BEST FIGHTER FOR CANADA

Raytheon SDB-II " Measure twice.  Cut once ." Carpenters know the phrase well.  In the literal sense, it means to take extra care in measuring the desired dimensions before cutting.  If the measurement is off, you will need to redo it, with a good chance you just wasted a perfectly good piece of lumber. In the figurative sense, it simply means to be methodical and careful before putting a plan into action. One wonders if the folks in the JSF program office measured twice. In the latest bit of JSF news, it turns out that the F-35B will not be able to fit the required load of Small Diameter Bombs (SDB-II) inside its weapons bays.  Instead of eight, the STOVL version of the JSF will have to make due with four (two per bay).  This would not be such a big deal, except for the fact that the SDB's purpose is to allow fighters to strike more targets. I have ranted on about the F-35's weapon bays in the past .  While they do improve stealth, they offe...

During the official rollout of Australia's first two F-35A Lightning II stealth fighters, the USA's undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics (long title) played up the international partnership that has led to the JSF's current success   situation. "In this case it takes a community of nations, it takes a community of companies, it takes a community of militaries and departments within the U.S. and around the world, and all of our partners. It takes a community of industry to come together," the undersecretary added. "This aircraft is a testimony to our ability to do that." So...  Yeah.  Keep in mind that these first two "Australian" F-35As will remain on American soil for the indefinite future as "training" aircraft. Kendall would go on to describe the JSF's similarity to the early microcomputers of the 1960s.  Too complex for one person (or group of people) to understand. "The...

"D'OH!" Always be wary when someone starts throwing numbers around .  Its a great way to sound intelligent while obfuscating the facts.  Terms like "25% more effective" do not mean diddley-squat unless we know what that the thing is that that "25%" more effective than.  It is all about context.  Is it "25%" better than it used to be?  Better than a standard baseline?  Better than a half rotten herring?  We need to know what. Dave Scott, Lockheed Martin's "director of international customer engagement" for the JSF, recently had an interview in Japan   where  he discussed the F-35, PAK FA, and J-20.  He dismissed both the J-20 and PAK FA as true "Fifth Generation" fighters. "Scott said the essential element of fifth-generation fighter aircraft lies not only in their stealth capability but also in the integration of the sensor fusion that allows a boost of 5%-10% to its thrust, 5% to its military rating and ...

Godzilla facepalm.  It's that epic. Late last week, a group representing "over 35" Canadian industrial partners involved with F-35 production carpet bombed  sent a "open letter" to Canadian media outlets.  Predictably, they insist that an actual competition would be unnecessary, expensive, and time consuming.  They also warn of impending doom should Canada delay ordering the Joint Strike Fighter any longer.  Nevermind that these are the same companies that stand to profit from an F-35 selection and are certainly biased. The open letter can be seen here at the Ottawa Citizen  or  here at Canadian Skies magazine .  I'm sure it is available a few more places as well. The "Canadian JSF Industry Group" (CJIG for short) falls back on the same tropes and myths that most F-35 supporters do; claiming that Canada would lose out on billions of dollars worth of work and risk missing out on all that JSF wonderfulness. Right... Let us just go with a...

"Ugh..." From the Ottawa Citizen today comes an interesting opinion piece penned by no less than Charles "Buzz" Nixon, Canada's deputy minister of national defense way back from the Trudeau days. Nixon believes that Canada has no need for a CF-18 replacement, citing that they are simply too expensive and "drones" should be used for asserting Canada's sovereignty and protecting against terrorist attacks.  Any incursion by a foreign nation should be met with diplomacy. The sovereignty of Canada’s airspace can be affirmed by any aerial vehicle carrying an official logo of Canada. A non-credible event of a rogue Russian scouting aircraft actually entering Canada’s airspace would be addressed by a diplomatic response. Let's ask Ukraine how that's working out ... Canada needs fighter jets.  We may not need many, but we certainly need a few.  Enough to police our own airspace, support our ground troops, as well as honor our NATO commit...