Vilket jaktplan bör Finland välja? (Finland har valt F-35 block 4 //Mod)

Forty years ago, Department of National Defence leaders insisted that Canada needed the most expensive jet available: The F-15 Eagle. Then prime minister Pierre Trudeau instead launched the New Fighter Aircraft competition, focused on industrial offsets and best value. The winner was the least expensive jet in the competition that met existing mission requirements: The CF-18 Hornet

In September 2015, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau announced in Halifax that a Liberal government would not buy the F-35 and instead would launch an “open and transparent competition” to replace the CF-18. Much has been said about excluding the F-35, but pundits often forget the third element of his promise: that by purchasing a less expensive jet, we would free up more money for shipbuilding. When asked about the price tag, Trudeau’s answer was straightforward:

“By cancelling the F-35 … and choosing instead an alternative bid … we will be saving tens of billions of dollars in the coming decades. That money will be put towards ensuring that the National Shipbuilding Strategy is actually able to complete all the ships promised and continue to invest in the kinds of resources and training and equipment that the men and women in our Armed Forces so justly deserve.”

A 2017 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office warned about escalating F-35 costs: “The annual F-35 operating and support costs were estimated to be considerably higher than the combined annual costs of several legacy aircraft, and according to DOD officials, the sustainment strategy was not affordable.” The F-35 only offers partial, and in no way guaranteed, industrial offsets.

Regarding 5-Eyes and NATO integration, any claims that the Gripen-E would have a hard time are absurd. Not only are the Czech and Hungarian Gripens regularly flying NATO missions, but Swedish Gripen-Cs were an instrumental part of coalition operations over Libya. The Swedish Gripens integrated flawlessly, using NATO Link-16, flew a third of coalition recon missions, and provided intelligence of such a high quality that Swedish officers were invited to 5-Eyes intelligence meetings. The Canadian commander of those NATO operations, Lt.-Gen. Charles Bouchard, said of the Swedish jets: “The Gripens have a strategic importance for the operation. They have a spectacular capability.”

Trudeau is the second-youngest Canadian prime minister after Joe Clark; he is also the first to be related to a previous holder of the post, as the eldest son of Pierre Trudeau.