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Originally Posted by photon
Well the F-18 was also a multi-role platform while the F-14 and F-15 are primarily air superiority (though they do have attack capabilities).
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While that's true, both were considered in Canada's
New Fighter Aircraft program and were eliminated (along with the multi-role Tornado) because of excessive price (from wikipedia, consider the source).
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One downside with going with a Super Hornet or Typhoon is that we'll reach this point (old airframe, inferior avionics, etc) sooner than with the F-35, and upgrading older airplanes is more expensive, so as you say while the Super Hornet would have been cheaper, how much sooner would we be at the point we are at right now again? Soon enough to justify the outlay for the F-35?
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That's why I specifically said above that you evaluate the aircraft based on total cost of ownership over the anticipated lifespan, not the initial purchase price. If the F-35 is indeed the best deal, great, it's an absolutely amazing plane. Without a competitive bidding process, though, we have no way of knowing that there isn't a more cost-effective fighter that is still capable of meeting our operational requirements.
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This also comes from wikipedia (consider the source) and is salient to the conversation:
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A number of different fighter aircraft have been considered by the Canadian Forces as replacements for the CF-18 with the F-35 Lightning II, Eurofighter Typhoon, SAAB JAS 39 Gripen, and the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet all having been promoted as contenders by their respective manufacturers.[28] According to Le Devoir, project costs without considering maintenance, training and spare parts, are estimated at $4 to $8 billion.[29] Boeing has indicated the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, a derivative of the F/A-18 Hornet, is a less expensive alternative at an estimated total cost of $4 billion.[30] One of the manufacturers in contention: Boeing, BAE Systems and Saab Aerospace, has promised to assemble the entire aircraft in Canada although the name was not publicly disclosed
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CF-18#Replacing_the_fleet