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Canada Buys New F-18s After Canceling Its Order for the F-35

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The Great White North selects the F/A-18 Super Hornet as an interim fighter jet (www.popularmechanics.com) Más...

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bevandter
Terry McKinney 3
Canuck 44 has it about right. Trying to make 3 versions of the same aircraft hasn't worked. The Hornet has been good for us an topping them up with the super Hornet is wise. His comments about the rest of our military are right on. As usual however the rednecks still make their inane comments on issues that have nothing to do with politics. What have Hilary and Obama got to do with Canada buying the super Hornet? Too bad the preacher is no longer with us; he made knowledgeable comments on issues and kept politics out of it.
canuck44
canuck44 9
The F-35 was a mistake to begin. In a country as vast as Canada its poor range just could not get the job done...an invader could essentially fly around them. Additionally it can't climb, can't turn and at the moment can't fight.

None of us should thing the Air Force is going to get anything new and shiny down the road in the lifetime of the current pilots. Defense acquisition lead times are measured in decades not years and all are political not practical.

Successive governments have allowed the Canadian Forces to deteriorate. Just now the fifty plus year old Sea Kings are being replaced, but now have only 12 Halifax Class frigates from which to operate. The first replacements were discussed when I was the Flight Surgeon at Shearwater forty-two years ago.

The Navy has to rent tankers from Spain and Chile as both their AOR's have been paid off. Replacements for the 280 class Destroyers are a long way off hampered by a requirement for Canadian content. They have four diesel submarines that occasionally put to sea, but from my point of view their acquisition does not do much for the defense of Canada given it long shoreline and vast Northern oceans.

After the embarrassment of having to borrow airlift to support its forces, they did acquire a few C-17s designated CC-117. Their aging Hercs could barely get across Canada let alone over water.

The Buffalo aircraft flown on the West Coast for SAR are also over 50 years old and no replacements have been identified. Viking Air in Victoria could build new ones but are not in consideration to replace this great aircraft. The Aurora are old and some undergoing overhaul and refit in Halifax with plans to fly them for many more years with new wings and structural upgrades.

The Army is desperately short of manpower and the Special Forces guys are deployed much of the time. Their equipment is outdated and much of it substandard. Stories of very talented Canadian snipers "borrowing" better ammunition from their US counterparts circulate.

Canada has virtually no ability to defend its Northern waters. Its Coast Guard cutters (unarmed)are old and unreliable. Most are not suitable for Northern use in thick ice with only two heavy ice breakers, one a converted tug. Meanwhile the Russians are exploring for oil in the North.

Dumping the expensive limited use F-35 should give hope the funds might be redeployed for the rest of the services but it is more likely under Trudeau to be shuffled off to social programs.
JimHeslop
Jim Heslop 1
Very well said! When I first saw the F-35 the first thing I thought was...great, it looks like Rosie O'Donnell with wings!
I also like your responce on Trudeau 'shuffling' off to social programs, probably stuff like 'hug me' hats and cap guns with a flag that pops out and says 'Do you need a hug?'
I lived through 20+ years of his old man running(?) our country. I sure hope we don't have to wait any more than 4yrs of this ones smug arrogance.
paultrubits
paul trubits -6
Gonna have a tough time keeping out the Hillary supporters.

[This comment has been downvoted. Show anyway.]

royhunte92
Roy Hunte 3
The only thing that destroyer has destroyed is the bank account that paid for it....lol
sailsomsen
Hugh Somsen 1
Meanwhile blame the Ship's CAPT for failure to maintain. How the heck do you maintain one of those slab sided submarines?
jbsimms
James Simms -1
It just broke down while transiting the Panama Canal & had to be towed to the former US Navy base @ Rodman. Not sure if it's having to be towed to San Diego for installment of it's electronics & each round for it's main weapon system is unaffordable @ $800,000 per round. Please, put it & the program out of it's misery
stansdds
Good call by the Canadian government for ordering new F-18's instead of the chronically over budget, behind schedule, unreliable, unproven, technological nightmare, pig in a poke F-35.

Here, in the U.S., it is a project in which so many billions of dollars have been invested that it is now deemed too big to allow to fail.

johnrumble99
John Rumble 4
And did anyone notice ...the Saudis and other middle east countries are buying F-15s .
Why not buy capable fighters in quantity instead of a few boutique fighters with questionable technology that could be overwhelmed by numbers
TiredTom
Tom Bruce 2
20 years + and the F35 can't carry all our bombs, the gun hasn't been tested, and our enemies are ready for it... reminds me of the late 50s and early 60s when the Air Force genius's decided our fighters didn't need guns anymore... then Vietnam.. Sparrows Falcons didn't work well... and hence the vulcan equipped F4Es... Hope the new administration fires everyone in procurement and brings back Skunkworks Kelly Johnson... oh yeah damn! he passed away
iaincmaciver
Iain Maciver 2
My understanding is they are leasing not buying the planes from boeing...
CPAIR007
JASON AWID 2
YES YES YES ....The HORNET stays in the CANADIAN NEST !!!!..F-35 PHOOEY !!

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