Canada raises the spectre of abandoning Lockheed’s F-35
Citat:"Canada has never been the tip of the spear in terms of combat operations overseas," Byers says. "So the case for a stealth airplane hasn't really been made that convincingly."
Analyst Stewart Webb of the Salt Spring Forum, a new Canadian think-tank, questioned the maintainability of the F-35's stealth coatings - especially in the harsh northern climate where temperatures can sink well below -50°C (-58°F).
While Canada needs a very long-range aircraft, Byers says, it probably does not need stealth.
According to a US Navy document, the original F/A-18 Hornet models, which Canada flies, have a combat radius of around 685km (370nm) while carrying three, 1,249lt (330gal) external fuel tanks and external ordnance. The F-35A model aircraft that Canada wants to buy is projected to be around 1,092km (590nm) without external tanks but with full internal weapons bays.
Webb alleges that Canada's Department of National Defence (DND) stacked its requirements in favour of the F-35. He contends that Canada should have considered alternatives to the JSF, but didn't. The DND should have evaluated competing aircraft such as Boeing's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and F-15E Strike Eagle, Eurofighter Typhoon, Saab Gripen and the Dassault Rafale in a fair and open competition like Japan did, Webb says. Ultimately, Japan chose to purchase the F-35 for its F-4J Kai Phantom replacement.
"The Harper government wants the F-35," he says. "And just wants to make a bold statement saying we need to buy new, and buy new now."
Webb also says the Canadian government should have considered investing in the development of a domestically designed unmanned aircraft for patrolling the north.
Loren Thompson, an analyst at the Lexington Institute in Virginia with close ties to Lockheed, says if Canada bails out of the F-35 programme it would be a huge blow to the company and the F-35 programme.
But it would also be a huge blow to the Canadian military, he says.
"The F-35 is the only stealthy production fighter in the world," Thompson says. "Any country that doesn't have it won't have a survivable fighter 20 years from now."
Even if a nation like Canada does not conduct the same offensive power projection type missions that the US does, hardware such as fighter planes stay in a nation's inventory for two generations.
"You really need to think through all the missions you might have to fly," he says.
http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/canada-r.....35-369577/
E ako bi bio fer i posten tender kao u Japanu
Sanse da odustanu od F-35 ~ 5 %
Sanse da kupe nesto sto nije americko( Super Hornet umesto Horneta) ~ 1 %
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