While 16 F-35 fighters remain contractually committed for delivery starting this year, the full 88-jet procurement is stalled amidst trade friction with the Trump administration.
Rising program costs—now estimated at $30 billion—have reopened the door for Saab’s JAS 39 Gripen E.
The Gripen offers superior industrial benefits, including 12,600 domestic jobs and Arctic-optimized maintenance.
Ottawa must now balance the F-35’s unmatched NORAD interoperability against the Gripen’s economic sovereignty as the aging CF-18 Hornet fleet reaches its structur

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[–] Ariselas@piefed.ca 5 points 8 hours ago (2 children)

100% Gripen

[–] CanadaPlus@futurology.today 1 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago) (1 children)

I'm not even sure that's a good deal, honestly. They wouldn't be any good on missions abroad, and would they actually last long if the US invaded? Hopefully the military is thinking it through carefully, and the politicians are listening.

Maybe we buy 30 billion in RBS SAMs from Sweden instead.

[–] Ariselas@piefed.ca 1 points 2 hours ago

I don't think our conventional military would last long if the US invaded regardless of the F35 or Gripen. The only hope in that situation is that the US sucks at occupying territory, and they would double suck in winter. That is if Daniel Smith, Scot Moe, Ford and their followers don't just roll out the red carpet.