"Looks like Canada is kicking the tires on Super Hornets" Topic

The Liberal government says it will begin the process of buying 18 Boeing Super Hornet jet fighters to meet what it deems to be the urgent needs of the air force, but was unable to say Tuesday when the aircraft will be purchased and how much they will cost.

In addition, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan announced the Trudeau government will launch a full-fledged replacement program for the entire existing fleet of CF-18s before the end of the end of its term in three or four years.

He promised an "open and transparent competition" to replace the aging fighters — purchased in the 1980s — and said the decision must be guided by the country's defence needs, which are still being formulated. […]

Is the F-35 "Pork in a barrel" II still incapable of flying over the Arctic?

The F-35 is as capable of flying over the Arctic as the Zumwalt is of traversing the Panama Canal.

I fear for our service people in the next war. Eisenhower was right.

I still support looking at a high/low mix, the low side being some of the LAAR/LAS contenders like the Super Tucano or AT-6B. The high side for commitments in Europe and home defense/patrol, the low side for times we make commitments in the less developed world.

And I hope the Gripen gets a good look, I know it's single-engine and for some that's against the "two-engines" mantra, but it works for Sweden and two engines just increases downtime for maintenance.

Can't really blame them, though not sure how much good 18 "Super Hornets", which aren't really "super" will be.

I think the theory is that the Super Hornets are a stop gap and the search is still open This way other countries an work out the kinks on the F35 and Ottawa an play the two companies against each other to get the best deal

Australia bought 24 Super Hornets to replace its F111C's and to compliment its F18's while waiting for, yes you guessed it, its F35's….