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Oh? I was waiting on their report that Singapore looks to be purchasing 75 Bee models. Or one of the most glowing GAO reports you'll ever see.

Short answer is that the versions they were flying, LRIP lot 1/2 Aircraft with Block 1B software wasn't mature and (apparently) did not have the full Digital aperture system technology installed. That will give the pilot the ability to see in a near 360 degree panorama through the floor and...

Well just this week the RAF has suggested the 617 squadron Dambusters will be equipped with F-35s, and not be axed. I don't think they would equip a land based strike squadron with a STOVL aircraft, so its likely that it will be the A model. Its fairly evident that the RAF is not generally happy...

The problem with that article is that its a very eurocentric view; in the asia pacific there is a major naval arms race going on. The International Institute of Strategic Studies has just released a new adelphi paper entitled "Asia's naval expansion: an arms race in the making?" where carriers...

Its possible. More likely is that the vendors cannot actually provide a consistent comparison of the full lifecycle costs (in addition to not wanting to). DND would need to provide detailed ground rules for usage, fuel cost, personnel costs ect. Even then it would be difficult to get a...

2020 approximately, based on the estimated buy profile.. Canada's first 13 or so aircraft which are purchased and delivered in the 2017~2019 remain at Luke or Eglin AFB and serve as the RCAF's training squadron, much like 410 does now (it may become 410).  As Canada;s major deliveries start...

Yeah, I wish I didn't. Basically CBC will give hearing to anybody who has anything bad to say about the F-35, but then passes Boeing F/A-18E claims completely uncritically. $55 million is not what an F/A-18E costs; its actually closer to $90 million (US navy pays $83 million for a reoccurring...

Basically that's the rub. I've never seen a program under so much scrutiny... probably the closest parallel might have been the American space program in the early 1960s. Every detail gets nitpicked, discussed, criticized, and then rewashed in the news. Yet other programs get a complete pass on...

They have been undertaking advanced flight testing since the fall, so they actually have a fair bit of grounds to make such claims. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfWHHuLILs0

Yes, sorry I should have made that more clear about the initial purchase, upgrades and possible upcoming purchase.... rushing through an explanation doesn't really help.

Almost every single fighter program has that problem. For example the F-22's mean time before maintenance was less than 0.67 hours at IOC, and wasn't much higher than 1.5 two years after. The KPP for it was 3.0 hours (which it now has reached) http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08467sp.pdf The...

Well this is how I came up with that number: Canada's price for a F/A-18E is $90 million and  Growler goes for $100 to $120 million (depending on whether we get full growlers or F/A-18E/Fs enabled but not fully equipped).  We would also need to purchase more F/A-18Es because their operational...

That would be a pretty obvious political one. And it wouldn't make much sense operationally either. The main reason behind Australia's purchase of the F/A-18F is because they closed their structural maintenance process, so they can't refurb their F/A-18A the way we can. They also spent an extra...

Sure... but bridging won't happen in Canada, particularly given the cost incurred and the acquisitions cap. In reality, the Government is trying to understand how a fighter will deal with near term (next decade) and long term challenges (10 to 30 years out), rather than just propose a single...

I think many of the later ones were quite good at their jobs by balancing the prerogatives of their department and politics. Judd certainly was effective in his role and willing to speak truth to power when required. I think the most effective in recent memory was Louise Frechetté; but then...

I think you're somewhat off the mark. First, this change isn't really new... the politicization of the bureaucracy has been going on for several decades. Donald Savoie has some great works on it looking at Canada and the UK, there are several works that come to mind that are more specific to...

I don't think it would help very much in this case.  The opposition parties made this a political issue as far back as 2008 federal election, and thus it was going to be a target no matter what. The government just played into it... such as with the 2010 "selection" of the F-35. I think at...

Personally I agree. I doubt we will see more than one more Russian Carrier... if that. The long term fundamentals of the Russian Economy are not great, and there are so many areas where they need to recapitalize their capabilities. Nevertheless there is a need for an effective ability to defend...

I assume that comment was largely aimed at my comment above so let me give a sense of my perspective. First, I'm  not 100% certain about anything. I frequently struggle with various aspects of the project and my own assumptions. On the whole, I try to provide the best advice possible based on...

Certainly its a development program, but stating that all we have to rely upon is the word of LM is a gross simplification of the situation. This is a US government/multinational program, which is closely scrutinized to ensure that it meets its KPP. It probably has more oversight than any other...