Canada seeking to replace CF-18 fighter fleet

[nixon45]

^ CT-155 Hawks I believe

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Zulu29

With the heat the Tories are taking on this I don't see (politically) how they can pick the F-35. I truly believe that their bungling of this file may be their undoing. Hard to say you're the stewards of responsible budgeting and the leaders of fiscal prudence after something like this. Throw in the G-20 spending, robo-calls and omnibus bills and I think come 2015 Harper is out looking for a new job.

At the end of the day, the Liberal's will still be fighting it out with the NDP for opposition status in the next election, the question right now is whether the Cons get amajority or minority.

TBH Robocall has lost traction and the Omnibus never really had traction and captured the polling imagination.

[speede5]

Those are Harvards and Hawks. The Hawk landing has a brake chute streamed, but it's hard to see on an iPhone pic. haha.

I shouda waited cause the Snowbirds took off just after that.

[afc wimbledon]

bollocks






thats a Harvard

[Bigtime]

Harvard II's then if it will please you.

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

Harvard II's then if it will please you.

You can call it what you like, it will never be a Harvard in my mind!!

[karl262]

From the looks of this article it looks like the F-35 is no longer an option.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/p...r-fighter-jets

The new costing comes as Ottawa goes back to the drawing board in its controversial search for a fighter jet to replace its fleet of aging CF-18s.
Stung by mounting costs and criticism of a bungled purchase, the federal Conservatives are shaking up their procurement process once more, this time naming an independent expert panel to oversee the work of federal officials.
At the heart of their work are two key questions: What capabilities does the air force need in its next fighter and what jet best meets those demands?
Candidates include the Boeing Super Hornet, an upgrade of the CF-18 now flown by the RCAF; the French-designed Dassault Rafale; the Swedish Saab Gripen; and the Eurofighter Typhoon.
That work, expected to take about three months, will be monitored and reviewed by an independent panel that includes:
• Philippe Lagassé, an assistant professor of public and international affairs at the University of Ottawa, who has raised pointed questions about the process to purchase the F-35. He wrote earlier this year, “The key question that must be asked is why the F-35 is the only possible future fighter aircraft for the Canadian Forces.”
• Retired Lt.-Gen. Charles Bouchard who headed the NATO air war over Libya in 2011 that included CF-18s. He brings the experience of someone who commanded the use of jets in a recent conflict.
• Keith Coulter, past chief of the Communications Security Establishment and a former fighter pilot who commanded a CF-18 squadron and was also a member of the Snowbirds aerobatic team.
• Rod Monette, a former federal comptroller-general and chartered accountant who served with the defence department.
At the heart of the current review is the question whether military brass became fixated on the F-35 early on at the expense of other, cheaper planes

I feel we should pursue the F-35 even with the estimated costs over the 42 year lifespan approaching $40 billion. We could spend a billion dollars a year on far worse things that jets.

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by karl262

From the looks of this article it looks like the F-35 is no longer an option.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/p...r-fighter-jets



I feel we should pursue the F-35 even with the estimated costs over the 42 year lifespan approaching $40 billion. We could spend a billion dollars a year on far worse things that jets.

My guess is the Feds got the nod from the US that the whole thing is in doubt, even without the fiscal cliff the USAF is looking at massive reductions in spending, endlessly spiraling costs on a plane that isn't operational would be an obvious place to cut a few billion. Conversely us dropping out gives the Obama administration a decent excuse to drop the project, fiscally irresponsible to develop it alone etc

[sclitheroe]

Oh I'd totally be willing to contribute my tax dollars towards the Gripen

[GoinAllTheWay]

Well that LOOKS cool but with that pictured loadout, could it actually fly? Tiny little wings and all that crap under it producing a ton of drag?

[kipperfan]

Originally Posted by GoinAllTheWay

Well that LOOKS cool but with that pictured loadout, could it actually fly? Tiny little wings and all that crap under it producing a ton of drag?

Considering over 240 of them have been ordered, produced and put into service around the world, I am going to go out on a limb and guess that yes, it can actually fly.

[Rerun]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

Oh I'd totally be willing to contribute my tax dollars towards the Gripen

With all that external payload it ain't very stealthy

[edslunch]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

You can't make assumption like that.

Plus we were in on the initial work in Libya for example.

IIRC the Americans were there at the beginning, did their usual air defense suppression thing using cruise missiles and B2s then left the playing field to the other allies. So Libya actually proves my point.

[Zulu29]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

At the end of the day, the Liberal's will still be fighting it out with the NDP for opposition status in the next election, the question right now is whether the Cons get amajority or minority.

TBH Robocall has lost traction and the Omnibus never really had traction and captured the polling imagination.

Apparently the robo-calls investigation will be widening its scope as there may be over 100 risings with complaints. I don't think this is over by a long shot and I wouldn't be surprised if the Mounties get called in for a criminal in investigation.

Anyway, staying on topic I think the Eurofighter would make a great replacement.

[sureLoss]

Didn't the Australians purchase super hornets as an interim solution until the F-35 is ready?

Would that work for Canada?

[Zulu29]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

Didn't the Australians purchase super hornets as an interim solution until the F-35 is ready?

Would that work for Canada?

Yep they did. It would make sense for us to buy those in a way. Very similar aircraft, we could probably maintain our own training program for them instead of having to train our pilots in the states with the f-35. Probably use similar parts as well.

[Zulu29]

Originally Posted by Rerun

With all that external payload it ain't very stealthy

Another drawback is its a single engine plane designed to defend a small land mass. We need something with range.

[SebC]

If the primary role of this thing is to defend our airspace, doesn't it need stealth? If we don't have it and our opponent does, we'd lose air superiority fast would we not?

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by Zulu29

Another drawback is its a single engine plane designed to defend a small land mass. We need something with range.

The Gripen can operate from significantly shorter and rougher airstrips, and has much lower maintenance complexity, so you could probably offset the shorter range with smaller, more numerous bases.

As it stands though, I don't think we have enough airbases to provide any kind of comprehensive border protection with a strike fighter type aircraft anyways - the F-35 doesn't fix that.

[Zulu29]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

The Gripen can operate from significantly shorter and rougher airstrips, and has much lower maintenance complexity, so you could probably offset the shorter range with smaller, more numerous bases.

As it stands though, I don't think we have enough airbases to provide any kind of comprehensive border protection with a strike fighter type aircraft anyways - the F-35 doesn't fix that.

Yep I think that's a pretty cool feature of the Gripen. I just don't think there any money to build/staff/maintain any new fighter bases. We have Cold Lake, Baggotville and temporary base in Inuvik. I guess they could start running them out of places like Comox, Trenton and Goose Bay to expand its range.