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If Canada buys the Gripen, it's basically an admission that they have no plans of using them on a modern battlefield, as their survivability would be extremely low. The same goes for any sub 5th generation platform.
And you know what? That's probably okay. The only modern war Canada would be likely to engage in, is one where they're fighting alongside the United States, and that doesn't seem like it would happen anytime soon either.
It will do just fine against anything Russia has, and not as much of a money pit as the Fail-35. Unless Canada goes back to requiring a twin engine the Gripen was always the best choice, otherwise it's down to the Rafale, Eurofighter, or Super Hornet. Then the Super Hornet has an advantage that it should be familiar to RCAF pilots and cost of training should initially be lower.
Against anything it has left.
The F-35 is very underwhelming and unreliable. They don't perform as advertised. Everyone should stay away from them.
Gripen is good at what it's designed for.
It was designed very intentionally around the challenges of defending Sweden during the Cold War.
and it comes flat packed with simple instruction and free allen wrenches.
Ukraine just bought a shit load of them today. Can't be all bad.
That's because they don't have a choice.
The Gripen is a good 4.5 generation platform, but we're almost at the dawn of 6th generation fighters.
Building your modern first air force around 4th generation platforms is generally a bad idea, which is why Canada abandoned that idea previously.
But understandably, when your only option for 5th gen fighters is now openly antagonistic towards you, that changes the calculations.
And the brunt of current day air menace comes from low cost, slow flying drones which a modern jet cannot shoot down in any economically sensible way.
Maybe restarting spitfire production lines would be better.
Nah, the fighter generation concept is outdated post-Ukraine.
We're currently in generation drone.
That's not entirely true; we have the Chinese option. Although I doubt any politician would have the courage to even consider it.
China would not sell a NATO country their 5th generation airframes for the same reason why Turkey was booted from the F-35 program for purchasing S-400s from Russia.
Probably correct; although we will never know until an offer is made. That's why it will just remain a hypothetical.
Correct, we don't.
What I should have said, is that buying the Gripen is an admission that they are voluntarily forfeiting their ability to fight a modern war.
And i'm not saying that's a bad thing. What I am saying is that an acquisition program for a 4th generation fighter in the year 2026 is an incredible waste of resources.
Might as well hold out and wait to acquire a 6th gen European platform, which should be available in the early 2040s.
I should have put it differently as well; what I meant was that Canada simply doesn't have the capability to fight a modern war, and it never will. There's too great of a differential between our main adversaries ( historically the USA, more recently Russia, and in a more far-fetched way China and India) and Canada; the metrics will never match up.
Come to think of it, Canada has never fought a war per se. It has only assisted in wars, usually as part some sort of Anglo-American coalition. I argue that we shouldn't get involved in British or American wars (like we recently declined with Iran) and hence we wouldn't really need any fighter capability. But in any case, even as part of an allied coalition, Canada will not be able to be the difference maker in the fight. We cannot determine the outcome of a war, that will be up to what our allies can make happen.
And therefore, we will not be starting any war; we might begrudgingly join one, in which case our allies will have to carry the day. None of these cases requires a powerful fighter fleet.
Relying on the Europeans to achieve anything is basically a waste of time. Sure they may be able to do it, after long delays, but as I mentioned, 6th gen isn't the point. The recon planes are a better asset that will actually see practical use; I would have preferred to see the E-3 Sentry get selected over this radar mounted on a business jet thing, but no one is going to cry over Boeing missing a contract. Maybe the Americans could put some duct tape on the ones they "damaged" in Iran and call it refurbished?
I think you don't understand the Gripen. Seeing an airplane on radar doesn't mean that airplane is useless.
Gripens cost 1/10 of the cost to run per flight hour than an F-35, and have all the same capabilities, aside from its radar cross section. For drone defense and stand-off munitions, the Gripen is a better weapon.
Russia never gained air superiority over Ukraine. Even with air superiority, the US military cannot destroy all of Iran's weapons. Hundreds of gripens hiding in the high north is a nightmare for any would-be Canada invader.
You shouldn't. But you should have the capability to fight a modern war in case you or your allies come under attack. Neither Russia nor America look all too friendly right now, having a capable defensive military seems less and less optional.