What a daft article.
Some problems I see:
1. Going to a mixed A-10/F/A-18 fleet would double costs due to need for two separate logistics chains.
2. RCAF would have no economies of scale. Current fighter fleet is 80 F/A-18s. This number isn't going to grow.
So how many A-10s would be brought?
Small fleets are unsustainable and offer too many service restrictions.
Bare in mind that the Dutch have calculated that 37 aircraft are required to maintain a 4 aircraft strong detachment in a place like Afghanistan (this includes training, maintenace/overhaul, attrition reserve).
Bare in mind that the Czechs and Hungarians opted for 14 aircraft fleets as this was roughly the number to be able to sustain a 24-7 QRF of 2 aircraft.
3. Idiocy of suggesting an orphan aircraft.
By an orphan I mean an aircraft that has been retired by main user.
I don't see the parts suppliers wanting to support a small fleet.
Also it becomes difficult to deploy as it is no longer used by USAF and hence there is no massive US logistics chain to plug into.
4. Even greater idiocy of advocating the purchase of 30+ year old aircraft (last one was built in 1984).
That would relegate Canada to worse than third world level – even Pakistan. Jordan and Indonesia are buying second hand F-16s that are newer to this.
And older aircraft just get more expensive to operate and get more and more prone to failures.
5. Keeping old F/A-18s is daft. These aircraft are also ancient 1980s vintage (last example produced in 1988) and have been flogged over the years.
6. Buying new F/A-18E/Fs + A-10s means no savings in long run and no real capability upgrade.
IMO for the Canadians the best aircraft is probably the F-15E variant:
1. Twin engined (apparently a key requirement for ops in Artic and one of main reasons F/A-18 was accepted over single engined F-16)
2. Mach 2 capable for intercepts over Artic – unlike F/A-18 and F-35 (both Mach 1.6).
3. Great air to ground capability for NATO ops.
4. USAF plans to operate F-15E variant into 2030s and maybe even 2040s.
Sure the F-15 is expensive but then the F-35 is far more expensive. Indeed the South Koreans could afford 60 F-15s but only 40 F-35s.