So It's the F-35 After All


 

And the winner is the stealth bomb truck from Lockheed Martin. Canada wants to buy 88 F-35s for some reason. Maybe it has something to do with courting America's favour.

If you think we're getting the latest and greatest, think again. Every airplane is a million compromises bolted together. Speed, range, payload, electronics, it's a balancing act whether it's an airliner or a jet fighter. Some work amazingly well, some don't.

The F-35's focus is stealth and that demands a ton of compromises. Whatever you plan to unleash on your enemy has to be stowed inside.  Start hanging missiles or bombs or extra fuel tanks under the wings and there goes your stealth. You also compromise performance - speed and range. So all your fuel and your ordinance has to be stowed inside. That is the price of admission to Club Stealth.

The F-35 is not new but it will be "new to us." It's been 20 years since its inception. 20 years and Lockheed still hasn't sorted out some of the bugs. What buyers get is an airplane "to be repaired."

The F-35 is prototypical. It was designed to defeat air defences as they were 20 years ago. Our essential (what would we do without'em?) adversaries, Russia and China, have been busy little bees developing new tactics and technologies that make stealthy aircraft easier to detect at greater ranges. It's the emergence of "sensor fusion" that has some American commanders questioning if  stealth is still worthwhile given all the compromises and costs. 

The F-35 stealth ability worked 20 years ago. It might still work today. There's no way of knowing how well it will stand up in 20 years from now and, remember, we're expecting to rely on this aircraft for a 50 year lifespan.

Lockheed should be giving president Putin a commission. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has NATO riled up. Germany wasn't going to buy the F-35. Now it is. Canada is also taking the plunge.

The good news is that, at 19 billion, these warplanes will be cheaper than Mr. Trudeau's TMX pipeline.

Comments

  1. LorneMarch 30, 2022 at 1:54 PM

    Having read your comments over the years about the F-35, Mound, I was dismayed to learn of this decision. Like you, I immediately suspected the decision has something to do with placating the Americans who, over the years, have amply demonstrated that appeasement does not work.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Disaffected LibMarch 30, 2022 at 7:17 PM

      I imagine our NATO partners gave Justin a world class wedgie at their latest gathering in Brussels.

      Delete
  2. TrailblazerMarch 30, 2022 at 4:39 PM

    All is not well with the F35.
    The VTOL version is even more problematic.


    https://www.businessinsider.com/us-reduces-f35-buys-as-other-militaries-buy-stealth-fighters-2022-3#:~:text=The%20Pentagon's%202023%20budget%20request,faces%20maintenance%20and%20cost%20issues.


    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-16/lockheed-s-tardy-f-35-is-hit-with-a-35-cut-in-2023-u-s-budget

    https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/air-force-admits-f-35-fighter-jet-costs-too-much-ncna1259781

    At $25,000 usd per hour to fly this aircraft it will be expensive indeed to patrol Canada's northern airspace.

    The availability rate of these aircraft is 69% way down from the promised 85%.

    Worse still reliability hs not improved measurably or , as far as we know, has its capabilities.

    When all said and done, its a 20 year old aircraft that earlier versions are being retired already!

    TB



    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Disaffected LibMarch 30, 2022 at 7:16 PM

      I read the Business Insider article. I wonder if getting the 35 to the new customers has something to do with it. The USAF and USN want newer, more capable aircraft. The navy trimmed its expected buy a year or two back. The USAF wants upgraded F-15s. They're fast, they've got long legs and they can pack a massive ordinance payload.

      I doubt the F-35 will be tasked with patrolling the far north. Too much territory and very few bases. That would tax the capabilities of the F-35. It's not an interceptor. It's not an air superiority fighter. It's a bomb truck that one American general called his "kick in the front door weapon."

      Delete
  3. TrailblazerMarch 30, 2022 at 5:16 PM

    Maybe it has something to do with courting America's favour.

    Or likely a knee jerk reaction to the events in the Ukraine.

    Canada has to define its own foreign policy and national interest rather than tagging along.
    Being a member of NATO should not necessarily mean following US desires.

    The , failed Avro Arrow project was a step in the right direction as , in hindsight, P E Trudeau s made in Canada energy policy!!

    Somewhere down the line, as with other western countries, we caved in to the allure of USA self destructive ideals .

    Time to declare our independence.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FshU58nI0Ts

    TB

    ReplyDelete

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