The RCAF's Next Generation Fighter (CF-188 Replacement)

[Czech_pivo]

30 fighter pilots. We cannot put 30 pilots through the Fighter Pilot Course a year. It would mean shutting down your font line units to concentrate on training. And then you don’t have anywhere to make them combat ready and upgraded to flight lead.

Maybe we should see if the business world could produce 30 fighter pilots a year for us and leave the those in the front line units to continue doing what they are doing.

 

[SupersonicMax]

Maybe we should see if the business world could produce 30 fighter pilots a year for us and leave the those in the front line units to continue doing what they are doing.

The business will take from current fighter pilots. We’ll just have the same problem with a lot less flexibility.

 

[Czech_pivo]

The business will take from current fighter pilots. We’ll just have the same problem with a lot less flexibility.

Leave the F35 training here and move the Gripen training to Sweden, if we were to get the Gripen.

Or

Run in parallel our current training and stand up training outside the RCAF in the business world.

Or

Figure a plan to move from x in year 2026 to x+y in 2027 to x+y+z in 2028, continuing upwards each year

Or

Just give up entirely

 

[GR66]

30 fighter pilots. We cannot put 30 pilots through the Fighter Pilot Course a year. It would mean shutting down your font line units to concentrate on training. And then you don’t have anywhere to make them combat ready and upgraded to flight lead.

I think that's a clear indication that our fighter fleet is too small. We don't have enough pilots man our squadrons, fill the admin and leadership roles and our training establishment and still have the personnel available to increase our training throughput.

If the only option to get more pilots is to reduce our operational readiness temporarily then maybe now while Russia is occupied in Ukraine, China isn't quite ready to take on Taiwan and our new fighters are still in the pipeline is the time to do it.

Alternately, we need to rethink our training system and come up with a quicker/different way to produce pilots at scale.

 

[Czech_pivo]

I think that's a clear indication that our fighter fleet is too small. We don't have enough pilots man our squadrons, fill the admin and leadership roles and our training establishment and still have the personnel available to increase our training throughput.

If the only option to get more pilots is to reduce our operational readiness temporarily then maybe now while Russia is occupied in Ukraine, China isn't quite ready to take on Taiwan and our new fighters are still in the pipeline is the time to do it.

Alternately, we need to rethink our training system and come up with a quicker/different way to produce pilots at scale.

Sounds like a good opportunity for a jr officer(s) to think outside the box and come up with some proposals on how to address the situation going forward. Great way to make a name for themselves and be seen as someone willing to tackle difficult issues head on.

 

[daftandbarmy]

I think that's a clear indication that our fighter fleet is too small. We don't have enough pilots man our squadrons, fill the admin and leadership roles and our training establishment and still have the personnel available to increase our training throughput.

If the only option to get more pilots is to reduce our operational readiness temporarily then maybe now while Russia is occupied in Ukraine, China isn't quite ready to take on Taiwan and our new fighters are still in the pipeline is the time to do it.

Alternately, we need to rethink our training system and come up with a quicker/different way to produce pilots at scale.

There's alot of thinking going on about the skill development thing in various quarters, not just for aircrew of course, but let's see if/how it pans out. E.g.

Powering a Postsecondary Pivot: Bold ideas to advance national ambitions in Defence and Space, AI and Energy​

Canada is about to make historic investments to reorient the economy. The scale and focus of these investments should serve as a wakeup call to anyone working in Canadian postsecondary education or relevant provincial ministries—signaling both opportunity and necessity for change.

The upcoming federal budget is expected to allocate billions for nation-building initiatives like modernizing defence and space infrastructure, expanding computing capacity, and developing renewable energy. The potential rewards–sovereignty, growth and competitiveness–are great. As is the risk. We are hedging our bets on talent and innovation.

But as we laid out in our recent report, Testing Times, the postsecondary sector is facing a crisis. Just as Canada is ramping up, colleges and universities are scaling down–closing programs, departments and campuses. Postsecondary institutions across the country need to modernize and re-align their mandates for growth–as outlined in A Smarter Path—but they lack the financial footing, flexibility and connectivity with industry to do so.

This was the context in which RBC Thought Leadership and our partners at the Business + Higher Education Roundtable convened a summit on Talent, Technology, and a New Economic Order. In September, about 60 industry and postsecondary leaders came together at RBC’s head offices with a shared interest: ensuring Canada’s historic investments yield historic rewards. We focused on three areas of national ambition that depend heavily on postsecondary for talent and innovation:

• Defence and space capabilities
• AI and digital technology
• Major energy projects

The following summarizes the imperatives, opportunities and bold ideas that were discussed.

Powering a Postsecondary Pivot: Bold ideas to advance national ambitions in Defence, AI and Energy

We gathered about 60 industry and postsecondary leaders to help craft a game plan

www.rbc.com

 

[Czech_pivo]

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[Nvlgzr]

Not sure where you're getting the numbers. But I hope you're not just looking at the numbers for the base aircraft platform. The thing on the roof is quite draggy. The Globaleye has 11 hrs of endurance. It takes 7 -8 hrs to go from Winnipeg to Alert. If there's no AAR capability, that not a mission the aircraft will be able to do.

Bombardier claims a Global 6500 can fly 12233km (Discover our jets | Bombardier) .
SAAB claims 11000km for global eye.
Boeing claims 6482km (E-7 AEW&C Airborne Early Warning & Control Aircraft)

If you’re going to fly to Alert, why not base at Thule or Yellowknife or are you giving worst case for a mission. How did you come up with a flight time of 7-8 hours. The great circle distance is 3200 km.

 

[Czech_pivo]

Dropping the Ball Again – Canadian Fighter Pilot Training | Billie Flynn - My Blog

billieflynn.com

Interesting snippet -

“The bulldozing mindset of the RCAF leadership failed to offer the opportunities to allow Canadian industry to provide solutions. Even today, Canadian industry could purchase those used Hawk aircraft, hire experienced pilots, and continue providing fighter pilot training; yet the government went deaf mute.”