Gripen E
By S.L. Fuller |
December 13, 2017
Canada has reaffirmed it’s not interested in
sole-sourcing Boeing F/A-18s for its air force by opening up the competition to
everyone. The government said Wednesday it is holding an “open and transparent
competition” to replace its fighter jet fleet.
“As outlined in the Strong, Secure, Engaged defense
policy, Canada will purchase 88 advanced fighter aircraft,” said Public
Services and Procurement Canada. “This is the most significant investment in
the Royal Canadian Air Force in more than 30 years and is essential for
protecting the safety and security of Canadians and meeting international
defense obligations.”
Public Services and Procurement also said that the Industrial
and Technological Benefits Policy would apply to this procurement, meaning the
winning bidder would be required to make investments in Canada equal to the
value of the contract.
Now that the process has officially started, Canada is
set to begin by establishing a list of suppliers that would comprise foreign
governments and manufacturers that have demonstrated their ability to meet
Canada's needs, as defined in the Suppliers List invitation, Public Services
and Procurement Canada said. All companies are welcome to participate.
Planning and stakeholder engagement would take place
throughout the next two years. The contract award is expected to occur in 2022;
first delivery is scheduled for 2025. Before the Strong, Secure, Engaged
policy, Canada had originally planned to procure 65 new aircraft.
In the mean time, Canada is pursuing the purchase of 18
used jets from Australia to supplement its current aging fleet. This follows
unsuccessful discussion with Boeing to purchase new F/A-18s. News reports said
the Australian aircraft would be F-18s, which is the same aircraft Canada is
now trying to replace. A Reuters report said that Canada was looking to publish
official requirements for the new fighter in early 2019.
On the Canadian Interim Fighter Capability Project and
free and fair competition, Boeing said:
"We have read reports that the government of Canada
is choosing to purchase used F/A-18 Classic Hornets from the Royal Australian
Air Force in lieu of new Super Hornet fighter jets.
“The Boeing Company respects the Canadian government’s
decision and applauds the government’s continued use of a two-engine fighter
solution, which is a critical part of their northern Arctic border defense,
NORAD cooperation and coast-to-coast-to-coast security.
“Although we will not have the opportunity to grow our
supply base, industrial partnerships and jobs in Canada the way we would if
Canada purchased new Super Hornets, we will continue to look to find productive
ways to work together in the future. Boeing is fortunate to have an outstanding
100 years of partnership with Canada, which had culminated in our $4 billion
annual economic impact in Canada, and we look forward to partnering for the
next 100 years.”
Original post: aviationtoday.com
Tuesday’s announcement is the latest chapter in the
protracted saga of Canada’s search for a replacement for CF-18 fighter jets
that have recently seen action in the skies over Libya, Iraq and Syria.
The previous Conservative government had committed Canada
to buying the F-35 stealth fighter but backed off that promise amid mounting
concerns over the aircraft’s rising costs and reported technical issues.
Some experts also expressed concerns that despite its
stealth capabilities, the single engine F-35 was less resilient than some of
its competitors, especially when operating in the harsh Arctic environment in
Canada’s north.
Canada, however, still remains a partner in the F-35
program and Canadian firms are actively involved in supplying equipment and
parts to the stealth fighter.
But buying F-35 jets produced by Boeing’s rival Lockheed
Martin would potentially be embarrassing for the Liberals. During the election
campaign in 2015, Trudeau vowed his government would never buy the F-35.
However, retired Gen. Tom Lawson, who served as Canada’s
chief of defence staff under former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, said with
Tuesday’s announcement the Liberals bought themselves a lot of time.
“I think for the government that is a very useful thing,
especially because some Canadians will remember that they said they would never
purchase the F-35,” said Lawson, a former fighter pilot. “And with this process
it’s very likely that F-35 will win whatever competition process is in place.”
Other potential bidders include Dassault with its Rafale
fighter jet, Eurofighter with its Typhoon aircraft and Saab with Gripen, Lawson
said.
“All of those aircraft are getting used to losing
international competitions to F-35 and for very good reason, all of them are 10
to 15 or 20 years old and it’s very tough to compete your aircraft against the
F-35,” Lawson said. “The F-35 is just blossoming through its development stage
and into part of the envelope years that could last 20, 30, 40 years where it’s
going to be the fighter around the world.” Source: rcinet.ca
The last paragraph is not actually true as the Gripen E/F
is practically new and would have capabilities very close to the F-35 except
for the stealth but way cheaper to maintain and operate and with some characteristics which exceeds that of the F-35 at less than half the price.
Related articles:
Rafale Multirole Fighter: Details
Eurofighter Typhoon: Details
Saab Gripen E/F: Details
No comments:
Post a Comment