I could be wrong but I think Canada has actually never had 15 full sized destroyers, except at the end of WW2 where they finished with 17 having lost, broken or just plain wore out another 19 destroyers during the war. Lots of frigates though.
Brutal decision with those numbers - non-defendable.
That is what I hope as well.
The biggest reason Carney will buy Gripens and GlobalEyes is not for either of those two capabilities specifically, but to help Europe increase its manufacturing capacity at a rate that it can’t do without Canada’s collaboration, particularly now as a recently added participant in SAFE.
That’s a bit of a stretch no? Our 40 million people will create that kind of ‘hook’ to hold onto 400 million people?
But will some of the manufacturing not have to move here to support our economy?
Why a stretch? European manufacturing, especially aerospace, is having challenges expanding capacity. Canada has been assessed by many to have spare manufacturing capacity that Europe has noted its interest in seeking collaborative relief. There’s no ‘hook’ necessary. Europe (Germany and France in particular) is very interested to identify SAFE member countries able to increase the collective capacity, notwithstanding the population of any country that could help improve manufacturing productivity.
Most likely, but the wild card is, does this necessitate us getting Gripens in order to placate feelings in Montreal?
I have a feeling it's because we are all collectively being set up for WW3 here... (or if the GWOT was WW3, then the next mass culling)
It’s important to ‘be prepared’ even if your not. Telling your potential opponent your redlines lets them know exactly what they can get away with.
