Quote:
Originally Posted by Hack&Lube
I think that the age of jet fighters is over and we don't need a large fleet of them.
I think Canada should buy a fleet of good AWACs planes, and develop a good drone industry for ourselves and export. That's orders of magnitude cheaper than building 4th/5th generation jets and probably much more cost-effective for patrolling our borders. I think we even have pilot shortage right now. It also takes advantage of Canada's smaller scale but high quality engineering and robotics industries. We've got two generations of kids raised on video games. Drones are the future.
We can have a wide drone spread (more fuel efficient, easier to repair/replace, longer range, more maneuverable without human limitations, etc.) and a smaller number of AWACs in the sky with a greatly reduced number of jets for escort.
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The NORAD mission cannot be properly fulfilled by a drone;
that is the short and simpler answer.