Finland picks the 35?
 

Rumor mill just now from local press suggests Finland has picked the F-35…

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...jets-iltalehti

By chance today is their national holiday as it’s their Independence Day…

cheers

Interesting slant on RCAF thinking by Dr. Richard Goette (who is an air power academic and Canadian Air Force historian. In the Department of Defence Studies at the CFC [Canadian Forces College] in Toronto, he lectures on command, air power and the RCAF. Richard also teaches CFC’s Joint Command and Staff Programme and National Security Programme and is a Master of Defence Studies supervisor.)

https://publications.gc.ca/collectio...0-2020-eng.pdf

However it was SEAD capability that took me there (though Gripen would offer the option of RBS-15 Mk IV anti ship missile if Canada wanted to introduce such a capability :E):
If the Canadian government follows this thinking and believes it may deploy aircraft to operate in a contested airspace with (even partially) intact defences then I can't see how it can go with anything but F-35s.

(Thread Drift Follows)
It strikes me that UK thinking has long been the same in respect of SEAD, no sustained specialist SEAD platform, no ARM to replace ALARM (the deletion of the Typhoon ALARM requirement saved a staggering:ugh: £21 Million). If SPEAR(3)-EW does materialise it will be a persistent jamming platform, and any kinetic suppression will rely on allies or acurate target identification to use munitions which are not targeted on emissions. However effective Typhoon's DASS is, Germany still sees a need for a SEAD platform. The French (in public anyway) put great faith in Rafale's SPECTRA but as this RAND report (https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RRA200/RRA231-1/RAND_RRA231-1.pdf) points out their lack of SEAD capabilities severely constrains their freedom of action. I would have thought that one lesson of the Falklands War that is still relevant is, that in order to use your air assets to their maximum effectivity, you need to be able to locate and surgically remove the enemies ability to observe their movements. I have always assumed that LO will have a limited lifespan just like any other techological advantage in war fighting.

True, Downsizer. Though GR4 didn’t have PW3 either at the end.

Those Hornets should last until the Tempests come on line :)

Hornet Replacement
 

I wonder if recent events will cause Justin to pull his finger out and make a decision?

BV

Probably not.

Only if they can work out how to avoid the embarrassment of ordering the same thing again (like Chimo/Cormorant) or if they are so determined not to order it they choose something else (Petrel/Cyclone)

Bob; JT is usually more preoccupied with apologizing for historical failures than focusing on what's best for Canada's future. Current events will likely have zero impact on the speed of decision, but happy to be proved wrong.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/cana...next-warplane/

Canada picks U.S.-made F-35 fighter jet as next warplane, source says

The Canadian government has selected Lockheed Martin Corp., the American manufacturer of the F-35 fighter jet, as its preferred bidder in a $19-billion search for a new warplane.

The announcement will be made today, a source told The Globe and Mail. They were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

This development means Canada starts negotiating solely with Lockheed Martin on a contract for the combat aircraft.

If negotiations are successful, Canada could start taking delivery of new fighters as early as 2025, the source said.

ORAC
Didn't expect anything different given the amount of money Canada has poured into the F35 program. Is it the right choice???

If you wish to operate in contested airspace, then yes, it is.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....7560dd9beb.png

Welcome back, ORAC. :)

I noted some links to the recent (announced) USN/USMC procurements for FY 2023 ~ they reduced the intended buy of E/F Hornets from 24 to 12. (And the apparently didn't really want any, but someone on Capitol Hill decided to reduce rather than zero out the order).
Does that leave an opening for the Aussies, for example, to maybe pick up a dozen Hornets at a small discount, or is that not really an opportunity? (And is the configuration to far apart on the export model to make that a realistic opportunity?)

As for Canada, might the looming F-35 contract negotiations get extended, perhaps leaving open a chance to plus up the Hornet fleet?
he old "we'll have these new jets in this FY" line so often encounters delays ...
Anyway, just a thought.

Canada absolutely not, while I do think F-35, Super Hornets and growlers are best bucks per bang combo available atm. Canada will shoot itself in the foot instead of buying boeing.

Even though we are updating our Shornets to block III. We don't want any more of them. At this stage, in 2030, we retire the Shornet and 2035, we retire the Growler. 2025 will decide if we get more F-35, to take us from 72 to100.

Australia only ever acquired the SH as a stop-gap until the the F-35 came online. I doubt they will look to buy any more now that F-35 deliveries are well underway.

https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2017239107693

The current government promised to scrap the F-35 program in 2015

No political position can be preserved in aspic. If subsequent information shows it to have been wrong it is only common sense to change it.

How many production lines of F-35's are there? Seems to be an awful lot of new customers...could take a while.

Three....in theory.

Fort Worth, Italy and Japan.

I think though that the first complete production one off the Italian line wasn't that long ago (last year or late 2020?) and first one off the Japanese line might be this year or was late last year?

Thank you. With the F-15 getting a new lease on life (there's a "mature" aircraft, eh?) with the X version (that was related to the S version for the Saudis), I wasn't sure if a similar "SHornet revival" might be in progress.
I guess not.

UK?

https://www.baesystems.com/en/feature/f35-production

Doubt it.
I think the X has a mission (Large Missile Carrier for VLO Fighters) which only very few big air forces can afford. One such carrier is probably enough for those few air forces (USAF, IAF?) which can and will afford such a mix. In Europe, typically the EF will take over this role for those Air Forces which are big enough for a mixed fleet (RAF, Aeronatica Militare, In future to some extent GAF) and are having/getting the F-35.

I don't know if Vlad' had bought huge amounts of LM stocks... !?
In any case he's due for a nice Christmas Gift by LM this Year and the 'best Salesman of the Year' award.

I have a few suggestions. 😏

https://www.defensenews.com/air/2023...cf-18s-retire/

Canada strikes deal to buy F-35s from Lockheed, as CF-18s retire

WASHINGTON — Canada on Monday announced plans to buy 88 F-35A Joint Strike Fighters for CA$19 billion (U.S. $14 billion).

Defence Minister Anita Anand said in an online briefing the Royal Canadian Air Force would receive its first four Lockheed Martin-made F-35s in 2026, with the next six in 2027 and another six in 2028. The remainder would come in subsequent years.

The fifth-generation fighters will replace Canada’s current fleet of CF-18 Hornets, the Royal Canadian Air Force’s version of the F/A-18, Anand said. Canada expects the full F-35 fleet to be delivered in time for the service to phase the older fighters out by the end of 2032….

Canada will ensure its F-35s have drag chute capabilities to land on “short, icy, wet Arctic runways,” Anand said, and that its fighters have true north navigation capabilities, rather than magnetic north, to allow it to fly accurately deep into the Arctic.

Anand said Canada will build operational and training squadron facilities, including maintenance bays and simulator training, at two of its military bases: Bagotville in Quebec and Cold Lake in Alberta.

Anand also said Canada is investing in a series of infrastructure upgrades nationwide to better support North American Aerospace Defense Command and F-35 operations….

AAR?
 

If they're going to fly 'deep into the Arctic', presumably they'll need some AAR support?

So will the CC-150T be phased out early in favour of a new boom-equipped Canadian tanker? Or will the CF-35A fleet be fitted with probes?

Yes, India. In 2015 Trudeau stated that Canada would “never buy the F-35”. Clever lad that he is, he has made a significant contribution to physics by defining precisely how long in time “never” actually is. It would appear to be about 7.5 years. :)

11 Aug 2022: Canada unveils planned deadline to buy four Airbus tanker aircraft (defensenews.com)

How hard has Canada been working it’s current tanker fleet that its already replacing them?

West Coast
 

It’s a boom or drogue tanker vs your F35 variant of choice issue. CF18s use drogue and Canada have ordered F35A which doesn’t.

BV

According to the reports, Canada expects its first CF-35A at least 2 years before its 4 x A330MRTT (contract yet to be placed) could be in service.

According to LM the fuselage space used by the probe in the B has been left vacant in the A so a probe can be installed if requested by a customer. What price they’d charge for an6 flight testing would doubtless be added to their bill.

I am sure the US would be happy to provide AAR to cover any capability gap until new tankers arrive if asked.

Given the ongoing KC-46 debacle, I'm really not sure how happy the USAF would be with covering Canada's AAR requirements.
Norway had the drag chute installed at its own expense, but doubtless an internal AAR probe would be more complex/expensive and not worth the investment given the new MRTTs aren't that far off.
Omega Air has a boom-equipped KDC-10, so perhaps that might be an option.

Thanks BV, that explains away ditching the relatively youthful airframes, especially when compared to their KC135 cousins.

I’d point out the CF-35 in the original proposed contract had both chute and probe. Canada has ended up without either at, presumably, a higher price.

On the other hand, as early models can’t be upgraded to Block 4 standard, they may actually have ended up with a better deal….

Although only been used as tankers for about 14 years, they've been in RCAF service since 1992 as transports, and were second hand then (Delivered mid 80s IIRC) so they are not youthful airframes

https://aviationweek.com/defense-spa...-fighter-needs

Australia Starts Looking Beyond The F-35 For Next-Gen Fighter Needs

Australia has started looking for options beyond the Lockheed Martin F-35A for its future fighter fleet, as interest in the next generation of air combat technology increasingly encroaches on funding available for existing aircraft.

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) currently operates four fighter squadrons, with three already flying F-35As and the fourth composed of Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets. The last in that list had been expected to be replaced by a fourth squadron of F-35As to be ordered and delivered by the end of the decade, but that plan is no longer guaranteed.

“What the fourth squadron of F-35s has become is the Super Hornet replacement, not just [a plan to buy] the fourth squadron of F-35s,” RAAF Air Marshal Robert Chipman told Aviation Week at the Global Air and Space Chiefs’ Conference in London July 12-13.

Instead, the RAAF plans to upgrade and extend the service life of the Super Hornet squadron before replacing those aircraft in the mid-2030s. The new replacement schedule means the RAAF will have more options than only F-35As, including a new generation of uncrewed collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) and crewed fighters scheduled to be fielded in the mid-2030s by the U.S. and a UK/Italy/Japan consortium.

“We will look at the F-35, and we’re very, very comfortable and very happy with the capability of the F-35,” Chipman said. “But it would be remiss of me not to look at what else is available for us to replace our Super Hornets in the future.”

The options include the U.S. Next-Generation Air Dominance program and the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP), which in 2022 merged the UK-led BAE Systems Tempest and Japan’s Mitsubishi F-X projects into a common aircraft system. The French/German/Spanish Future Combat Air System program plans to field a crewed fighter in 2040, which is possibly beyond Australia’s ideal time frame.

Through the tripartite AUKUS security pact, Australia is already partnered with the U.S. and UK to receive nuclear-powered submarines and collaborate on certain advanced technologies, such as hypersonic propulsion, autonomy, quantum technologies, cybertools and electronic warfare.

GCAP officials also view the AUKUS pact as a potential path for sharing next-generation combat aircraft technology from the UK to Australia, Richard Berthon, the UK Defense Ministry's director of Future Combat Air, said in addressing the same conference.

“I think there’s an interesting future in which you can see combat air and GCAP developing,” Berthon said. “I think AUKUS is a fantastic foundation, obviously focused in a different domain to what we are focused on today, but the nations are considering opportunities for broadening the partnership.”…..