4 ms·
Canada's air bases are very far apart, and the Arctic is very remote, so F-35's range advantage makes it particularly well-suited to performing longer patrols (
by nickff 8mo ago
Canada's air bases are very far apart, and the Arctic is very remote, so F-35's range advantage makes it particularly well-suited to performing longer patrols (though it's still only a single-engine fighter). Additionally, the F-35's stealth means that an adversary can never be confident of when or how often patrols take place.
- maxglute 8mo agoGripens with external tanks outrange F35 with external tanks flying dirty, and since 4th gen, stealth hardly matters. Spaced based ISR is proliferating, in 10 years F35s will be picked up through SAR from space if not already... well depending on adversary. PRC and US, stealth broadly not meaningful. IMO RU hardly relevant. And to be blunt, RU/PRC is MORE aligned with Canadian position on Northwest Passage sovereignty. Which really only leaves US... i.e. the only actual on paper threat to NWP is US, which makes F35s terminally stupid acquisition for CAN arctic. But broad IMO is Canada simply doesn't need a strong air game because it won't survive vs adversaries operating in the north anyway. Geopolitically, Canada needs F35 to NORDAD dues/ransom more than it needs F35 for tactical/operational needs. Cue CAN buys f35, find them ruinously expensive to operate, and US will end simply "patrolling" Canadian airspace anyways.
- wakawaka28 8mo agoThe Chinese and Russians would both acquire Canada outright if they could. Any alliance with them is fraught with peril. The US is more culturally compatible with Canada than any other country for real. Although, they are too commie up there, I think a lot of that is imposed from the top without regard for popular opinion. The same happens in Europe.
- maxglute 8mo agoBut they can't hence point moot, and when they could/might, i.e. Russian Alaska, they didn't try. Whereas US tried to annex Canada twice, but was context of British Canada / revolutionary war. CAN not going to ally with RU/PRC for the simple reason it would trigger peril from US. Americans forget Canada fundamentally an anti/then counter American project, it wasn't until post world war that culture became more compatible. That's still based on US minimally respecting Canadian sovereignty, including NWP, which even before new annexation talk was sore subject. So not particularly imposed from top. Family fights over property gets just as ugly, even commies like their property.
- wakawaka28 8mo agoWait, does the US sell any stealth planes? I thought that was special secret stuff only for US usage.
- gpm 8mo agoYeah... the F-35 in pretty large quantities.
- wakawaka28 8mo agoThey could sell non-stealth ones too.
- orwin 8mo agoSorry, is the F35 already arctic capable? I thought it was a work in progress?