Definitely worth checking out gents...especially in light of all the disinformation being put out. See it here. Oh and for the curious, below you'll see some of the fast facts that the Canadian Minister of National Defense is going over...
Update:
Since the Canadian election is the latest card that the anti-JSF people are hanging there hats on, here's a site that has current election polling. Sorry anti crowd...the conservatives are winning.
F-35-Fast-Facts-Feb-15-2011
If the Liberal Party wins the Canadian election on May 2, the F-35 will almost certainly not be Canada's next generation fighter. They plan on holding a competition to select the CF-18 replacement and I suspect they will make sure the F-35 won't have a chance in hell at winning.
ReplyDeleteAnd, frankly, given the way the Liberals have been going after the F-35 purchase, I think they are backing themselves into a corner where they will have to just delay the CF-18 replacement indefinitely; especially if they form a coalition government with the NDP.
I say that because they have been going after the purchase on the basis of cost and that it is an unwise use of taxpayer money in the current economic climate (nevermind that the CF-18 replacement doesn't occur till 2018-2020 timeframe). As I think everyone that follows the military world knows, the alternatives to the F-35 aren't all that much cheaper, so the Liberals have laid the groundwork for the end of combat aviation in the Canadian Forces.
i did a little research especially since Sweetman and ELP have been going after the Canadian purchase with a fire i haven't seen in a while and i can comfortably predict that the liberal party will not win.
ReplyDeletesfu.ca has a military site that i visit quite often. it also has a polling site that has the conservatives ahead.
its a tempest in a tea pot. the F-35 isn't even a major election issue. anti-JSF people just want it to be.
It is not a major election issue, but it will still be talked about during the election and Liberals have used it in their ads.
ReplyDeleteToo early to make predictions about the outcome of the election.
^
ReplyDeleteThat seems unbelievable. It's the Opposition's job to complain about Government policies. Obviously a multi-billion dollar program will attract a fair bit of attention.
That the Libs have specifically avoided criticizing the F-35 itself, opting to criticize how Harper has gone about things, suggests they are definitely leaving the door open. If they get elected, once they realize that alternatives aren't drastically cheaper and Canadian aerospace firms sort of like the F-35 I doubt they would cancel it.
*All assuming no cost overruns or program delays.
yeah but that won't keep Sweetman and company from having a go at the 'easily influenced' north of the border.
ReplyDeletei agree with everything you've written except the cost overruns or the delays.
Canada's buy is so far out that it won't really be an issue...and overruns can happen at the drop of a hat for any unforseen circumstance.
i refuse to hold them to such a tight schedule and of course the last thing is this...they can buy Super Hornets cheaper but Canadian industry and those high paying tech jobs won't benefit. so the JSF is almost a given...both in Canada and in Holland.
And you don't think Boeing, Dassault, EADS, or Saab would offer rather nice industrial deals if a competition were held for the CF-18 replacement? Judging by the various competitions for fighter contracts around the world, all those companies will make such offers in the bid.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the F-35 is the most rational choice, but politics, especially when it comes to military procurement, is rarely rational.
By the by, the Liberals do have a history of cutting the military. Considering Canada currently has a federal deficit, and Canadians have a rather bizarre view of our military as traditionally peacekeepers, such cuts are usually politically safe to make.
quite frankly the Rafale, Typhoon aren't cheap airplanes and will be over or approaching 100 million a piece. the Boeing can be had cheaply but thats without industrial offsets....the more offsets the more the price would rise because it wouldn't piggy back off USN buys.
ReplyDeletequite honestly, Canada and Holland and the rest of the partners can buy whatever and i really don't care. the JSF program will survive---with or without foreign buyers.
This reminds me of the 2007 Australian election. F-35 had been chosen as Australia's future fighter by the incumbent Liberal Government and the opposition Labour party made a bit of noise about investigating the F-35 purchase, conducting an "air power review" into our Super Hornet purchase and reviewing the decision to forgoe requesting access to F-22A.
ReplyDeleteThe Labour Party duly won the election and commenced ther air power review. Within a whole 2 weeks, the Super Hornet was 'confirmed' and the entire review was wound up in only a few short weeks with the F-35 confirmed by the new Government and the F-22 rejected once more.
What changed? The Labour patry's access to classified defence briefings on these matters. That's what.
When the new Government became responsible for delivering air combat capability and got access to the classifed briefings, they came to the exact same conclusion as the previous Government.
I predict the exact same thing will happen in Canada. A bit of smoke and mirrors from a new Government to satisfy local politics, but the same overall decision in the end...
Assuming of course that a new Government actually gets in, in Canada. If not, it will be business as usual...
ReplyDeleteRegards,
AD
i totally agree.
ReplyDeletemuch like my own government and the calls that the democrat party have made to end the wars immediately and to cancel a whole slew of programs.
much tinkering on the edges but practically nothing changed.
Reminds me of Obama's promise to close Gitmo.... it's still open.
ReplyDeletethe one universal truth.
ReplyDeleteall politicians in all countries lie.
they lie there asses off ;))