Canada’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney ordered a review of Canada’s contract with the US’s Lockheed Martin Corp for 88 F-35 fighter jets, in response to tariffs and expansionist rhetoric from President Donald Trump.
The top choice is the Swedish-built Saab Gripen, who promised that assembly would take place in Canada and there would be a transfer of intellectual property, which would allow the aircraft to be maintained in Canada - unlike the F-35 that has to be maintained in the USA.
@MeanwhileinCanada@ohai.social
Oi Starmer - take note, it's a good idea!
@IrkedAngua @MeanwhileinCanada "b-b-b-b-but the USA is my fwend!" -Starmer
@MeanwhileinCanada Value of this contract is $19 billion. Portugal is considering the same action. Cost of the F-35 program to the US is $2 trillion.
@MeanwhileinCanada Hope they'll do like Portugal and consider the F-35 #killswitch
Scary that the USA wave the threat of using it.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/f-35-kill-switch-could-170426053.html
@maddad @MeanwhileinCanada Would I buy a sword from a hostile neighbor who had the power to remotely break it in half? Hell fucking no.
I'd pull all those existing US made planes off the flight line for replacement computers in staged batches.
Don't buy any military hardware from the US you wouldn't buy from Putin for the exact same reason.
Remember: if Gaza can roll their own, Canada sure as hell can.
@MeanwhileinCanada Time to reconsider our M365 integration as well. Back to on-prem, self-hosted, FOSS. Paying for enterprise support will still dwarf the licensing of MSmalware, and pave the way for tyranny-free techno-independance going forward.
Well, based on just these facts, buh-bye #mairikkka.
@MeanwhileinCanada Poor F-35s have been causing so much grift now for the last 20 years .. we will and we won't...yes and then NO ... how many more millions will be lost to these...?
@MeanwhileinCanada Isn’t the engine of the Gripen developed by General Electric, an American company? How will Sweden circumvent that?
@McWabbit @MeanwhileinCanada I wonder if Rolls Royce makes a similar engine. They already make jet engines. UK company, right?
@McWabbit @MeanwhileinCanada That's for the JAS 39E/F. The JAS 39C/D is a Volvo. According to Wikipedia.
@julescelt01 @McWabbit @MeanwhileinCanada
The E/F is the version any new orders will be. So a new engine needs to be adapted from a European make. Should be very doable, but no clue at all about how long and costly that might be.
Not heard anything about it in Swedish media yet.
@Gurre @McWabbit @MeanwhileinCanada thank you for confirming what I suspected, that the E/F would likely need to be adapted. I've not seen any reference to that issue yet.
@MeanwhileinCanada
Dump Amerikkka made garbage. The rot is too deep now.
@MeanwhileinCanada can you share the link please
@MeanwhileinCanada Do it! As a Swede this would help with countries.
@MeanwhileinCanada what??? Jobs???? Spend local?????? Tell me this is the onion.
@MeanwhileinCanada@ohai.social This would be a good call.
@MeanwhileinCanada may Canada and #Sweden remain rivals in hockey but friends in defence!
@MeanwhileinCanada
Gripen is more than 20% cheaper, meaning more aircraft for the budget. The F35 is a true stealth fighter, but in my opinion, the Gripen doesn't give up much in performance when considering how it would be used in Canada.
@paulbusch @MeanwhileinCanada
Maintenance cost & time per flight hour is also way better than the F-35. Gripen was designed to be maintained in far rougher conditions than the F-35, and flown from tiny bases that are mostly just a straight and flat section of country road.
But! The engine of the current production version is a GE product. Needs to be replaced with a European one. Not a quick thing to do, probably.
@Gurre @paulbusch @MeanwhileinCanada
Would the Orenda Iroquois engine fit? 
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orenda_Iroquois
@MeanwhileinCanada On the face of it, it sounds like a much better deal. I wonder though what the penalties are for cancelling the current contract and what are the sunk costs?
@mike Then we may need to remind the appropriate people of the ‘sunk cost fallacy’.
@MeanwhileinCanada good riddance, it was a terrible wreck of a plane anyway
@MeanwhileinCanada The Gripen isn't a 5th Gen Jet, and it's engine is American. Can't be exported without permission.
@MeanwhileinCanada Let’s do it! Forget the review
Hope it happens!
@MeanwhileinCanada At this point anybody who's still committed to buying F-35's might as well cut out the middleman and buy MiG's instead. As a bonus the MiG is even a proven, working design.
@MeanwhileinCanada Nice to see someone taking a teachable moment to the tantrum prone … Nobody considers it elder abuse!
@MeanwhileinCanada This is a great idea. The Gripen is an excellent choice and nobody should be purchasing US munitions in this political climate.
@MeanwhileinCanada that should be the least of the reasons to cut ties with the US #militaryindustrialcomplex
@MeanwhileinCanada Those kill switch rumours are proving costly!!
@MeanwhileinCanada
i hope this spreads to other countries. and those swedish saab gripen fighter jets looks cool, can they carry nucular weapons.
Canada buying Gripen would be awesome. What's next? Canada joining Europe in a new NFL?
@FrancoisPrague @MeanwhileinCanada What next? If Trump continues to threaten Canada OR Greenland, I suspect this:
1: the rest of NATO invokes Article 8 to expel the United States
2: If Trump persists in his threats or appears to be ready to invade for real, invoke Article 5 and make it plain that an attack on one is an attack on all.
3: Get hackers working to gain access to those kill switches on US warplanes. Shut 'em down if Trump actually attacks.
@MeanwhileinCanada With the transfer of IP I don't know why in hell Canada would even think about the F-35 even if relations with the US were perfect right now.
@MeanwhileinCanada
No brainer to dump the USA unreliable puppet government.
The SAAB is a very good aircraft. I'm sure there are others that could be considered 
@MeanwhileinCanada sounds like a no-brainer to choose Gripen then?
@MeanwhileinCanada Hopefully all European countries will do the same…
The Gripen is an excellent choice for Canadian air defenses for the same reasons that it's a good fit for Sweden. Specifically, it can be operated from highways, far from central maintenance sites, and in rugged conditions.
The F35 is the most capable fighter in the world (excepting the few F22s), but only if it's operated in the context of overall US air doctrine and capabilities. Otherwise, it's just a temperamental plane.
@MeanwhileinCanada I hope they will do it. For now he's just considering. I hope he'll do it! I wonder if the Swedish are more expensive or same price?
Here, a shopping catalog :D
https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/27553-top-10-most-expensive-fighter-jets
@hadon @MeanwhileinCanada What are the daily maintenance costs of them please?
@MeanwhileinCanada I fully agree. Let's cancel that shit. It's not like the US cared about contractual obligations with the USMCA/CUSMA right now so...
@MeanwhileinCanada Seems a no brainer to me but I suspect we will end up with our tax dollars going south
#^https://libera.site/channel/martin?mid=02139d64-6907-46da-8bc2-4ad0a124365f
@MeanwhileinCanada #Gripen is better choice for shure!
@MeanwhileinCanada Also the Gripen has a longer range and not subject to usa kill switch/coding backdoor along with failure to provide spare parts. Further, Gripen has agreed to transfer tech to Canada.
no brainer
The key problem with this: USA has veto power over the Gripen.
They make the engine.
They recently vetoed Columbia's order.
@MeanwhileinCanada @mediocratese Next Patriot missiles……