"Canadian defense officials have strongly made the case that Ottawa should stick to a plan to buy 88 Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter jets rather than splitting the order, two sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
"The review stops short of making a formal recommendation, one of the sources said.
“The final decision rests with the Liberal government of Prime Minister Mark Carney, said the sources, who requested anonymity given the sensitivity of the situation.”
The US cannot be trusted as a defense partner. From parts, to software to delivery. You don’t buy weapons from those who threaten your sovereignty.
F35s are a trojan horse.
The F35 is simply the best air weapons platform available — that’s why the military wants them. But the whole episode speaks to the need for a native air defense industry. We have ship building.
The gripen is the only option that comes with technology transfer, so regardless of how many F35 we get, or how inferior the gripen is comparatively, we have to diversify — even if the short maintenance costs are higher.
“The F35 is simply the best air weapons platform…”
The best platform as long as the Americans don’t pickle your software. Do you trust them? I don’t.
https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/u-s-f-35-fighter-jets-canada
The idea that the “best” product is one that we have to rely on another country to not only build, but to maintain, fix, update software/firmware…No thank you.
The Gripens that come with the knowledge transfer (and jobs creation) of building, maintaining, and fixing them ourselves? That’s a way higher value than anyone in government seems to realize.
Why would we want to rely on the country that has threatened our sovereignty for our fighters?! Is our government really that dumb?
