.S. military. Currently, the F-15SE would seem like the favorite, as S. Korea has never before bought European jets, and the ROKAF already flies the similar F-15K...

Could the F-35 be targeted for budget cuts? To view the latest Lockheed Martin PR, the Joint Strike Fighter is progressing quite nicely, thank you.  Costs are coming down , the 100th jet is being built, and 2400 new jobs will be created as production ramps up.  In a recent Twitter based question and answer session , Lockheed Martin test pilot extolled the F-35's virtues, and stated that the JSF program will provide Canada with " niche industrial participation is unique capability to sustain high-tech industry for 4 decades." So what's the panic? Sequestration.  The forced budget cuts required by the U.S. government have put the F-35 program's future in doubt. U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has stated that the U.S. may have to make the hard decision of choosing between a much smaller force or a modernized one.  How big will   these cuts  be?  The U.S. Army would see a cut in personnel from 490,000 to 380,000.  Th...

The F-35.  Still as controversial as ever. I've avoided mentioning the F-35 for a while. I've been critical of it in the past, both on the basis of what I believe is a flawed concept and execution, as well as it's suitability for Canada.  I've tried to take a step back and reevaluate the F-35, but so far I'm far from convinced. GOOD NEWS: So far, the F-35 program has been safe from budget cuts, and likely will be for the near future. Its price is dropping ...  Well...   Sort of . Construction of the F-35 has started in Italy . The Netherlands have take custody of their first two Lightning IIs. Production has continued , without significant new problems popping up. BAD NEWS: In order for the F-35 program to continue, the U.S. Military may need to make some serious cuts to personnel .   U.S. sequestration mandated "furloughs" will undoubtedly slow down F-35 flight testing and development. The software still has bugs and is provin...

Thanks to European austerity measures, along with a need for lower-GDP nations for new fighter aircraft, there seems to be few surplus fighter jets hitting the market lately. Low mileage...  Only $61 million O.B.O.  Serious offers only. The Eurofighter Typhoon, especially, seems to be flooding the market right now.  With the Tranche 3 version on the way, some countries appear to be looking to offload the older Tranche 1 model. Germany is  reported  to be looking at Eastern Europe.   Spain has offered  some of its surplus fleet to Peru, while Eurofighter partner EADS has offered  used Typhoons to Switzerland  in lieu of the Gripen NG. South African Gripens, bought for the 2010 World Cup...  Then mothballed. In more depressing news, South Africa is said to considering selling part of its  fleet of Saab Gripens .  South Africa has had issues with its Gripen fleet, as it lacks both the  financial resources ...

MiG-31, obsolete aircraft...  But not obsolete concept. Recently, Russian officials have admitted to developing a MiG-31 replacement .  This sparked some interest from aviation enthusiasts who have long believed the MiG-31 "Foxhound" was little more of a remnant of the Cold War and would see retirement as the PAK FA and Su-35 became the prevalent fighters in the Russian inventory. Why does this seem odd?  Because in this age of " multi-role " jet fighters, when even the F-22 Raptor is equipped for ground attack , The Foxhound is decidedly single purpose:  Interception. MiG-25 "Foxbat". Developed from the legendary MiG-25 "Foxbat", the MiG-31 was conceived as a sort of a "Super Foxbat" with better detection abilities, longer range, and the ability to engage low flying targets.  The MiG-25 itself was developed to counter the threat of  the B-58 Hustler and (soon to be aborted) XB-70 Valkyrie bombers.  Oddly enough, early exag...