Sorting out the F35

[Twocoda]

For those wondering whats up and it isnt airplanes

 

[bushart]

Ha Ha--Good one---and how true

 

that extra 10 Bill---likely would go a long way for old age pensions

[tb4me]

Brutal isint it...Well maybe when we get them Harper and his follies can borrow one to go to New York city again..Ya know we do reside in the greatest country in the world, but the guys running the show are beyond words I can say in here...

[blarg]

Yea, you're right, lets just close up the air force shop, hell, the whole military, after all, it costs money. I dont know if the f35 is the best choice, but at some point you have to decide if you want an air force. This is more about partisans taking a shot at the government than about the plane.

[bushart]

Pretty sure this is not about buying jets and more about creative tales told to Canadaians about the real costs

 

Tough call to tell ole Grandma she has to cut back on frivilous stuff like heat or food

 

When we're buying cadillac jets to fight who???

[Dave Bailey]

The F-15 Stealth Eagle would be a much better choice in my opinion. A proven airframe, cheaper, heavier weapons load, longer range, and twin-engined reliability, which might be a consideration given our vast northern areas.

 

Better looking too.

[Snidley]

There's lots of better options. That plane is an over the top piece of equipment to fight/dominate well... nobody. Better to have less expensive proven aircraft more suited to long range patrol over vast distances. Like drones, with excellent radar and optics at 20th of the cost financially and none of the cost personnel wise. By the way I'm told the reason for all the delays and cost over runs for the F35 is that the Chinese have hacked the software and can now drop those puppies out of the air with a keystroke. I don't know if it's true but I do know that cyber war is the big equalizer in the eyes of the US military. Drones fit that equalizer bill as well. Skeptics should read up on the HMS Dreadnought to understand this military phenomenon because the US is hell bent on losing world financial domination and all they really have left is their military supremacy .

[hammercarp]

I remember when we first bought the F-18's. Everybody was aghast that these things cost 7 million dollars each. Little did we know how soon the price would climb to 35 million. Former American President Eisenhower said it. " Beware the military industrial complex."

[Snidley]

Another interesting story revolves around the newer jets like F18 when they were commissioned. At navy "Top Gun" school instructors regularly defeated top navy pilots in F18's flying old, cheap F5 Freedom Fighters, an "out dated" air force jet that represented bogies. The upshot of the story was that quality pilots mattered and for the money, you could have a 10 to 1 numerical superiority with older technology. Not the greatest for your pilots however since I believe the US Airforce has not lost a F15-16-18 in an air battle since their introduction. For Canada though the whole exercise is a stupid waste of money that could be better spent elsewhere or even better, left in the hands of Canadian taxpayers. It is essentially the same point as the building of new jails to house pot smokers..

[Rod Caster]

From what I understand the F-35's are not a great long range aircraft. Isn't our main goal to protect our north, which every country in the world is soon going to be interested in? I'm all for spending on planes that protect our own country... But what the heck are we trying to fight with these F-35's? The contracts aren't signed yet... Maybe a reconsideration is in order.

 

I'm not an expert on the subject, so this is just my opinion based on some reading and listening.

[Snidley]

The final contract may not be signed yet but we do have hundreds of millions already spent on this turkey and like most people our goof balls in Ottawa will chase bad money with good money. These are the kinds of things that will ultimately relegate the western world to the scrap heap.

[jedimaster]

I am perfectly fine with the gov buying new jet fighters. This is a country after all and we need an army, navy and airforce. We certainly shouldn't presume to be protected by the states.