Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch
Looked cool, but it was such a terrible low budget fighter.
It had a really poor air to air radar system, it didn't carry a lot of armaments and while it was fast it had next to no combat radius.
But at least it was safe compared to to the CF-104.
The F-5 was really designed for countries with technically poor rambshackled air forces. It was almost seen by Canadian AirForce leaders as a strategic step back in the capability of the AirForce
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No it didn't.
In fact it had NO radar system that could support A2A. What it had was a primitive "bomb toss" computer, far less sophisticated than the NASARR which was installed in the CF-104.
It was safer than the 104 because it had NO mission.
The 104 guys were blasting around over Germany in crappy WX at 500 feet off the deck. The F-5 guys were sitting in the Officer's Clubs in Bag-town and YOD after a hard day of trying to feel relevant.
Huge difference there.
This entire (CF-116) program was a ridiculous waste of OUR money.
Timeline:
The Liberals (under Pearson ca: 1963) finally agree that it would be a good thing if we
actually arm the CF-104, so the Air Division (six Strike/two Recon. Squadrons) in Europe can meet it's assigned role in 4ATAF.
Hellyer (Defense Minister) is already figuring out how to meet PM "Mike's" order that Canada should move towards a configuration where our Country's armed forces should become a "lap-dog" to the Global United Nations mandate.
Here's where the CF-5 comes into the picture.
So if we're going to go out and "save the world from itself"?
Well the CF-5 looks like a pretty good little plane for the mission.
Problem is that during the negotiations for the procurement they (PMO) dummied the aircraft down to the point that what emerged from the line in Cartierville was an aircraft which was useless for anything but dropping dumb bombs on infantry armed with rifles and spears.
And as such? The RCAF (sic.) had NO use for it.
Such followed the fiasco of new build CF-5A's flying from Canadair straight into storage in Mountainview.
Where they accumulated...until Trudeau Sr. decided that it would be a good idea to "dispose" of these by selling them to Venezuela.
Which immediately resulted in a number of lawsuits filed by Northrop (well within their right to do so...IMO) against the Government of Canada for infringements on the License Production agreement which Canada agreed to.
That dragged on and was ultimately settled; some say that there's collusion contained within this which led to the CF-18 selection?
I have no solid sources in this regard.
The CF-116D (F-5B/T-38) performed admirably throughout it's service life as a "lead-in" trainer with 419 SQD. in Cold Lake. 419 also had a dozen (or so) singles (CF-116A's) which allowed for advanced (mission) training throughout the 1990's.
The final (stupid; IMO) chapter in this waste of money was the >$1B dumped into the upgrading of the CF-5 fleet (avionics/"glass" cockpits/radar upgrades) and then promptly selling them off to Botswana for pennies on the Dollar.
Again, under a Liberal (Chretien) mandate.
But I digress.
We would have been much better served by doing what the RCAF wanted.
A single fleet (1972) of F-4E's: 240 aircraft built under license in Cartierville with OEL-7 powerplants (built in Downsview), with Attack/Nav Radars built here in Canada as well. This one machine could have saved us from the current mess we are in.
There would be no F-18.
When the F-22 comes along (and we are still REALLY chummy with the US at this point) we buy 60-70 of these for NORAD. They enter service in 2006-7 and we put the old timers in the F-4E fleet out to pasture. At this point the F-4's are only there for the expeditionary/"dumb bomb"role, in support of NATO.
As the F-35 matures we look to buying a fleet of 60-70 of these to replace our expeditionary force and deliveries are complete by 2019.
We are now intimately involved (through the participation in F-22) with the USAF and are in line to be the second nation in the world with a front line "sixth-generation" interceptor in service.
And it would not have cost us much more than what we have pissed away over the years.
And that makes me sad.