RCAF F-18 replacement program the gift that keeps on giving

The Canadian government has been trying to replace their F-18A/B aircraft for several years now, and about the only thing they've done is provide hours of entertainment for the people watching. In 2015, when Justin Trudeau took office, the planned purchase of F-35As was canceled due to cost concerns, and Trudeau said that the Canadian government would never buy the F-35. At one point, they planned to buy F-18E/Fs from Boeing as an interim measure, but then Boeing went to the WTO about the (now) A220 undercutting their 737 sales through unethical measures. So instead of buying Rhinos from Boeing, they bought worn out F-18A/Bs from the RAAF, as the Australian's retired them, again delaying the replacement program.

Recently, they opened bidding and the initial competitors were going to be the Rafale (Dassault), Typhoon (Airbus/EADS), Gripen (SAAB), F-35A (Lockheed), and the F-18E/F (Boeing). Dassault decided not to enter the Rafale because of requirements of close interoperability with US aircraft. Just before the bids were opened, the RFP was rewritten, causing EADS to withdraw completely, resulting in the F-35, Gripen, and F-18 being the only entrants, with selection to be in the spring timeframe. But in the latest twist, sources within the Canadian government are saying that Boeing's entry, the F-18E/F doesn't meet requirements for the program. This is going to almost guarantee that the service will, again, get the F-35A.

Boeing has been told that its bid to replace Canada’s aging CF-18s with a new fleet of the American company’s Super Hornet fighter jets did not meet the federal government’s requirements.


Three sources from industry and government say the message was delivered Wednesday as the other two companies competing for the $19-billion contract — U.S. defence giant Lockheed Martin and Swedish firm Saab — were told they met the government’s requirements.

The three sources were all granted anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss these matters publicly.

globalnews.ca...

Perhaps they should revive the Avro Arrow

Cheers

As I recall, a very big requirement when all this began was having a twin-engine plane. Now Canada has dropped all the twin-engine planes from contention. Seems like we are just being leaned on by Lockheed and the USA. (plus a little petty payback to Boeing thrown in for good measure)

a reply to: discordantone

Single engine planes are just as reliable and safe as twin engine planes. The requirement for two engines, because of long flights over open areas, no longer applies. The MTBF for engines has gotten insane.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Thanks for that. I am no military buff but did remember that discussion of twin vs single engine back at the beginning of the process so it seemed odd to be left with just the single engine options. Makes more sense now

a reply to: discordantone

The F100-PW-229, after the Engine Enhancement Package is installed sees the time between overhauls increase from 4,300 cycles (engine start through any condition of flight to shut down) to 6,000 cycles. That's an increase of every seven years to every 10 years. There was a CFM56 engine on a 737 that went 50,000 hours on wing, and was only removed because it hit a required inspection and had to be.

And to the shock of almost no one (outside of those that still think the F-35 is a steaming POS) Canada has selected the F-35A to replace their CF-18 fleet. Negotiations will begin to purchase 88 aircraft, bringing us back to where we were when the original purchase was canceled, only 7 years later with no aircraft to speak of.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
And to the shock of almost no one (outside of those that still think the F-35 is a steaming POS) Canada has selected the F-35A to replace their CF-18 fleet. Negotiations will begin to purchase 88 aircraft, bringing us back to where we were when the original purchase was canceled, only 7 years later with no aircraft to speak of.

Maybe not in this competition, but I've seen a common pattern for other countries that there are bids of various planes vs the F-35, their politicians bitch and FUD about the F-35. Then there is a classified briefing and they almost always choose the F-35.

I thought the rumor was that the AESA radar on the F-35 can function as ECM without special modification. Is this true?

a reply to: mbkennel

The F-35 has a pretty robust EW setup that can almost allow it to act as a stealthy Growler. There was a test back in 2020 that showed they were extremely capable of both locating and identifying ground based threats for other jamming platforms, specifically the EA-18G, or defeating those systems on their own, as well as acting as a stand-off jamming platform. Part of Tech Refresh 3 was to improve the processing ability of the aircraft, which is showing BAE to improve the AN/ASQ-29 EW systems, which will make their EW capabilities even better, and even closer to on par with a Growler.

In addition to their other EW systems, the AESA can be used for various types of electronic attacks as well.

originally posted by: F2d5thCavv2
Perhaps they should revive the Avro Arrow

Cheers

they did their utmost best to ensure that could never happen. with all air frames, parts, plans, and designs being destroyed. although there have always been persistent rumors that at least some of those things were "stolen", and hidden away by those working on it. and from people connected to the arrow project (my grandfather worked for AV Ro, as he always pronounced it, at the time it all went down), if you want to see the "Iroquois engine" that was being designed and built for the arrow. you apparently need to look no further than the Harrier jump jet, who's engine is highly based on it. as most of those who worked on the avro arrow left the company, and went abroad to places like the UK, where they would be able to continue their work, since Canada proved they had no interest in building such things in the future.

And the gift keeps on giving. SAAB is complaining that Canada is not following their own guidelines by negotiating with Lockheed to set price, delivery schedule, and offsets.

eurasiantimes.com...

Canada inked the deal for 88 F-35s.

breakingdefense.com...

a reply to: anzha

Thank GOD.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: anzha

Thank GOD.

Until Trudeau get his panties in a twist again.

a reply to: JIMC5499

Starting the betting pool. You in? Zaph?