BEST FIGHTER FOR CANADA

When Saab first hinted that its offer would include Canadian-built Gripens, many assumed that Bombardier would be the likely partner.  It seems obvious, Bombardier is Canada's largest (only?) aircraft manufacturer, and they certainly could use the extra cash. The trouble is with that assumption is that Bombardier does not build military aircraft.  Well...  Sort of...  Bombardier designs have been used as the underlying platform for several military aircraft, notably Raytheon's Sentinel R1 and Saab's GlobalEye and Swordfish (all based on the Global 6000), but Bombardier itself has never aspired to compete in the defence market.  Sure, they did buy out the remains of Canadair , but that was forever ago. Saab has instead chosen to partner up with IMP Aerospace and Defence .  This announcement  likely threw a few people off, as IMP is not as well known as Bombardier.  Also, technically , IMP does not actually manufacture any aircraft...

With Airbus officially withdrawing the Eurofighter Typhoon from Canada's Future Fighter Capability Project (FFCP), the next obvious question is:  "What about Saab?" A fair question.  After all, what chance does a scrappy little fighter manufacturer like Saab have when a consortium consisting of aerospace giants Airbus, BAE, and Leonardo  decides that Canada's FFCP is not worth the effort?  With Eurofighter and Dassault now gone, the Gripen is now the sole "Eurocanard" left to compete with the American entries sold by Boeing and Lockheed Martin. How in the world can Saab possibly compete against these heavyweights?  The word "heavyweight" here cannot be stressed enough.  Both Boeing and LockMart enjoy a MASSIVE budgetary and geopolitical advantage over Saab.  Not only that, but their fighters are much larger as well. In this case, both Saab and its fighter's relative size can be used as an advantage. As per the Canadian government...

Gripen for Canada?  That sounds familiar... It's happening . After years of uncertainty, we now know that the Saab Gripen is a serious contender in the contest to replace the CF-18. This may not seem like big news.  The Gripen has long been mentioned alongside other potential contenders like the F-35 and Super Hornet.  This humble writer has been extolling the Gripen's virtues for years . So what is different now? Saab has made it official .  After years of little to mention on its website, Canada now has a dedicated subsection . Saab has also made a much more prominent appearance at this years CANSEC.  Not only do we have a media brief that focuses on Canada's needs, but Saab has a full size mock-up of the Gripen E on display. That digicam tho... Media briefings and mock-ups help raise awareness of the platform, but Saab has a long way to go before it can catch up to more established players like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Airbus. ...

In 1959, the Avro Arrow was canceled by then-Prime Minister John Diefenbaker.  After sixty years, many still view the decision with disgust.  For them, the Avro Arrow was more than an interceptor; it was the embodiment of Canadian pride.  The Arrow was proof that the Canadian aerospace was on par, if not superior to, anything else in the world. In retrospect, those people were right. The Arrow was Canada's last serious effort to design its own fighter jet.  Not only that, Canada has pretty much given up designing any military aircraft since then.  The CP-107 Argus ASW aircraft, developed alongside the Arrow, failed to justify a Canadian successor after   The far less ambitious DHC-4 Caribou's lineage died after the DHC-5 Caribou. While Canada still maintains a robust aerospace industry, it is dwarfed by the American and European giants.  Our largest indigenous aerospace manufacturer, Bombardier specializes in small regional airliners and busi...

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...

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...

After more than a year of speculation, the Liberal government has announced its plan to replace the RCAF's aging fleet of CF-18 Hornets.  An election promise to walk away from the F-35, combined with promise to hold an open and fair competition meant there was going to be some sort of a shake-up. Things were shaken up even more when Harjit Sajjan, Canada's newly appointed Minister of Defence, announced that the RCAF's current CF-18 fleet was in worse condition then initially thought and that Canada was faced with a " capability gap ". Rumors circulated during the summer that Canada would announce the sole-source procurement of a small number of Super Hornets to be used as an interim solution.  This week, the Federal Government announced exactly that .  Canada will procure 18 F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, followed shortly by a full and open fighter competition that will last approximately five years.  Canada will continue to act as a JSF industrial partner duri...

We finally know what all the contenders to replace the venerable T-38 Talon will look like. After teasing us for months , Boeing finally unveiled its entry into the T-X competition with much pomp and fanfare.  This follows a less ceremonial unveiling of Northrop-Grumman's clean sheet design.  The two other contenders, proposed by Lockheed and Raytheon, are modifications to existing designs. The goal of the T-X program is to provide a "lead in" jet trainer for high performance aircraft found in the USAF.  This includes (but is not limited to) aircraft like the F-22, F-35, and B-21.  As military aircraft become more advanced, there has emerged a need for a trainer that mirrors these advances.  The venerable T-38 is no longer a suitable aircraft for this, being a 50-year-old design. The requirements for the T-X dictate an aerial refueling receptacle and give preference for high maneuverability .   The ability to make a sustained 6.5 g turn is ...

Bombardier C-Series:  Savior or a curse? Any Canadian reading the business news lately knows that Bombardier is in trouble . Layoffs, less-than-hoped demand for the C-Series , and requests for bailouts have made headlines for the Canadian aerospace company.  Some of the blame for this is directed at Bombardier's management practices.  Bombardier utilized a two-tiered investment structure, in which shares owned by its two founding families (Bombardier and Beaudoin) are worth far more than shares available to the general public.  Thanks to this, 13% of the shareholders enjoy a 54% of the voting power.  Combined with Bombardier's niche position in the marketplace, investors are likely to think twice . The question is:  Do we let Bombardier fail? Some may be tempted to let natural selection take its course.  "Darwinism" and all that.  Doing so would pretty much devastate Canada's aerospace industry, however.  Canada would still have pl...

"That's it?" Saab and Boeing have been pretty tight-lipped about their collaborative bid for the USAF's T-X program.  While other bidders have a preference for existing designs , Saab and Boeing have decided on a clean-sheet design that will most definitely not be a variant of the Gripen . I have speculated on the Saab/Boeing T-X in the past.  So far, nothing seems to confirm or deny my guesstimates. Saab and Boeing have been tight-lipped about about their upcoming trainer.  So much so that a recent conference display was by invitation only .  Its only release to the general public is the vague shot of the aircraft's nose that you see above. While all this secrecy is infuriating to aviation buffs, its not entirely unexpected.  Saab and Boeing are taking the T-X competition very seriously and it does not want to give away too much to their competition.  Saab's CEO seems quite confident in the design however, and looks forward to cooperating with ...

Boeing T-X concept (pre-Saab partnership) Saab and Boeing dropped a bombshell late last year when they announced that they would be joining forces to submit a bid for the upcoming T-X program.  The T-X program intends to replace the venerable T-38 Talon in use by the USAF as a high performance jet trainer.   What will this collaboration look like?  Early reports on a "decontented" Saab Gripen have been dispelled.  This will be an "all new" aircraft .  Given the context of the T-X program, it is very likely that much of the project will be off-the-shelf in order to keep risk and costs down.   Designing an all new aircraft does give put the Saab/Boeing T-X bid in a riskier position than the other T-X contenders.  All the other bidders are proposing existing aircraft in order to keep risks to a minimum.  Lockheed Martin is partnering up with Korean KAI in offering the T-50 Golden Eagle, Northrop Grumman is partnering with BAE in offeri...