Dual engine is a red herring at this point. DND has done the risk analysis and is ok with it. When the 18 was purchased engine reliability was much worse than it is these days. Not having to haul around an extra 3000 lbs of engine has serious benefits.
There is also talk in DND in keeping some of the current 18 fleet for the northern operations where a single engine may still be a concern, however the longer the delay in the F-35, the more likely it is we will be stuck with Super Hornets, not a terrible result but it sure doesn't put Canada near the forefront. A 15 year old design over state of the art.
This aircraft has to carry Canada beyond 2030, why would we start with an aircraft that debuted in 97?
Maybe an option would be a small fleet of Super's, say 20-30, and when the F-35 comes on line in 5 years grab 30+ of them. That is what we really need, multi fleets instead of one fleet fits all.
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