Wasn’t a major problem with the F35 that they can’t fly in the Canadian north? Shouldn’t we have at least some of our fleet that can be used throughout Canadian territory in our defense?
I think they work fine as long as the hydraulic fluid is actually hydraulic fluid, and not water.
Don’t leave your drums outside in the rain.
List of accidents and incidents involving the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II
At the price of $100M/jet you want to miss out on all this?
If we MUST get the jets from the US perhaps they’d consider a trade for some fighter jets for deez nutz
I’ve been commenting on a bunch of threads the best way to deal with a bully is to tell them to fuck off and go play with everyone else in the playground. Glad we’re taking the first few steps in the right direction.
the best way to deal with a bully is to tell them to fuck off
Works best when the bully isn’t stupid rich and surrounded by psychopath security guards.
A big reason why oil-rich oligarchies buy American military hardware is to avoid getting the heavy end of the “regime change” stick bounced off their heads.
You do realize that the Gripen Fighter Jet uses General Electric Engines … USA still has control over Sweden’s Gripen Fighter Jets ! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_JAS_39_Gripen
It looks like they’re considering using engines from Rolls-Royce:
U
SKI sure do hope British politics doesn’t take a turn for the batshit insane over the next few years.
MAGA would hate Canada escaping their abuse.
And the Gripen will be built here in Canada!!!
To be fair, we’ve manufactured a lot of parts for other country’s F35s so far. That’s quite standard for defense contracts. Still, if Saab commits to bringing more guaranteed manufacturing jobs than the F35 program, it could be worth it. If this gives us a leg up in F35 manufacturing bids, that could also be worth it. Feels like a strong play regardless of outcome.
Yeah, I saw that. I’m not sure how that 10k number relates to the number created by F35-related manufacturing so far.
We might not lose any jobs with dropping the F35. Canada is just allowed to bid on contracts to build parts for all the F35 production, not just our own.
Yeah, we might not. We could still bid on F35 production runs. I think the specifics will be quite important to determining what’s a good outcome.
Regardless, I like that we’re courting other options even if it just results in leverage elsewhere.
Now that the US is sending them to Saudi, how secure will they be from investigation by foreign adversaries?
Plus, the entire supply chain system of relying on the US for software and hardware updates, having to physically send the planes to the US for maintenance, all while the US continues to talk about annexing us is completely fucking bonkers.
Even without the annexation threats the setup would be stupid.
I know it’s a fancy and advanced plane, but knowing how the US military industrial complex works I’m pretty sure you’re paying a high multiplier for no reason too.
Super advanced, so advanced that Iran shot what 3 down?
There have been no confirmed downings of F-35’s.
While it’s fully possible that the US is lying about that, it’s equally possible that the claims from Iran are also lies, because half of military action is information and misinformation. I wouldn’t lean on foreign propaganda any more than I would domestic propaganda.
There have been no confirmed downings of F-35’s.
Several “oops this plane just fell off the flight deck, oh well, shit happens” articles in recent memory. A great way to explain why the Navy is suddenly down a vehicle without having to explain to anyone in the general public what happened.
I wouldn’t lean on foreign propaganda any more than I would domestic propaganda.
Americans are putting these jets into service and a surprising number of them are failing.
Whether Iran/Yemen have successfully struck any of them or the Navy can’t get them on and off the flight deck reliably is almost a moot point. A downed plane is a downed plane.
Sure, that all may be the case, but counterpoint: ospreys.
Do it!
Please do
I fucking hope so
Canada should never trust any US military contractor ever again
I have no idea about the technical aspects but, with Murica not being an ally anymore, the F35 basically needing permission from Lockheed Martin to take off, and the F35 tech in the hands of the Saudi’s and soon China… the F35s are worthless
The Gripen is certainly not as advanced as F-35 but its operating costs per flight hour are only 1/5th of the F-35 which is definitely a big consideration when you don’t have a US-sized defense budget.
Elbows up!!
