The flawed F-35 and Canada's needs and expectations -- How the military industrial complex screwed the pooch
I've often written about the F35, Canada decided to purchase the aircraft to replace its fleet of aging CF-18 aircraft, and when I say aging, I mean really aging! some aircraft are more than 20 years old.
The logic of buying the F35, what was touted by GD as the most advanced stealth aircraft in the world made some sense when looking at the war theater in Eastern Europe, that had dominated the news for some years prior. As usual, the military was buying equipment for the last engagement.
The first and most important problem of the F35 was its cost, which was literally two orders of magnitude more than the CF18 that the Canadian armed forces had purchased int he 1970s and 1980s (and extensively refurbished in the 1990s). the CF18 cost about 35 million apiece (in 1990's money) the F35 was nearer $500 million per aircraft.
The second problem is that the aircraft is a single engine (fewer parts) aircraft, for Canada that has extensive land (Northwest Passage etc) where airports are far and few between, the single-engine configuration produced a massive risk to pilots having engine problems
The new problems that have been revealed this week are even more serious since they have operational aspects:
The third problem derives from the single-engine configuration; the largest and most powerful military jet engine installed on the F35 creates structural issues when used at supersonic speeds -- both heating and ablation of the special stealth paint has reduced supersonic flights to minutes
The fourth problem is that the aircraft has a huge stability issue in the vertical flight profile that could lead to a total loss of control.
These are level 1 problems for the aircraft.
The fifth and most serious is that these aircraft can easily be replaced, for about 95% of all mission with drones, still expensive but more in the $20-40 million price bracket.
The sixth is the one less discussed; the main reason the Canadians were buying the F35 was to be able to communicate with the American forces with their high tech burst radios. The US government decided that this type of burst radio would not be available to foreign air force...thereby removing one of the important reason for the acquisition of the F35.
So Canada has a problem, it has not yet received the aircraft, it has made depots on the aircraft but could still cancel the entire acquisition; Canada has to think what these aircraft are for, and in what role will be used; Canada's small wet navy cannot use the equipment, the size of Canada's arm forces reduces the effectiveness because the aircraft cannot do its principal foreign mission (against Russia and China) and moreover, is a poor substitute to drones for interdiction for Canada's northern border.
Another tough decision for Canada
P.S. Canada has apparently known for some time that the aircraft has level 1 problems that will make it a poor participant in Canada's foreign mission. Canada already knew that the aircraft was a poor solution to its domestic requirements...
The logic of buying the F35, what was touted by GD as the most advanced stealth aircraft in the world made some sense when looking at the war theater in Eastern Europe, that had dominated the news for some years prior. As usual, the military was buying equipment for the last engagement.
The first and most important problem of the F35 was its cost, which was literally two orders of magnitude more than the CF18 that the Canadian armed forces had purchased int he 1970s and 1980s (and extensively refurbished in the 1990s). the CF18 cost about 35 million apiece (in 1990's money) the F35 was nearer $500 million per aircraft.
The second problem is that the aircraft is a single engine (fewer parts) aircraft, for Canada that has extensive land (Northwest Passage etc) where airports are far and few between, the single-engine configuration produced a massive risk to pilots having engine problems
The new problems that have been revealed this week are even more serious since they have operational aspects:
The third problem derives from the single-engine configuration; the largest and most powerful military jet engine installed on the F35 creates structural issues when used at supersonic speeds -- both heating and ablation of the special stealth paint has reduced supersonic flights to minutes
The fourth problem is that the aircraft has a huge stability issue in the vertical flight profile that could lead to a total loss of control.
These are level 1 problems for the aircraft.
The fifth and most serious is that these aircraft can easily be replaced, for about 95% of all mission with drones, still expensive but more in the $20-40 million price bracket.
The sixth is the one less discussed; the main reason the Canadians were buying the F35 was to be able to communicate with the American forces with their high tech burst radios. The US government decided that this type of burst radio would not be available to foreign air force...thereby removing one of the important reason for the acquisition of the F35.
So Canada has a problem, it has not yet received the aircraft, it has made depots on the aircraft but could still cancel the entire acquisition; Canada has to think what these aircraft are for, and in what role will be used; Canada's small wet navy cannot use the equipment, the size of Canada's arm forces reduces the effectiveness because the aircraft cannot do its principal foreign mission (against Russia and China) and moreover, is a poor substitute to drones for interdiction for Canada's northern border.
Another tough decision for Canada
P.S. Canada has apparently known for some time that the aircraft has level 1 problems that will make it a poor participant in Canada's foreign mission. Canada already knew that the aircraft was a poor solution to its domestic requirements...
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