BEST FIGHTER FOR CANADA

As we enter 2019 and what  should be  the homestretch of Canada's CF-18 replacement saga, I thought it would be useful to do a quick update on where all the fighters stand. F-35 LIGHTNING II After years of development problems and controversy, the F-35 can now be declared an operational fighter.  The jet has been declared IOC for both the USAF and the USMC, with the USN scheduled for later this year.  Not only that, but  foreign customers are taking deliveries  and the aircraft has even seen  limited comba t. Better still, the JSF's unit cost has finally dropped.  While early models were wildly expensive, later model prices seem to have leveled off to approximately  $95 million  (US) per unit.  Most recently, the F-35A broke the  $90 million barrier . Despite the current Trudeau government campaigning on the promise to not buy the F-35, the JSF is still very much a contender to replace the CF-18.  The requirem...

Once again, I apologize for the lack of content lately.  My work/life balance has been completely out of whack lately and I needed a little time to perform what mental health experts call "self care"...  Which basically means taking a step back and relaxing for a bit. I am working on new material and I do plan to follow Canada's fighter selection saga until the bitter end (whenever that is), In the meantime, please check out Alex McColl's thesis on on the subject, available here .

Well...  That didn't take long. Less than a week after Canada released a new Request for Proposals (RFP) to replace the CF-18, Dassault has decided to drop out of the running.  This is despite the fact that the new RFP made it easier  for European fighter manufacturers to compete . Unfortunately for Dassault, the new RFP still required the ability to integrate with existing NORAD and NATO infrastructure.  Most notedly, encrypted communication.  While the RFP did allow for additional leeway to meet this requirements, it does entail additional cost and risk.  This was likely too much for Dassault. As unfortunate as this news is, it should not be that much of a surprise.  Out of the five contenders, the Rafale was always the the "odd man out" when it came to compatibility.  Dassault's insistence on French-sourced weapons and subsystems makes the Rafale a harder sell to other NATO nations, especially those with their own aerospace industry t...

Just when the JSF program is starting to put its troubled past behind it, another incident occurs. On September 29th, a USMC F-35B crashed in South Carolina .  Thankfully, the pilot ejected safely and no lives were lost. For more details on the incident, check out Foxtrot Alpha . While the JSF is certainly no stranger to its share of incidents , this is the first time one of the aircraft has been lost due to a crash. After a brief investigation, the Pentagon has ordered the entire F-35 fleet to be grounded .  This is the second time the entire fleet has been grounded; the first grounding was the result of " engine rubbing " that caused a spontaneous engine fire. Despite its well-publicized incidents and groundings, the F-35 remains a relatively safe plane .  Its been flying over twelve years, with total flight hours in the hundreds of thousands, and over 320 airframes built.  Not a single fatality has been reported so far. Many other modern fight...

After more than 50 years, the USAF's aging T-38 is finally getting a replacement. On September 27, Boeing was announced as the winner of the T-X trainer competition .  Being the only real clean sheet design entered, many saw it as Boeing's to lose. Victory was no assured, however.  Submitting a clean-sheet design was a risky proposition when it comes to affordability and risk.  So much so that Northrop Grumman (maker of the T-38) abandoned the competition after going so far as to building a prototype . As the competition came to a close, Boeing faced the Leonardo T-100 and Lockheed Martin/KAI T-50 Golden Eagle.  Both of these aircraft had the advantage of being mature, proven designs.   The T-50 had the extra advantage of being represented by the juggernaut that is Lockheed Martin.  Without a Stateside sponsor, the T-100 was certainly a political dark horse. While other designs, like the Textron AirLand Scorpion were submitted, none of them rea...

What happens when the F-22 and F-35 get busy and have a baby? Lately, the idea of a "hybrid" between the F-22 and F-35 seems to be gaining steam.  First proposed to Japan when its self-designed F-3 project fell through, Lockheed is now pitching the idea to The Pentagon . This (sort of) new fighter would take the more modern sensors, avionics, and other newer technology found in the F-35 and modify them to fit the F-22 Raptor.  This new enhanced Raptor would also sport a more modern stealth coating that promises to require maintenance. It is not a bad idea.  Such a beast would not only offer improved capabilities for the F-22, but could actually result in lower flying costs. This new fighter (F-22B?  F-22E?  F-22X?  F-28.5?) would improve on the Raptor's exceptional air-to-air capabilities.  One of the F-22's current weak spots is the absence of any sort of IRST.  The addition of DAS (Distributed Aperture System), combined with a h...

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...