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CF-188 Hornet, Canada's jet fighter

Seems the Aussie F 18s are a bit slow in getting online. Who could have predicted that?

Most of the used fighter jets bought by Canada are still not in service, MPs hear
Major radar upgrades to the existing fleet are expected to take up to five years
Murray Brewster · CBC News · Posted: Dec 11, 2020

Only three of seven F-18 fighter jets purchased from Australia by the Canadian government have been integrated into the air force so far, and the Department of National Defence says key upgrades to as much as one-third of Canada's fighter force will take up to five years, according to documents recently tabled in the House of Commons.

The slow introduction of the used warplanes — meant to bolster Canada's existing CF-18s squadrons — and the long timeline for radar refurbishment have the opposition Conservatives questioning the value of the interim fleet.

A written government response to questions posed by the Conservatives last October was put before MPs recently. It said that the older fighters will continue to join the Canadian air force "at regular intervals" but did not lay out a precise timeline.

"National Defence will continue to work to integrate Australian F-18 Hornet aircraft into its current fleet of CF-18s, as it completes the necessary modifications and upgrades to these aircraft," said the document.

The Liberal government purchased 18 used fighter jets from Australia. The last of them won't be delivered until the summer of 2021. When it first announced the plan three years ago, the government said it expected to keep most of the existing CF-18 fleet flying until 2032.

The order paper question also noted that three dozen existing CF-18s will get upgraded radar and the air force is currently deciding which of its fighters — which were built in the 1980s — will get the highly advanced new system.

Engineers still need to sort out the obstacles involved in combining the new equipment with the older airframe.

"Within the next months, National Defence will select two aircraft to test the installation process for the APG-79 (v) 4 radar," said the government reply. "The remaining 34 aircraft will be selected over the next 24 months."

The upgrades will not be completed until June 2025 — which is why Conservative defence critic James Bezan is questioning the wisdom of buying the extra fighters, a purchase the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer says will cost $1.09 billion over the life of the program.
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See full article here.

:cheers:
 
FJAG said:
combining the new equipment with the older airframe.
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Someone should inform these donkeys that new equipment comes with new airframes too. Our fighter force fleet (including the CT-114) is getting these upgrades when we could've been flying new airframes years ago.
 
I'm shocked I tell you, shocked.

And here I thought this was a prudent use of taxpayer dollars. 
 
In terms of me being old....I saw the AGM-154 reference above and immediately though "Phoenix?"  We can't run that - that was on the F-14 only....

Then google/wikipedia told me what it actually was...AIM-54 was Phoenix...AGM-154 is a piece of heck delivered upon your enemy's forehead.

 
calculus said:
Is it conceivable that the 36 Phase 2 airframes that will receive the APG-79(V)4 AESA radar may actually exceed the some of the capabilities of the Gripen E?
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The Gripen E is a generation late to the game and already outdated at this point. The F-35 selection is but a formality unless politics gets in the way.
 
calculus said:
Is it conceivable that the 36 Phase 2 airframes that will receive the APG-79(V)4 AESA radar may actually exceed the some of the capabilities of the Gripen E?
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Am I reading this correctly that currently CF-188’s are not at operational parity with Russian and/or Chinese adversaries? That they are inferior to their advanced warplanes?

Are our currently configured fighters considered to be inferior to the Gripen-E’s? Would the soon to be enhanced CF-188’s be considered equal to or superior to the Gripen-E’s?
 
Czech_pivo said:
Am I reading this correctly that currently CF-188’s are not at operational parity with Russian and/or Chinese adversaries? That they are inferior to their advanced warplanes?

Are our currently configured fighters considered to be inferior to the Gripen-E’s? Would the soon to be enhanced CF-188’s be considered equal to or superior to the Gripen-E’s?
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I would say inferior due to the Gripen's networking, EW package, and Advanced radar, while it's range is low, it's designed by a country that's small and would be in the front line immediately if war broke out on its border.
 
KevinB said:
Plus new airframes are unlikely to fall out of the sky or have huge maintenance bills attached to them.
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Actually, new airframe types (maybe not the airframes themselves, but new capabilities) are more likely to run into unforeseen snags/problems until they're sorted out - AKA the "bathtub curve" of failure rates.

1640902843828.png
 
dimsum said:
Actually, new airframe types (maybe not the airframes themselves, but new capabilities) are more likely to run into unforeseen snags/problems until they're sorted out - AKA the "bathtub curve" of failure rates.

View attachment 67860
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Agreed - but all the options are in the useful life while the Hornet is past the wear out period ;)
 
In all honesty I think it will come down to this factor if the Government of today gets to pick the next fighter/attack aircraft.

Who will let Bombardier, do the actual building, and long term maintenance of the aircraft, and can they do all the work in the Montreal area. After all it would be cheaper for the government to get them the building contract, and then give them the long service agreement than it would be to give them another bailout. Just think it could be called the F35I ( F35 Ilitis ) or the F35 MLVW . They could add a piece of metal to the frame and bring up the Canadian content to make it a true Canadian platform
 
I think a real attempt has been made to avoid political interference in the contract awards. Difficult to tell 100% as the decisions are still clouded in some secrecy but if worse comes to worst we can always pick up some Finnish Hornets to round out the fleet. I here some are coming available soon and are in good shape
 
Canadian Hornets participate in NATO flag exercise after 2-year pandemic hiatus - Skies Mag
"McLeod stressed that for those who attended, it was “almost a doubling down. This is an even more important time now for us to do this exercise. When we arrived, you had this palpable sense of purpose. We are not just getting together to train for the fun of it. [Rather], at the tactical level, there was a renewed sense of purpose in why we do what we do together as an alliance.”
 
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