BEST FIGHTER FOR CANADA

F-35 LIGHTNING II   I have spilled a lot of digital ink on why Canada should not  purchase the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II.  Contrary to my rhetoric, the world as we know it will not end if Canada does announce an F-35 buy.  In fact, there are plenty of reason why Canada should commit to the JSF.  This may seem a little "off brand" today I am here to tell you why we should  purchase the F-35.   It is  the future. Despite all the naysayers, the Joint Strike Fighter program has delivered on its promise to produce a 5th-generation in massive numbers.  Over 700 airframes have been delivered with production now maxed out at 156 units per year .  One can debate over whether or not the F-35 will match the sheer numbers fighters like the F-16 , but there is little doubt that the JSF will be the  NATO fighter for much of the 21st century.   Unlike the F-22 Raptor, which was deemed "too good" to export, the F-35 has been aggressive...

Forgive me if this post seems a bit like a rant.  I've been fighting both a gastrointestinal infection and a lung infection for the last few days and the meds are only helping me so much... The United States Government Accountability Office recently released its yearly report on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter .  This 2018 report is of importance because the decision to enter full production will be made in October this year. Spoiler alert:  Despite being in development for over 17 years, there are still major deficiencies in aircraft performance, longevity, and even safety .  Even with the current problems, the US Department of Defense " plans to defer resolving some critical deficiencies found in testing until after its full-rate production decision in October 2019, even though DOD’s policy states that critical deficiencies generally will be resolved before then." It would seem " concurrency " is the gift that keeps on giving.  Why mess around recallin...

Still a contender? When I started this blog's progenitor,  http://gripen4canada.blogspot.ca , my thesis was that the F-35 was not the right fighter to replace Canada's aging CF-18 fleet.  At the time, the JSF project was years behind schedule, billions of dollars over budget, and still nowhere near to fielding a competent multi-role fighter. It turns out a lot of people agreed with me. Since that time, Canada has changed governing parties.  The current ruling party went so far as to promise to cancel Canada's F-35 purchase and to hold a fair and open competition.  Since coming into power, they also made it known that Canada suffers from a " capability gap " that required immediate attention. We all know how that turned out so far ... As the years have gone by, the Joint Strike Fighter program has continued to plod on.  The F-35 has undoubtedly made progress, and both the USAF and the USMC have declared the fighter fit enough to meet Initial Operating...

RAAF F/A-18 Hornet Canada has officially begun the process to acquire used F/A-18 Hornets from the RAAF .  It has presented the Australian government with a "Letter of Interest".  This tire-kicking will give a sense as to how much these second-hand fighters would cost us and how soon they would arrive. Let me save the Trudeau government some trouble:  Don't bother. This is not to disparage the Australians or the RAAF.  Like Canada, the Aussies have continuously upgraded and refurbished their fleet of Hornets.  While there are minor differences between the two, integration into the RCAF fleet should be relatively "plug-and-play". As far as costs go, second-hand F/A-18s would likely seem like a bargain.  It would certainly be a lot more affordable than the mind-boggling $5.23 billion quoted for 18 Boeing Super Hornets . So why give the RAAF Hornets a pass? It is a simple matter of availability.  The whole point of the interim fighter is to...

RAAF Super Hornets An official announcement has yet to be made, but the Trudeau's government's rumored acquisition of Super Hornets has already drummed up controversy.  Not the least of which conjures up the dreaded "S-word"...   No, not that one . We are talking about the dreaded act of "sole-sourcing".  The awarding of a fat government contract without a full bidding process.  This does indeed raise concerns, as the vender is under no pressure to provide competitive pricing.  Unfortunately, the rumored "interim" Super Hornet acquisition does exactly that. So why would the governing Liberals do this, especially after campaigning on the promise to hold an open and fair fighter competition ?  Not only does this seemingly break an election promise, but if makes them appear as hypocrites after criticizing the Harper government for sole-sourcing the F-35. Is sole-sourcing truly such a bad thing, however? Let us look at a few examples, conve...

We've done the impossible...  And that makes us mighty. -Captain Malcom Reynolds (Firefly)  The people of Canada spoke loud and clear last night.   After a record long campaign, the Liberal Party of Canada emerged victorious as the new government-elect.  One of the highlights of their platform  was to " immediately launch an open and transparent competition to replace the CF-18 fighter aircraft.”  Liberal leader Justin Trudeau has gone on the record stating that the F-35's  “stealth first-strike capability” is not needed to defend Canada, and the funds saved by going with a  more affordable aircraft would be used to shore up Canada's already-troubled National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy (NSPS). Canada's election results are already sending a ripple throughout the Joint Strike Fighter program.  If the LPC keeps its promise, we will be the first major JSF partner to walk away from the program.  This co...

Like the F-35?  Better vote Conservative. Well...  That didn't take long. Shortly after Liberal leader Justin Trudeau announced that his party would scrap the F-35 purchase and hold a competition to replace the CF-18, the other two leaders have (somewhat) clarified their position. Much like Trudeau, NDP Thomas Mulcair would start a competition.  Unlike the Liberals, the NDP would include the F-35 in the process.  Mulcair took the opportunity to add some campaign rhetoric, slamming Trudeau for disqualifying the F-35 . I will note here that Mulcair and the NDP have (quietly) announced that their position aligns itself with what you will see on this blog.  That is, if the F-35 is to be chosen as replacement for Canada's CF-18s, it should do so based on its own merits and suitability for Canada. Conservative Party of Canada leader (and current PM) Stephen Harper's response was a little more...  Uh...  Apocalyptic. Harper lambasted Trudeau...

Finally. After weeks of pretty much ignoring Canada's current DND procurement woes, a party leader have unequivocally stated their position on Canada's controversial purchase of the F-35 Lightning II. In a rally held in Halifax today, Liberal Party of Canada leader Justin Trudeau stated, quite bluntly, that the Grits "will not buy the F-35 fighter jet". Instead, we will launch an open and transparent competition to replace the CF-18s; keeping in mind the primary mission of our fighter aircraft is the defense of North America.  This process will also ensure that bids include guaranteed industrial benefits for Canadian companies and workers.    Trudeau then emphasized that saving money on fighter jets would ensure that monies would not be taken away from shipbuilding in places like the Halifax shipyards. While this news was a long time coming, it is not entirely unexpected.  Kelowna Liberal candidate and former CF-18 pilot  Stephen Fuhr has been quite ...

Some of you have already seen reports that Canada has plans to purchase four F-35s in 2017.  First of all...  Calm down.  The Canadian government needed to place its order this month if it wanted any F-35s built next year.  This is not happening, as CF-18s are getting life-extensions and its replacement decision has been put off.  Instead, the DND is requesting a "swap" allowing it to change places with the USAF  this would push back Canada's purchase until 2017 (at the earliest) while the USAF gets our spot in line.  The USAF have agreed to this under two important conditions: 1:  The USAF keeps its planned 2016 IOC date.  2:  Canada's delay will not undermine international faith in the JSF program.  While these conditions may seem a tad unfair at first, but they could very well act as a litmus test. If the USAF pushes back its IOC date, or there is a sign that this move will topple the house of cards that is the JSF program; Canad...

Hat tip to Eric Palmer! Eight-thousand feet. That is the minimum amount of runway required to safely operate the conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) version of the F-35, the F-35A.  For training purposes it is preferable for the newbie F-35 pilot to have up to 10,000 feet to allow for a margin of error.  This is according to RAAF documents, found here (warning:  PDF download) . For those not keeping score, the CTOL F-35A was (is?) the planned replacements for the RCAF's aging CF-18s.  Being a carrier-capable aircraft, the CF-18 has little problem operating out of shorter runways.  Strengthened landing gear, low stall speed, and an arrestor hook make for snappy take-offs and landings.  The F-35A lacks these benefits, as they are not required to operate out of large USAF airbases with more than enough runway to go around. For Canada, things are a little different. Canada's current fleet of CF-18s are operated out of two airbases, CFB Co...