I'm torn on this issue...
On the one hand, I'm heavily leaning towards we should just leave the contract be.
It's signed. We've analyzed our options more than anyone except maybe the Indians (LOL!) and we all know the F-35 makes the most sense in terms of future growth, plugging into tier-1 warfighting systems, benefits to the Canadian economy, and access to future advanced programs.
Plus the price has come down so much that it's probably even more affordable than planes that can't do half of what it can do.
(Remember when F4 Phantom's were the most expensive aircraft on deck at $4M a copy?)
But on the other hand...
The Rafale is so, so sexy. It is.
The Euro jets are Gen 4++ or Gen 4.5, some of them pack their own little surprize capabilities, and might be more in our price range now that our dollar has dropped 41% of value in the last 10 years...
(And the Euro jets ARE expensive. Probably cost more than the F-35. And they are not 5th Gen. And the Canadian industrial benefits would have to be renegotiated all over again. And just...etc etc)
So now that I've thought out loud about it, reviewing the F-35 contract should be fine. Canceling it would be a disaster.
...
The LPC seems intent on pissing everyone off, especially Canadian citizens & Donald Trump...
I wouldn't rule out them canceling the contract just to spite Trump, and to show him who's boss just like we told him when we canceled the Super Hornets!
It seems asinine to most of us, especially given how many decades it took to finally get us here...
But we've never had a federal government deliberately work against the nation itself before, sooooo...
Time will tell.
www.bnnbloomberg.ca
