William HamiltonJan 14

Per Ekos, “[forty-three] per cent of Canadians want the federal government to acquire a fleet of Gripen fighters … while 29 per cent are in favour of a mixed fleet … of Gripens and American-built F-35s.

“… The F-35 was most popular among supporters of the Conservative Party of Canada, with 30 per cent of them supporting … a single fleet. Among supporters of other parties, support for … a single fleet of F-35s ranged from three per cent to seven per cent.”

#CanPoli

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/saab-canada-gripen-globaleye-f35-9.7043896

Saab wants Canada to buy 72 fighter jets and 6 surveillance aircraft from Sweden to create 12,600 jobs | CBC News

The Canadian Armed Forces would need to buy 72 Gripen fighter jets and six GlobalEye surveillance aircraft for Swedish manufacturer Saab to deliver on its pledge of creating 12,600 jobs in Canada, CBC News has learned.

CBC
Show threadMichael Gemar
@Beltliner403 @crispius The US is simply not a reliable partner — how can any nation trust large weapons systems purchased from them?
Jan 14 at 2:10pmWeb
Show threadmaya_b 🇨🇦Jan 15

@michaelgemar

Canada produces a bunch of F-35 parts but it's really not enough to guarantee anything

https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/winnipeg-plant-one-of-largest-f-35-parts-producers-in-canada

@Beltliner403 @crispius

Winnipeg plant one of largest F-35 parts producers in Canada

Of the more than 100 companies in Canada that produce components for the F-35 combat aircraft, Mississauga-based Magellan Aerospace is one of the largest. Notably, it is also majority owned and chaired by billionaire N. Murray Edwards, the 35th richest person in Canada, who controls mining company Imperial Metals, responsible for the catastrophic Mount Polley tailings disaster.

Show threadMichael GemarJan 15
@maya_b @Beltliner403 @crispius Unless we produce all of the electronics, I wouldn’t trust there to not be a kill switch.
Show threadmaya_b 🇨🇦Jan 15

@michaelgemar

exactly. transfer IP, build a fully capable maintenance shop in Canada, or forget it.

@Beltliner403 @crispius

Show thread*|FNAME|*Jan 15

@michaelgemar
As an understand it, they require constant maintenance/software upgrades, which the US could decide to withhold at any time.

@maya_b @Beltliner403

Show threadmaya_b 🇨🇦Jan 15

@crispius

there's a difference between regular operational maintenance and scheduled overhauls. the regular stuff I wouldn't be worried about, but the regular overhauls are too much of a question without transferring IP and having Canadian overhaul facilities.

@michaelgemar @Beltliner403

Show thread*|FNAME|*Jan 15

@maya_b
Ukraine went through this with the F16s. Intitially the US balked at providing updates to the electronic warfare systems. This is actually what intitially raised the alarm over our purchase of the F35s.

https://www.newsweek.com/ukraine-f16-fighter-jets-us-support-donald-trump-2041984

@michaelgemar @Beltliner403

Ukraine Faces F-16 Dilemma

Ukraine received the first batches of F-16 fighter jets in summer 2024.

Newsweek
Show threadAJDFeb 2
@michaelgemar @Beltliner403 @crispius if things get that bad, Canada will need everything that can fly.. #pragmatic