Canada's navy cuts coast patrol fleet in half

[Azure]

Here is the actual aircraft carrier we had.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by Azure

Here is the actual aircraft carrier we had.

Love the white pain job... you know your aircraft Carrier is Canadian when...

(Heck, is that snow on the runway that they didn't shovel off?)

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Azure

I'm also not saying that we should abandon every other part of the military and focus on JUST Afghanistan and our operations there.

I'm saying that because we are involved in Afghanistan, most of our effort should be put into making sure our guys have the resources they need, and that they have the best training in the world to do their jobs.

In the meantime you start upgrading the rest of the military. We don't need to spend billions upon billions every year, but I think a dedicated budget for upgrades. That way we can cycle our equipment as needed.

If you leave your stuff sitting around too long it falls apart and isn't any use to anyone. Gotta keep upgrading.

The problem is that we've already hit rust out on a lot of the equipment that we do have, because the Military's budget has been hammered so long that the Military needs a massive injection of new equipment just to support the efforts in Afghanistan. As it stands after we leave Afghanistan we're going to need to go at least three years without deploying anywhere just to rest and re-equipt our military.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

I find this unlikely. The size of IED’s has grown rapidly to match the increased capabilities of hardened vehicles in Afghanistan, to the point that I doubt a tank would be any more mobile after an IED detonation than any other vehicle.

In my opinion the only way to mitigate the IED threat is to be able to maintain continual aerial surveillance, something that will be possible with the increasing size of drone fleets. A large number of surveillance drones operating at altitude with a smaller number of armed drones would probably be pretty effective at locating and eliminating the combatants as they plant the devices.

I’m not talking about a handful of drones, I’m talking about mass deployments, where any given patch of land comes under surveillance every 15 minutes or so. Should be possible with drones that can operate at high altitude (large area of coverage) for 24 hours or more per sortie, along with decreasing unit costs as the technology matures.

I’m no expert though.

I would love to see Canada increase the use of surveillance drones, and they're recently purchased new higher capability drones. I'd even be an advocate of buying armed Predator drones.

However Tanks because of their heavier armor give a better chance of survival against IEDs. With a big enough IED you're going to see anything destroyed. But the tracked versus wheeled and heavier armor offers far better protection. Tanks are also impervious to motor and arty attacks. The RPG-7 that the Taliban is armed with will not defeat the advanced armor on a Leopard 2.

The guns on the LAV 4 do not have the penetrating power to defeat the walls on the drying houses in Afghanistan where the Taliban likes to hide. The heavy cannon on the Leopard will knock it down. You also have to realize that the effective range of an RPG is measured in 100's of yards, the main gun on a tank is measured over KM's.

The thick armor and armaments also allow the Canadians to use tank support to break up ambushes.

If I was in the field I would want tanks and surveillance.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

The problem is that we've already hit rust out on a lot of the equipment that we do have, because the Military's budget has been hammered so long that the Military needs a massive injection of new equipment just to support the efforts in Afghanistan. As it stands after we leave Afghanistan we're going to need to go at least three years without deploying anywhere just to rest and re-equipt our military.

I’m hoping that the US will need a similar re-fit period, hence my investments in Boeing, Lockheed Martin and other Military Industrial Complex companies.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

I’m hoping that the US will need a similar re-fit period, hence my investments in Boeing, Lockheed Martin and other Military Industrial Complex companies.

I doubt you'll see that happen for a while. American weapons systems are all still relatively new, and far ahead of anything else.

I don't believe there's any new jet fighters or bombers being considered. The M1A1 is still way ahead of any main battle tank.

In terms of the Navy, they have no real requirement for new ships, and their Sea wolf and the other shallow class sub (name escapes me) has just been rolled out.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

I doubt you'll see that happen for a while. American weapons systems are all still relatively new, and far ahead of anything else.

I don't believe there's any new jet fighters or bombers being considered. The M1A1 is still way ahead of any main battle tank.

In terms of the Navy, they have no real requirement for new ships, and their Sea wolf and the other shallow class sub (name escapes me) has just been rolled out.

On the flip side though, the GPS constellation need refreshing, the F-35 is ramping up for major production runs, drones continue to proliferate, etc. The aerospace component is looking pretty good I think.