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  • Canada to purchase 65 F-35 JSF

    Ottawa set to spend $9-billion on 65 U.S. fighter jets

    Ottawa is moving on a sole-sourced purchase of high-tech U.S. fighter jets to replace its CF-18s despite furious last-minute lobbying by rival manufacturers.

    Industry and government sources said the cabinet is expected in coming days to approve the launch of negotiations on price and delivery schedules with Lockheed-Martin, the U.S.-based manufacturer of the Joint Strike Fighter F-35.

    The government is moving early on buying 65 new aircraft in a bid to “lock up the price” long before the jets start entering into service in 2017, sources said.

    ...

    The Joint Strike Fighter is being developed by Lockheed-Martin, which won a competition to produce the next generation of stealth single-seat aircraft. Canada has invested $160-million so far in the development project, which will cost hundreds of billions of dollars. The U.S. Forces will buy about 2,400 of the F-35s.

    The 65 new fighters that the Canadian government plans to buy will replace its current fleet of 80 CF-18s starting in 2017.
    more on link above...
    "On the plains of hesitation, bleach the bones of countless millions, who on the very dawn of victory, laid down to rest, and in resting died.

    Never give up!!"

  • #2
    Where are you lads getting all the money from

    seing as seal clubbing is over and Celine Dion is no longer performing
    Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
    Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
    The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere***
    The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
    The best lack all conviction, while the worst
    Are full of passionate intensity.

    Comment


    • #3
      an excellent asset to an excellent and well respected fighting force.
      RGJ

      ...Once a Rifleman - Always a Rifleman... Celer et Audax

      The Rifles

      Comment


      • #4
        Interesting. I know at this point they chose it since they're invested in it already, but I wonder why they never just decided to move up the F-18E in the first place.
        "Everyone's for a free Tibet, but no one's for freeing Tibet." -Mark Steyn. What an IMO-centric quote, eh?

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by RoyalGreenJacket View Post
          an excellent asset to an excellent and well respected fighting force.

          What Celine Dion?..........
          Don't stand there GAWPING, like you've never seen the hand of God BEFORE!!

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by faughanballagh View Post
            Interesting. I know at this point they chose it since they're invested in it already, but I wonder why they never just decided to move up the F-18E in the first place.
            My thoughts exactly. The F35 is hardly tried and tested. It could be cancelled yet, with the way the delays are mounting up.


            Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing.

            Comment


            • #7
              It could be cancelled yet, with the way the delays are mounting up.
              And the cost - it's now far more expensive that originally expected. Moreover, the Federal Budget is going to come under very severe pressure over the coming years as the Administration tries to get the deficit under control. There are already rumblings about cutting the number of CBGs for example, and the F-35 programme is under severe scrutiny. The end result could be a severe reduction in numbers (further raiding the price), or an outright cancellation.

              There is a lot of political capital tied up at congressional/Senate level with this though, and the lobby groups have been out in force to keep the programme alive. It'll take a lot to bring it to an end.

              Comment


              • #8
                Here's an opinion piece from the National post:

                A new weapon in the air

                The first delivery of Canada's current fighter jets, the CF-18 Hornets, took place more than 25 years ago. The time has come to replace them. Toward this end, Canada now seems set on buying 65 American-built F-35 Lightning II fighters, in the largest military acquisition deal in our history -- for $16-billion, including 20 years of maintenance and support.

                That's a lot of money at a time where there's not a lot of money to be had, so some sticker shock is understandable. But Canadians must understand that this is a once-in-a-generation purchase. And letting our air force simply rust away isn't an option: Without state-of-the-art combat aircraft, Canada simply cannot remain relevant as a military power that can project force overseas.

                The F-35 isn't quite as impressive as the F-22 Raptor (which the Americans chose to build for their own exclusive use). But it is a multi-purpose aircraft that can perform all the essential functions required from our combat planes: ground attack, interception and air superiority. Unlike the United States, Canada does not have the option of maintaining varied fleets of combat aircraft to perform different functions:

                We need one plane that can do it all.

                Some have critiqued the F-35's maneouvering capabilities, and questioned whether its internal weapons bay can hold enough firepower (it can carry extra missiles on its wings, but that will reduce its stealth). These are valid concerns: As with all combat aircraft, the design of the F-35 is the product of compromise.

                It is important to remember, however, that the Americans are committed to the craft, and are throwing huge resources at it. This means that any early problems that arise are likely to be solved with design fixes and retrofits. The F-35 is going to serve the U.S. Air Force and Navy in large numbers, and will also equip America's close allies, meaning that allied air forces the world over will be operating compatible aircraft. Canada already has contributed half-a-billion dollars to the design of the plane; and if it orders soon, it will receive some of the first to come off the assembly line, likely in 2017, just as our current Hornet fleet will be reaching the end of its service life.

                Several other aircraft have been offered up as possible contenders for the next Canadian fighter, namely the Boeing F-18 Super Hornet and the Eurofighter Typhoon. Both are excellent aircraft, but they represent the very best of the last generation of aircraft. The F-35 would bring Canada's air force to the very front of the pack technologically.

                While some may be put off by the optics of the Canadian government sole-sourcing such a large contract -- bypassing a normal competitive bidding process and directly selecting the F-35 -- the move is defensible: The Super Hornet and Typhoon simply cannot deliver the stealth capability that the government has decreed to be a vital criterion for the next Canadian combat aircraft. The F-35 can.
                More broadly, some analysts have suggested that the era of manned military flight is over -- or at least nearly over -- and that lower-cost remotely controlled drones, capable of manoeuvres that would crush a fragile human pilot, are the way of the future.

                The utility of drones for military operations is unquestionable (as the Americans now are demonstrating in Pakistan), and the day may indeed come when robots fight our wars for us -- on air, land and sea alike. But that day is not yet here. A drone must either be controlled by a pilot operating at a remote location vulnerable to radio jamming, thus rendering the drone useless, or must control itself, through its own internal software. Despite exciting breakthroughs in computing, we are years away from being able to safely entrust our most powerful offensive weapons to a computer program. For the foreseeable future, the pilot remains the critical component of any air combat system.

                In this regard, the F-35 is the right choice. Canadians should rest assured that our pilots will be getting the best plane available. The government should proceed with the purchase without delay.
                I think that answers some of the questions; except the one about Céline Dion...
                "On the plains of hesitation, bleach the bones of countless millions, who on the very dawn of victory, laid down to rest, and in resting died.

                Never give up!!"

                Comment


                • #9
                  The Super Hornet and Typhoon simply cannot deliver the stealth capability that the government has decreed to be a vital criterion for the next Canadian combat aircraft. The F-35 can.
                  Just how stealthy it is in reality is going to be an unknown for awhile, but a lot of people have questioned it's actual status. There is a huge debate ongoing in Australia at the moment around this issue, some of it driven by abject lunacy, some of it well reasoned. Wired have a report on it here.

                  http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009...port-joint-st/

                  Long story short, the JSF is a project in trouble - it will probably pull through though, due largely to the level of political capital (and actual capital) invested around the world. Canada is being entirely sensible - unless they're on board now, they'll end up paying a lot more for the JSF eventually. But if partner nations start walking away, it could all fall over very quickly.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Is the stealth capability boasted by the F35 really a worthwhile asset in the modern battlefield?

                    Other, less expensive aircraft also have stealth characteristics, but are far cheaper, and carry a heavier load.


                    Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      perhaps rather the "current" battlefield rather than the "modern" battlefield.
                      "Are they trying to shoot down the other drone? "

                      "No, they're trying to fly the tank"

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by trellheim View Post
                        perhaps rather the "current" battlefield rather than the "modern" battlefield.
                        I think a project like the development/purchase of a platform like the F-35 is looking at the future battlefield...
                        "On the plains of hesitation, bleach the bones of countless millions, who on the very dawn of victory, laid down to rest, and in resting died.

                        Never give up!!"

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          [Troll]
                          Perhaps we could pick up some of their CF-18s?
                          [/Troll]
                          Meh.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Looks like the program is progressing:

                            F-35 short takeoff variant hits Mach 1.07

                            PATUXENT RIVER, Md., June 15 (UPI) -- A short takeoff variant of the stealth F-35 Lightning II flew faster than the speed of sound during a test flight over Maryland, Lockheed Martin announced.

                            Lockheed said it flew its short takeoff/vertical landing variant of the F-35 faster than the speed of sound. The new variant is designed for deployment on smaller ships and from military bases near combat zones.

                            "For the first time in military aviation history, supersonic, radar-evading stealth comes with short takeoff/vertical landing capability," said Bob Price, Lockheed Martin's F-35 U.S. Marine Corps program manager.

                            A Marine pilot reached Mach 1.07 at 30,000 feet during a test flight over Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland. Lockheed said the variant is designed for Mach 1.6 carrying a payload of weapons weighing more than 3,000 pounds.

                            The F-35 is a fifth generation fighter combining stealth technology with fighter speed and agility. Lockheed is developing the program with its parts at Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems.
                            "On the plains of hesitation, bleach the bones of countless millions, who on the very dawn of victory, laid down to rest, and in resting died.

                            Never give up!!"

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by yooklid View Post
                              [Troll]
                              Perhaps we could pick up some of their CF-18s?
                              [/Troll]
                              the only F18's we could afford would be the airfix variety

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