The F-35 “Lightning II” is a ‘5th generation’ fighter. It has capabilities that will theoretically allow Canadian air power to counter and defeat all potential threats for a period of decades while reducing attrition and sustainment requirements. (A set of briefing slides entitled “Canada’s Next Generation Fighter Capability” can be […]
F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter
9 posts
Social commentary around the F-35 issue is in general acceptance that they are needed, based almost exclusively on the age of the F-18s. There is an interesting comment in the paper today about the CF-18s in Libya (The Globe and Mail, “NATO split threatens Libyan effort”). Seems that the CF-18s […]
I am certainly not an expert on the joint strike fighter, so I can’t comment on the technical merits of the purchase. I would, however, like to comment on the purchase and the sales job that the government and DND are making on the plane. I went to a briefing […]
Brian Stewart, Senior Fellow with the Monk Centre at the University of Toronto, has raised the spectre of an internal struggle within DND over how to allocate the capital portion of the defence budget. In his article entitled “$30B fighter jets just the start of defence-spending boom” (CBC News, 06 […]
Unfortunately it’s like preaching to the choir, but I agree with Eric Lerhe that this dialogue need to be publicized, ‘blogged’ or whatever else works to get some debate going in this election about the greater defence picture; other than the $35B F-35s. I’ve been reminding our candidates, that in […]
Once again, Canada is faced with another complicated military procurement decision. Like other examples before this one, the F-35 procurement involves the competing demands of professional military advice on the one hand, and political judgements about affordability, ‘guns-versus-butter’ trade-offs, transparency, regional equity, and a host of domestic considerations on the […]
I agree with much of Ken Hansen’s analysis. While we have indeed done badly at maintaining leading edge capabilities after purchase (note, however, exceptions of Halifax-class, CP-140, and CF-18 mid-life projects), I would not immediately accept your second point that the F-35 is entirely for conflict against a peer competitor. […]
The F-35 purchase and NSPS elicit the same question for me: "What is the government's concept for the employment of Canadian military force in a future conflict?" The F-35 contract suggests a front-line, high-risk combat role against a peer competitor. But, our history of procurement in peace and war suggests that we are […]
The question of cost factors over the F35 purchase were swirling before the election, but the connection between that project and the National Ship Procurement Strategy (NSPS) was not made until after the election began. Dr. Robert Finbow, a Faculty Fellow with the Centre for Foreign Policy Studies, solicited commentaries […]