Canada’s Military current state & equipment

[Tecumsehsbones]

Of course, there's always the infamous "supply chain issues." There's an advantage to sourcing your parts and spares from across a friendly border.

Which the U.S.-Canada border still is. But stay tuned. . .

 

[Twin_Moose]

(YouTube & Is Sweden's Gripen a Smarter Choice Than the US F-35? Here’s the Truth)

Wasn't the Gripen the runner up on the last F-35 procurement review?

 

[petros]

This is well outside of my knowledge base, but this Gripen sounds interesting, & Sweden isn’t actively being a global arsehole to anyone currently as far as I know, & Sweden is another NATO nation for compatibility and integration.
View attachment 28167

Saab JAS 39 Gripen - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Its what I hoped Canad wluld have bought in the first place. They can fly in the rain and arctic unlike the F35 garbage.

 

[petros]

Wasn't the Gripen the runner up on the last F-35 procurement review?

Yes. Its cheaper. Cheaper to fly and maintai too.

 

[Taxslave2]

Ever hear of Belarus farm equipment? Basically a Mig in disguise with a swather attachment.

Some Lada parts are still available as well.

Ever run a Belarus tractor? If Russian weapons systems work like their tractors and cars, we have nothing to fear.

 

[Taxslave2]

(YouTube & Is Sweden's Gripen a Smarter Choice Than the US F-35? Here’s the Truth)

If Sweden's planes are like their mining and marine equipment, they will be very expensive to maintain. Think Caterpillar and add 20%

 

[Ron in Regina]

Lockheed Martin, the U.S. defence giant that builds the F-35 fighter jet, has offered to create more jobs in Canada if Ottawa buys all of the jets it said it would when the contract was announced in 2023, a source says.

But…but…what will the orange dude say? Canada agreed to spend $19-billion to buy 88 warplanes but has a legal funding commitment for only 16, the first of which is due to arrive in 2026. It does not have to purchase the remaining 72.

Lockheed Martin offers to create more jobs in Canada if Ottawa commits to full order for F-35 fighter jets — The Globe and Mail

Canada’s contract with manufacturer obliges it to purchase 16 of the 88 aircraft it has ordered

apple.news

Saab declined to comment on speculation that it is set to renew its bid to supply Canada with the jets. In making its pitch years ago, Saab called the Gripen a “made-in-Canada fighter” and said the program would create 6,000 jobs across the country over the expected 40-year lifespan of the program.

Lockheed Martin did not offer to build the F-35 in Canada, or specifically guarantee Canadian jobs. Instead, it announced a competitive process where the F-35 “partner nations” could bid on supplying components to the jet or offer research and development programs….& Trump tariffs???

 

[petros]

Lockheed Martin, the U.S. defence giant that builds the F-35 fighter jet, has offered to create more jobs in Canada if Ottawa buys all of the jets it said it would when the contract was announced in 2023, a source says.

But…but…what will the orange dude say? Canada agreed to spend $19-billion to buy 88 warplanes but has a legal funding commitment for only 16, the first of which is due to arrive in 2026. It does not have to purchase the remaining 72.

Lockheed Martin offers to create more jobs in Canada if Ottawa commits to full order for F-35 fighter jets — The Globe and Mail

Canada’s contract with manufacturer obliges it to purchase 16 of the 88 aircraft it has ordered

apple.news

Saab declined to comment on speculation that it is set to renew its bid to supply Canada with the jets. In making its pitch years ago, Saab called the Gripen a “made-in-Canada fighter” and said the program would create 6,000 jobs across the country over the expected 40-year lifespan of the program.

Lockheed Martin did not offer to build the F-35 in Canada, or specifically guarantee Canadian jobs. Instead, it announced a competitive process where the F-35 “partner nations” could bid on supplying components to the jet or offer research and development programs….& Trump tariffs???

88? Israel has 100 that you and I bought. Whats the problem bubs? They’re 60% smaller than New Brunswick.

Do you feel safe?

 

[Ron in Regina]

88? Israel has 100 that you and I bought. Whats the problem bubs? They’re 60% smaller than New Brunswick.

It was this that caught my eye:

….has offered to create more jobs in Canada if Ottawa buys all of the jets it said it would when the contract was announced in 2023, a source says.

Do you feel safe?

Well, this is the part that concerned me…

But…but…what will the orange dude say?

Followed by:

Lockheed Martin did not offer to build the F-35 in Canada, or specifically guarantee Canadian jobs. Instead, it announced a competitive process where the F-35 “partner nations” could bid on supplying components to the jet….

So an arrangement like the auto industry more or less…which Trump is currently threatening so…

…or offer research and development programs….& Trump tariffs???

So no, that doesn’t make me feel safe, or think that’ll lead to more independence for Canada’s sake, & on that note:

The source said Ottawa now has some leverage over Lockheed Martin since it is not obliged to buy all 88 aircraft. The second option is the JS 39 Gripen fighter jet build by Saab of Sweden. The Gripen was the runner-up in the competition to replace Canada’s aging fleet of CF-18s. The winner, the F-35, was announced in early 2023.

Saab declined to comment on speculation that it is set to renew its bid to supply Canada with the jets. In making its pitch years ago, Saab called the Gripen a “made-in-Canada fighter” and said the program would create 6,000 jobs across the country over the expected 40-year lifespan of the program.

Brazil has been making the Gripen under licence since 2023, showing that Saab is still open to non-Swedish production. The Gripen is being made at an assembly plant owned by Embraer, the Brazilian aerospace company that makes small passenger jets.

So Canada has committed to the first 16 or 17 of these F35’s (out of 88) that an American President can turn the software on & off at their whim….but the balance of the other 70-ish F35’s if in Gripens is probably a hell of a lot more than 70-ish…& might get our eggs into more than one basket, & that might be a better idea just for that fact alone.

I’m not the only one wondering about the MAGA bipolar dude in the oval office either it would seem. “Canada has been a strong partner on the program since 2002 and a critical part of the supply chain prior to procurement of aircraft,” Lockheed Martin said in a statement, BUT so what? We’ve also been integrated into the auto industry supply chain for how many decades? That doesn’t matter apparently….

Portugal last week said it was also reconsidering a plan to buy F-35s because of Mr. Trump’s belligerent comments about trade with Europe and questions about his commitment to NATO.

Outgoing Portuguese Defence Minister Nuno Melo told local media that “We cannot ignore the geopolitical environment in our choices. The recent position of the United States, in the context of NATO …must make us think about the best options, because the predictability of our allies is a greater asset to take into account.”

Lockheed Martin Faces Billions in F-35 Cuts Under U.S. Policy Shift

Germany, Canada, and Portugal are rethinking F-35 deals amid fears of U.S. control and operational limits.

www.defensemirror.com

Margaret Kosal, a former Defense Department official who is an associate professor at Georgia Tech's Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, views the sudden uneasiness over the F-35s as a symptom of growing distrust within the alliance since Trump took office.

"I see it as a potential canary in the coal mine, signaling a lack of confidence in the U.S.," she says.

For the countries reconsidering the F-35, one possible alternative is the Swedish-built Saab JAS-39 Gripen, a less stealthybut faster and longer-range aircraft that is less compatible with NATO systems. It has the additional advantages of being much cheaper to buy than the F-35, with lower operational and maintenance costs.

 

[bob the dog]

Of course, there's always the infamous "supply chain issues." There's an advantage to sourcing your parts and spares from across a friendly border.

Which the U.S.-Canada border still is. But stay tuned. . .

Canada and the Scandinavian countries would make excellent trading partners given our socialist ideologies and geographical proximity. They have done a good job in terms of public sector efficiency that we could benefit from implementing.

Somewhat odd is that I can not access the Nasdaq Norsk to invest in any of their listed companies.

 

[bob the dog]

News of the US awarding a contract to Boeing for the F47 is surprising given the F35 issues and also raises the question of why buy the F35 if there is a F47?

 

[Ron in Regina]

News of the US awarding a contract to Boeing for the F47 is surprising given the F35 issues and also raises the question of why buy the F35 if there is a F47?

Yep, that’s not gonna do any good for the stock prices for Lockheed Martin.

Anyway…now it seems U.S. President Donald Trump wants to sell toy airplanes to Canada. Talking about military aircraft in the Oval Office, Trump said, “certain allies, we’ll be selling them perhaps toned-down versions, toned down about 10 per cent, which probably makes sense because someday maybe they’re not our allies, right?” Dialed back versions of the F35?

Familyguy #familyguy #funny

www.youtube.com

This will make no sense whatever to U.S. allies, if Trump actually has a few left. It would be no fun, as a fighter pilot, to find yourself in a toned-down plane up against the real thing. There is now no reason for Canada to buy 88 F-35A fighter jets for a total of $19 billion from Lockheed Martin.

Canada has already paid for but not received 16 of the Lockheed Martin fighters…& will we receive what we’ve already paid for? So “given the geopolitical environment, given the fact that there are options . . . (and) given the possibility of having substantial production of alternative aircraft in Canada.” Etc…

The geopolitical environment, of course, is Trump himself. Should we buy “toned-down” jet fighters from this guy?

Braid: Trump wants to sell us fighter jets that can't fight. No thank you.

US president Trump says fighter jets sold to allies should be "toned-down" in case they'r no longer allies. Canada buys those planes.

calgaryherald.com

Canada should be looking at European alternatives to the Lockheed Martin fighters. The Eurofighter is produced by a three-nation consortium. France makes the Rafale. The Gripen is a Swedish fighter.

More are planned in the U.K., Italy and Japan.

Disentangling the Lockheed Martin deal would surely be difficult both financially and technically. But what’s the alternative, when we could spend $19 billion on an inferior “dialled back” aircraft?

The European Union is cutting back sharply on U.S. military procurement under the “Readiness 2030” security framework. Some countries, including the Netherlands, continue buying from the U.S. Talk of “toning down” military shipments could change that in a hurry. MAGA!!

Military sales totalled US$288 billion in 2023. America accounts for about 50 per cent of global arms exports, shipping to more than 100 countries. U.S. media barely noticed the “toned-down” comment. Other countries surely will. With a few more arrogant words, Trump has put another question mark over the former friend we barely recognize.

 

[pgs]

Yep, that’s not gonna do any good for the stock prices for Lockheed Martin.

Anyway…now it seems U.S. President Donald Trump wants to sell toy airplanes to Canada. Talking about military aircraft in the Oval Office, Trump said, “certain allies, we’ll be selling them perhaps toned-down versions, toned down about 10 per cent, which probably makes sense because someday maybe they’re not our allies, right?” Dialed back versions of the F35?

Familyguy #familyguy #funny

www.youtube.com

This will make no sense whatever to U.S. allies, if Trump actually has a few left. It would be no fun, as a fighter pilot, to find yourself in a toned-down plane up against the real thing. There is now no reason for Canada to buy 88 F-35A fighter jets for a total of $19 billion from Lockheed Martin.

Canada has already paid for but not received 16 of the Lockheed Martin fighters…& will we receive what we’ve already paid for? So “given the geopolitical environment, given the fact that there are options . . . (and) given the possibility of having substantial production of alternative aircraft in Canada.” Etc…

The geopolitical environment, of course, is Trump himself. Should we buy “toned-down” jet fighters from this guy?

Braid: Trump wants to sell us fighter jets that can't fight. No thank you.

US president Trump says fighter jets sold to allies should be "toned-down" in case they'r no longer allies. Canada buys those planes.

calgaryherald.com

Canada should be looking at European alternatives to the Lockheed Martin fighters. The Eurofighter is produced by a three-nation consortium. France makes the Rafale. The Gripen is a Swedish fighter.

More are planned in the U.K., Italy and Japan.

Disentangling the Lockheed Martin deal would surely be difficult both financially and technically. But what’s the alternative, when we could spend $19 billion on an inferior “dialled back” aircraft?

The European Union is cutting back sharply on U.S. military procurement under the “Readiness 2030” security framework. Some countries, including the Netherlands, continue buying from the U.S. Talk of “toning down” military shipments could change that in a hurry. MAGA!!

Military sales totalled US$288 billion in 2023. America accounts for about 50 per cent of global arms exports, shipping to more than 100 countries. U.S. media barely noticed the “toned-down” comment. Other countries surely will. With a few more arrogant words, Trump has put another question mark over the former friend we barely recognize.

Trump was no where near the picture when we as Canadians buckled and cancelled Avro Arrow every thing our Air Force and air defense problems are they all point directly there .

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

News of the US awarding a contract to Boeing for the F47 is surprising given the F35 issues and also raises the question of why buy the F35 if there is a F47?

And given the performance record of Boeing lately.

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

By the way, bobdog, as I read it the 47 is supposed to be a dedicated air-superiority fighter, where the 35 is an "MRCA" (multi-role combat aircraft), with air-superiority, close support, and ground attack capabilities. Think of the 47 as the updated F-15 and the 35 as the updated F-16.

Meh, I figure the day of the crewed fighter is about done anyhow.

 

[bob the dog]

By the way, bobdog, as I read it the 47 is supposed to be a dedicated air-superiority fighter, where the 35 is an "MRCA" (multi-role combat aircraft), with air-superiority, close support, and ground attack capabilities. Think of the 47 as the updated F-15 and the 35 as the updated F-16.

Meh, I figure the day of the crewed fighter is about done anyhow.

Agree, drone warfare appears to be the future. Curious if they run nitrous on those things (F47)?

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

Agree, drone warfare appears to be the future. Curious if they run nitrous on those things (F47)?

Hard to say. I'd run in on JP-4, but I'm (reasonably) sane.