BEST FIGHTER FOR CANADA

CBC has confirmed that Julie Payette will be Canada's next Governor General .   First of all, this is INCREDIBLE news.  The Queen's official representative in Canada is going to be freaking astronaut!  How cool is that? Aside from her career as an astronaut, Payette is also a pilot, engineer, able to speak six languages, and has served as a board member of Drug Free Kids Canada.  It is clear that Payette is not some mere patronage appointee. Oddly enough, Payette does have a connection to Canada's CF-18 replacement.  Her husband is none other than Lockheed Martin test pilot (and PR persona) Billie Flynn . Billie Flynn Congratulations to Julie Payette on her upcoming appointment!

Raytheon AIM-9X Sidewinder On June 18th, 2017, a United States Navy Super Hornet was forced to engage a Syrian Su-22 that had attacked ground troops.   This was to be the first manned aerial combat victory in nine years .  The F/A-18E (the most advanced fighter currently in use by the USN) fired an AIM-9X (the most advanced missile currently in use by the US military)...   And missed . The Su-22 was eventually brought down using a radar-guided AIM-120 AMRAAM (a missile which has its own issues ).  The outcome of this aerial combat was never really in doubt, but how did the AIM-9X possibly miss in the first place? Su-22 "Fitter" In this case, the AIM-9X's intended target was an export version of the Sukhoi Su-17 "Fitter"  designated the Su-22.  First flying over 50 years ago, this aircraft is comparable to western attack aircraft like the SEPECAT Jaguar and A-7 Corsair II (both mostly retired).  It is not particularly fast or maneuver...

Still not ready for primetime... Fans of the F-35 have had to put up with a deluge of good news and bad news stories the last few months. First, the good news: After a troubled development, the JSF has now considered to be in operational service with the USAF declaring its initial operating capability (IOC) in August of last year .  The F-35 can no longer be in "development hell"...   Sort of.  Costs have gone down as well, with the latest batch of F-35s bringing the unit cost of the CTOL F-35A down to a reasonable $95 million *.   (More on the "*" later.) As if to perform a mic drop on all this, an aerobatic performance at the Paris air show put to rest any criticisms that the F-35 cannot maneuver, accelerate, or climb.  Piloted by Lockheed Martin test pilot (and former RCAF CF-18 pilot) Billie Flynn, the JSF performed a flawless routine.  It even attracted the attention of zee Germans , who have thus far declined any participation in the JSF p...

Almost had it... In late 2016, Canada's fighter jet saga seemed to finally be reaching a resolution (at least in the short-term) after Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan announced that Canada would be purchasing 18 Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets as an "interim" fighter.  These fighters would fill a "capability gap" whilst Canada pursued a permanent CF-18 replacement. The move made sense .  The Super Hornet is readily available, affordable, and similar to our current fleet.  Some questioned that the move would give Boeing an unfair advantage going in to a full competition, but whomever said defence acquisitions were fair?  At the very least, the RCAF would finally have some new fighters. Of course, this being a story of Canadian military procurement, a plot twist was inevitable.  That plot twist came from Canada's own Bombardier. All this over a little airliner... To say Bombardier has a controversial history is an understatement.  At any given ...

One for the record books. The Gripen E ( née  "Gripen NG") can no longer bed accused as being a "paper aircraft".  On June 15, Saab successfully flew its first JAS 39 Gripen E . The flight went off pretty much on time, with Saab promising a flight in the second quarter of 2017.  Initial plans were to hold the test flight in late 2016 , but Saab chose to delay the flight due to self-imposed software requirements.  Saab insists the aircraft is still on track for deliveries to begin in 2019. The upcoming years may indeed be the "perfect storm" for Gripen E sales success.  Contemporaries like the Typhoon , Rafale , and Super Hornet have had middling sales success, but are not even close to representing a true sales rival to the F-35.  Simply put, these fighters do not seem to offer enough of a cost and/or performance benefit to entice qualified buyers away from the still troubled JSF .   But the Gripen E is different.   Saab is p...

Welp...  So much for my hiatus. Back in March, it seemed like Canada's protracted fighter jet saga was entering a stage of (relative) stability, with an "interim" purchase of 18 Super Hornets pending followed by a open fighter competition. That was then...  This is now. Boeing would rather we DON'T sell these... ...Then to sell us these. The Canadian government has now suspended talks with Boeing  thanks to a trade dispute over allegations that Bombardier is "dumping" (i.e. selling below cost) C-Series airliners onto the US market.  Whether this is simple posturing remains to be seen.  As of now, a Canadian Super Hornet purchase appears unlikely...  Interim or otherwise. The Government of Canada dropped another bombshell this week with the release of its new defence policy ( available here ).  In it are plans for Canada to increase its defence spending by a whopping 70% .  This would bring Canada's military spending up to...

It's happening... On March 13th, the Canadian government sent a letter of request to the the US regarding the purchase of 18 Boeing Super Hornets.  After years of debate, controversy, and outright stalling, the RCAF is now on its way to receiving new fighter jets to supplement the aging CF-18. While I am unconvinced that the Super Hornet is the best fighter to ultimately replace the CF-18, I do believe it is the only reasonable choice as an interim fighter.  Whether or not Canada should simply initiate a full competition seems to be a moot point at this stage.  For good or ill, the Canadian Super Hornet IS HAPPENING. This leaves your humble author at an odd impasse.  The Canadian fighter saga is not yet over...   Not by a long shot.  Yet the upcoming months (years?) will have little to discuss until Super Hornet deliveries start and/or a permanent fighter replacement program begins in earnest. What am I to do during this Limbo? I could continue...