Finally, Military Upgrades by Nick Vandergragt
There has been much speculation about Canada’s decision to purchase the next generation fighter aircraft to replace the venerable CF 18 that has served us with distinction since 1978. There is also news on the building of at least two new resupply vessels to replace HMCS Provider and HMCS Preserver. Provider entered service in 1963, and Preserver followed in 1970 , so to say they are well beyond their best before dates, is to understate the case.
For some reason, Canada has never undertaken a small but steady shipbuilding program to replace the older hulls within the fleet as they reached the end of their useful lives. Instead, the 1950′s destroyers where kept in service until the last one was finally retired in the early 1990′s. In the case of our replenishment ships, now 50 and 40 years old respectively, they will have to continue in service for at least another decade, costing the taxpayer millions in maintenance and repairs that would not be necessary if we had looked to the future needs of the fleet years ago as we should have. So the announcement of the re opening of the call for tender for the next generation fleet replenishment ships, is long overdue but welcome news indeed.
In the case of the CF 18′s replacement, the F 35 Lightning II, it too is now overdue, but welcome news. Aircraft are similar to ships in that they have a limited life expectancy, and as marvellous as the CF 18 hornet is, it is now over 30 years old. It faces the same problem every weapons platform faces and that is that time is passing it by.
The F 35 represents not only cutting edge technology, but a performance envelope best suited to Canadian needs. It can fly for extended periods above the speed of sound with a maximum velocity of Mach 2.5. In a country the size of Canada with its massive air space, this is a vital consideration. It also carries a wide array of the most modern weapons and sensors giving our pilots the best chances of engaging any enemy and winning. The Lightning also includes stealth technology that limits radars ability to detect it, adding another layer of survivability for our fighter pilots. Canada has also contributed 150 million dollars to the design and testing of this fighter, so in a small way at least we are getting a return on our investment.
One of the variants of the lightning, the F 35B is able to land and take off vertically. When you consider that feature, and the construction of new support ships for the navy, in theory at least, the vessels could carry a Lightning with it, providing air cover where ever the fleet is tasked to go – an interesting possibility to put it mildly.
So at long last, Canada is poised to give our men at arms the best technology in the world to enable them to successfully carry out any task assigned them well into the next century. These are well thought out announcements that are long overdue. All we need to do now is to make sure the Liberal party of Canada doesn’t do again what it did to the EH 101 helicopter and shred the agreements now signed for the F 35 and cost us millions with nothing to show for it.
Check you research the F35 is not signed as of yet, they have till October 15th to sign it. it was announced but there is no contact in place yet. albeit great article to read.
Ron.
I don’t know if this type of aircraft is really the best aircraft for Canada’s requirements.
And it does not look like Canada will be choosing the variant that has a vertical take off and landing requirement. So it can’t be used on Canada’s naval vessels. Without that capability I am not convinced this air plane is the best fighter for Canada.
However, since Canada is about to choose a new multi-role aircraft to replace the CF-18 I propose that we select the Euro Fighter.
It is a better aircraft for Canada’s needs since it has two engines which is essential for Flying in Canada’s arctic regions.
Gee, isn’t this an old argument! This argument goes back to the 1940s…
The “preferred” American plane is very over priced and has only one engine.
We could also build the Euro Fighter here and call it the Arrow 2.
Why not eh?
A nice multi-role delta wing fighter.
Michael Kostiuk
http://www.michaelkostiuk.com
They made many of the same claims about the F 16 Falcon. It has all the “problems” you say the Lightning has, and yet is one of the worlds pre eminent fighters. The days of engiine reliability questions are over. Did not the F 104 starfghter have just one? And our beloved Snowbird aircraft. It too has but one and so did the F 86 Saber. So while I appreciate your comments, I am not sure they are valid complaints.
Hey, I’ve got an idea… why don’t you municipal candidates stick to municipal issues for a while? I really, really, really don’t care where municipal candidates stand on defense issues, and to talk about them just makes me even more certain that many of you don’t know where your priorities should lie.
Anyway, planes with VTOL capability can’t just be added to Canada’s existing ships. For a ship to support fighter operations, you need more than just some flat deck space to launch and land the thing — you need hangars, maintenance space, refuelling capability, berthing for pilots, etc, etc. Basically, everything an aircraft carrier has except for the runway. I don’t see Canada buying an aircraft carrier anytime soon, and the replenishment ships are supposed to be replenishment ships, not mini-carriers.
The F-35 may or may not be the appropriate plane for Canada — from what I’ve heard, the military is divided on that. The problem right now is that the choice of the F-35 seems to be a political decision made to show that the Conservatives are supporting our military, rather than a well-considered selection of the alternatives.
Dave, after 10 years at sea on a ship that carried vtol aircraft, I am well aware of what is required to launch and recover them. If you re read my post carefully you will notice I was talking about future ships not yet built which could be built to accomodate said aircraft easily. Will it happen? I don’t know. But it is something worth considering.
As far as the F 35 beiung the right aircraft, it is the best available, but you are right about it being political. Most major military aquisitions are. Let us not forget that it was the Liberals who cut the 150 million dollar cheque for R and D on this bird, so it seems a bit rich for them to be getting squeamish now.
@Nick, Future ships could be built, yes, but not “easily”. Replenishment ships and coast guard vessels should be built “easily”, but look how painful those procurements have been.
As for the R&D funding, that’s how R&D works. In industry, you frequently end up discovering that you don’t need or want the result of your research and development program because it’s not cost-effective to implement, or because competing independently-developed technology is a better fit for your requirements. Government’s no different — except that without competent oversight, it’s easier to claim that a $150M investment would be “wasted” unless we spend further billions.
Two engines are better than one.
I don’t think we have to believe the “sales pitch” about the reliability of a single engine. Of course the manufacturer will say their engines are reliable.
Besides with two engines one can still operate if a bird or other foreign object gets sucked into it.
Canada is huge and the places to land are very far apart so if an engine does go out the second one can get you back to your base. At the extreme costs of these aircraft you want to bring them back in one piece.
And here is a list of NATO countries that are going with the Eurofigher:
http://www.eurofighter.com/eurofighter-typhoon/in-service.html
RAF United Kingdom
- 3 Squadron
- 11 Squadron
- 17 Squadron
- 29 Sqaudron
Luftwaffe – Germany
- Fighter Wing JG 74
- Operational Conversion Wing JG 73
- Fighter Bomber Wing 31 Boelcke
Aeronautica Militare – Italy
- 4th Wing IX Gruppo (air defence)
- 20 Gruppo (operational conversion unit)
- 36th Wing
Ejército del Aire – Spain
- 111 and 112 Operational Squadrons
- 113 Squadron, OCU Tactical pilot training and evaluation
England has chosen to buy both the Eurofighter and the F-35 since they realize that one particular aircraft CANNOT do everything that is required of a modern air force.
Cheers
Mike
PS Yes its not municipal but its still interesting.
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