BEST FIGHTER FOR CANADA

As Canada's 151st birthday passes by, Canadians enjoy the usual swell of patriotism.  No wonder, as  our nation is pretty great .  The last two years has found even the least-patriotic Canadians being proud.  Even those curmudgeons have to admit...  " At least we're not the United States." Canada still, and always will, have its share of issues.  That is to be expected.  Unlike some other nations, we still have an air of optimism about us.  Things are good and we hope that we can make them even better. One only has to take a cursory glance at the rest of the world to realize that not everyone shares Canada's optimism.  Not only are people taking a pessimistic view...  But they are looking for someone to blame. It is for this reason that Canadian as a whole must make a renewed commitment to its own sovereignty, lest we get bogged down with the same division. One need only look to our southern neighbor to realize how a nat...

The UK Ministry of Defence made a major announcement at the Farnborough Air Show today.  It unveiled plans for a new fighter to replace the Eurofighter Typhoon . First of all, let us start with the name:  TEMPEST.  It is very cool.  The name implies lineage with the current Typhoon and harkens back to the Hawker Tempest fighter-bomber of WWII.  Not only that, but the name "Tempest" is darn-right Shakespearean . The design itself seems rather plain in comparison. BAE Replica At first glance, it resembles the BAE Systems Replica  design study.  A stealthy twin-engined, twin-tailed delta that also happens to look eerily similar to Boeing's X-32.  There even seems to be a slight resemblance to the Handley-Page Victor bomber. While the Tempest is being billed as a sixth generation fighter, its appearance is distinctly fifth generation.  Then again, nobody really knows what "6th gen" aircraft are going to look like...  Desp...

Although some might believe otherwise, I have really done my best to present the F-35 in a fair and unbiased light.  I have even warmed up to it somewhat lately, going so far that it could  have a place in a mixed Canadian fleet ...  And then I see something that makes it nearly impossible to take any of Lockheed Martin's marketing fluff seriously. Look at the above graphic, coming from a positively glowing article from ForeignPolicy.com . Does anything seem a bit off to you? Those numbers are optimistic.  Wildly optimistic. According to Lockheed Martin, Canada (notice the asterisk there) canceled its planned JSF purchase (of 65 planes)...  But because of Boeing's tomfoolery, it will now buy 88  F-35s instead. Huh? While the F-35 is still very much in the running, its high cost and recent political fallout make it far from a sure thing. Yet this infographic presents it as such. Yeah... Maybe Lockheed Martin can be excused for being bullis...

Happy Canada Day everyone! Enjoy the (hopefully not too hot) weather, crack open a cold one, light up the barbecue, and be proud! Nobody ever needs to say "Make Canada Great Again"...  We never stopped.

As long-time readers know, the summer months tend to be a slow time here at bestfighter4canada. The House of Commons is on its summer break, so major announcements tend to be few and far between...  Especially in a non-election year.  With a dearth of stuff to report on (and an all too short Canadian summer), your humble writer lacks the will to sit at a keyboard...  Barring the occasional "summer surprise" like a missed  air show appearance due to fire . This summer feels different, however. While there will be the typical "summer slow down", it will hopefully be a prelude to an much busier time.  The upcoming year will see Canada's CF-18 replacement program begin in earnest. As the selection process slowly churns, expect the fighter manufacturers to ramp up their marketing efforts.  Unlike the past, when the F-35 was the  defacto  choice and the other alternatives were merely paid lip service, this could be (hopefully) be anyone's g...

Over the last few years, the Republic of Turkey has presented a bit of conundrum to its NATO allies. Last year, a  controversial referendum  replaced Turkey's parliamentary government to a presidential system.  This greatly increased Turkish president Recap Erdogan's power within the country and paves the way for a full-on dictatorship.  Unlike other presidential systems, Turkey lacks the checks and balances to reign in  potential abuse . Preceding this was an attempted coup attempt that seems  quite suspicious in retrospect . Turkey has also been less-than-helpful when it comes to the conflict in Syria.  From inconveniences (like denying the US  use of an airbase ) too outright antagonism ( sending its own troops in to confront US-backed Kurds ).  To make matters worse, Turkish forces  downed a Russian Su-24  when it came uncomfortably close (but not into) Syrian air space.  Needless to say, a NATO shooting down a Rus...

"Hey Justin, smell my finger..." Well...  It looks like the opening salvo has been fired in a trade war between the USA and Canada . The particulars are not important to our discussion here; just the usual bloviating and rhetoric .  What is important is whether or not this trade war will play a role in Canada's CF-18 replacement decision. Should military purchases be considered as ammunition in a trade war? On one hand, it could be argued that any trade war with the USA would be temporary.  Why base a 30 (or more) year fighter commitment on presidency that may not see the end of the decade?  Trump's tariffs are not widely supported and would likely not outlast his presidency.  With the CF-18 replacement not likely happening until the mid-2020s, the entire Trump presidency could be considered a moot point. Unfortunately, the Trump presidency (and his tariffs) will cast its shadow over most, if not all, of the CF-18 replacement process.  An RFP...