1 May 2013
Canada isn’t committed to buying the F-35 Lightning II
stealth fighter, Canada is condemned to buying it.
Condemned by a combination of factors. The first is a complete lack of rigor in the
analysis of strategic needs: What
threats will North American air space face between now and 2030, and between
now and 2040, that will necessitate stealth technology?
What are the likely kinds of overseas deployments that will
the RCAF have to undertake between now and 2040, given that any such deployment
will be voluntary on Canada’s part? Can tactics
substitute for stealth?
Is the investment in stealth technology going to hold good
for forty years, given the rapid advances in electronic technology? (Stealth is derived from the shape of the
aircraft and the materials of construction, and together these prevent the
reflection of radar and other signals back to the enemy’s detectors.)
Will UAV technology overtake the requirement for manned
aircraft?
What about investments in other CF capabilities, such as
fighting ships?
In other words, is $85 million US times 65 copies a
worthwhile investment of defense dollars?
The recent webcast conference sponsored by Lockheed-Martin,
the manufacturer of the F-35, made it clear that Canada’s fighter pilots are
convinced that the stealth fighter is the way to go. The way to go in the same way that, if you
like driving fast cars, an Italian sports car is the way to go over a Ford
Mustang - when you don’t have to pay for either one.
Having the F-35 to fly will enable our fighter jocks to to
sit across the Mess table from their peers from other countries and be able to
thump their chests and say, “We’ve got the stealth fighter, too!”
Canadian fighter jocks won’t be “penalized” as they were in
Kosovo because their jets had non-standard refueling nozzles. Canadian fighter jocks won’t be left out of
the fight because their jets will have all the same data sharing electronics
and spare parts as those of our NATO allies.
The embarrassments of the Libya campaign won’t happen again.
There is no doubt the F-35 is a capable flying machine, and
80 of the estimated 3100 production aircraft have already been delivered. However, not one of these aircraft is
presently able to fight because the weapons systems for them are still being
tested. As racehorses go, these fighter
aircraft are geldings. They are a
terrific flying platform with nothing on them except makeweights. The electronics in them will be great, also.
Canada will be taking delivery of its first F-35 in
2017. By then, one hopes, that Canadian
aircraft will be a little more manly.
During the webcast, a remarkable claim was made that the
cost of a Gen-4 fighter like the F-16 E will be the same as the Gen-5 F-35 in
2017. Implication: there is no point in
looking to scrimp on stealth because the costs will be the same. The new, advanced electronics make the Gen-5
fighter far more capable in every respect to a Gen-4 fighter and so why not buy
better for the same cost? If you believe
the premise.
The US Navy and the Australian government are not placing their
faith in stealth technology, which is unalterable. Instead, they are investing in tactics and in
electronics.
The US Navy commissioned and has in service the EA-18G
Growler aircraft, which is based on the “Super Hornet” airframe. This aircraft has one purpose: to be the
platform for all the superior electronics a fighter squadron needs. It is
capable of jamming radars, employing radars, and doing the data sharing among
the individual jets of a fighter squadron. The fighter squadron does not rely on stealth
technology to remain undetected, but on blinding the enemy’s electronic
detectors with the gear carried by the Growler.
The flyaway cost of one of these is $68.2 million, less than the F-35; and
it can be employed with Canada’s current fleet of CF-18s immediately.
The F/A 18 Super Hornet is a new aircraft that presently is
in service, (Flyaway cost: $67 million) and is considered to be a Gen-4.5
aircraft because it is not completely stealthy.
However, as a fighter/bomber it is as capable as the F-35. The last time I checked, the Mark I human
eyeball is capable of detecting a stealth fighter.
Canada’s fighter-jock mentality is of individual aircraft
doing individual missions, just like World War I. Consequently, no one is shaping the thinking
of fighter tactics such that other than stealth technology is admissible to the
discussion.
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