Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau is showing every sign of following through on his pledge to cancel Canada’s participation in the F-35 program and that will likely mean a three-way race for a less expensive and less capable aircraft to replace the CF-18.
The bonus is that the RCAF will probably end up with more airplanes.
Ruling out the F-35 (there may not be a legal way to keep it out of the bidding, however) effectively leaves the F/A-18 Super Hornet, Dassault’s Rafale and the Eurofighter as contenders for the contract. However, without the F-35 in the mix, Saab might rethink entering the race with its updated Gripen NG.
None of those options has the combination of stealth, surveillance and weapons capabilities that the F-35 and some other fifth generation designs from Russia and China have but Trudeau has said he doesn’t think Canada needs a fifth generation fighter because Canada won’t need to attack anything.
As if to punctuate that premise, one of Trudeau’s first acts after the election was to tell U.S. President Barack Obama that Canada will cease participation in the bombing campaign against ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria. That likely means the Aurora long-range patrol missions will also be halted.
There was no mention of the need to replace fixed wing search and rescue aircraft during the election but that will also be on the new PM’s plate.
2023 Chinook Crash – Accident Investigation Report Released
The RCAF’s Directorate of Flight Safety cited “unrecognized downward acceleration and environmental conditions” as factors in the nighttime crash of an RCAF Boeing CH-147F Chinook helicopter in the Ottawa River that resulted in the deaths […]
Some of this Week’s Other Highlights in Brief
Parkland Corporation, an Alberta-based multi-national company with a refinery in Burnaby, British Columbia, announced last week that it has successfully produced Canada’s first batch of “low-carbon aviation fuel (LCAF)”. Air Canada was the buyer of […]
New RCAF Career and Education Opportunities
Canada’s air force is embarking on a pair of initiatives aimed at attracting new recruits for key positions. The first is the adoption into regular force employment of the Air Operations Support Technician (AOS Tech). […]
Some of this Week’s Other Highlights in Brief
The acquisition of a fleet of Boeing P-8A Poseidon reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft by the RCAF crossed a landmark last week when the US Navy placed a 17-aircraft order with Boeing. The order will be […]
CF-18 Demo Aircraft Standing Down For 2025
Flightline UK, a digital website published in Britain, reported on Friday, Nov. 22 that the RCAF has announced it will be standing down the CF-18 Hornet Demonstration Team for the 2025 airshow season. The Hornet, […]
KF Aerospace Begins SkyAlyne Aircraft Acquisition
Kelowna’s KF Aerospace announced last week (Nov. 19) the makeup of the five fleets of aircraft it will acquire on behalf of the SkyAlyne consortium (made up of KF Aerospace and CAE) as part of […]
Some of this Week’s Other Highlights in Brief
Runway 08L/26R was shut down for a couple of days after a Cargojet-operated Boeing 767-300 in Amazon Prime livery skidded off the end of 08L of Vancouver airport in the early hours of Tuesday, November […]
New Cirrus Aircraft Models Get TC Certification
Cirrus Aircraft of Minnesota announced last week that their latest piston-engine airplane, the SR Series G7, together with its G2+ Vision Jet, have received Transport Canada – Civil Aviation (TCCA) certification, meaning they are cleared […]
Some of this Week’s Other Highlights in Brief
The Grey Cup arrived in Vancouver on board an RCAF CH-149 Cormorant helicopter ahead of Sunday’s CFL football game. “In 1942, during the height of World War II, with the war in Europe raging and […]
Remembrance Day 2024
We at Canadian Aviator Magazine honour not only the sacrifices made by members of the Royal Canadian Air Force since its inception, but also all service members from the Canadian Armed Forces, and its predecessors, […]
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