No doubt most Canadians are tired of the ongoing debate about replacing our tired , old military aircraft known as CF–18. But the debate continues.
It now looks like the federal Government after many years might be ready to decide, although even this is just a letter of notice that will see further bargaining.
What is interesting , as Matthew Fisher of the National Post made clear on this past Wednesday, is that many do not agree with the selection that seems to have been made. That is the Boeing SuperHornet rather than the more expensive but more technologically advanced F-35 made by Lockheed.
Apparently, 6 retired airforce pilots disagree as well as thirteen retired three star Air Force Generals . The latter group actually sent a letter to the Prime Minister some months ago rejecting the selection of the SuperHornet.
If the PM follows through , as now seems likely , we will have 18 new Superhornets at $4 billion to $7 billion each , that really cannot do the job and will have to depend on the Americans for the ‘sophisticated lifting’ when it comes to airforce surveillance in the north.
So what does that do for sovereignty, I wonder?
Or does it really matter? The elephant will be forced to look after the mouse at the end of the day , n’est-ce pas?
And the Americans win another way . The two competitors are both American , so the planes are American planes . Oh, yes, there is some local benefits thrown in for good measure but let’s not fool ourselves , the Americans are the winners however it all shakes out.
