There is a lot of discussion about redefining the CAF Mission. The problem is that most CAF bases are within a few hundred miles of the US Canada border, and they have this huge expanse of Northern territory over which they must exercise sovereignty. That means more Northerly bases, and THAT means using aircraft and equipment which can stand the extremely low winter temperatures ( 60 below zero Fahrenheit).
Without specially designed winterization packages, there are no US fighters equipped for such a role. The Swedes have the only one as far as I know ( Viggen etc, and other SAAB hardware). The Russians have cold weather fighters and equipment as well, but Canada sees Russia as their sovereignty opponent, so won't be buying from them anytime soon.
I think a fleet of 1000 A-10s and a few hundred SAAB fighters would do the job just fine. ;-)
Maybe Canada will surprise us all and design its own fighter. Who knows?
Canada still has over 100 f18’s that they haven’t even taken out of the crate yet. They are basically obsolete even though they haven’t flown a mile. If they are ever to be put in service they will need extensive upgrades to be NATO compliant.
The reason Canada uses the fi8 is because of it’s extended range and doubles as Canada’s bomber as well.
Canada’s Air force has suffered years of neglect and budget cuts under the liberal governments, which is one of the reasons why so many good f18’s are sitting in moth balls. Although it’s a priority for the Harper government to expand Canada’s total military forces, I haven’t heard much where these f18’s fit into the plan, whether they will upgrade that unused stockpile or replace them with some newer version of the f22.
I’m sure we’ll hear the screaming from Canada’s loony left when the time comes.