Rattman
Buying 20 Gripens is not a case of kicking the can down the road. It would effectively be stomping on the can and throwing it on the bin.
Firstly an interim bit of new aircraft would take up all the money that might otherwise be available to buy F35.
Secondly (and it’s the aspect that politicians never seem to appreciate fully) the RCAF simply couldn’t provide the manning to do it.
If you are suggesting that Gripen work alongside the remaining Hornets (which I guess you are because 20 jets could not meet the RCAF taskings) then you would need two fleets of pilots/engineers etc. Unless something has drastically changed in Canada, that just isn’t going to happen.
The purchase of the RAAF jets was to recognise the fact that they could augment the knackered fleet of RCAF jets without making two fleets. Even an interim Super Hornet purchase would have created two fleets.
Anyway, I may be wrong but with the competitors left in the process F35 is the inevitable choice. I just cannot wait to see the kicking that Justin will get in the press and maybe the polls.
BV