According to the Pentagon, Ottawa has sent signals indicating Canada will take delivery of its first F-35, light nuclear attack bombers, in 2016 or 2017. The Harper government, true to its standard operation procedures – secrecy and deceit – says no decision has been made. That crap runs straight out
Continue readingTag: f-35
The Disaffected Lib: The F-35’s Very Huge and Obvious Achilles’ Heel
We know that a lot of top US military types have lost their passion for the F-35 light attack bomber. A recent report from the Pentagon’s Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments put it this way: [It] will not be able to operate effectively or efficiently against anti-access/aerial-denial (A2AD) weapons
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: The Pentagon Re-Thinks the F-35
A report from the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments seems to toss a wet blanket over the controversial and troubled F-35. It’s been known for some time that some top people in the US Air Force and US Navy have been having second thoughts about the overpriced, overdue and
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: The Last Thing an F-35 Driver Will Ever Want to See
It’s no secret where the F-35 is intended to operate – in the highly-defended airspace of just two countries, China and Russia. The F-35 and its big brother the F-22 were designed to defeat sophisticated air defences, at least what would have passed for sophisticated at the turn of the
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Gun Pigs Fly Again
A squadron of venerable A-10 Wart Hogs is heading to the Middle East to help the fight against Islamic State forces. The aircraft are from the 122nd Fighter Wing of the Indiana Air National Guard. Their performance in Iraq or Syria should fuel opinions on whether these aerial battle
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Unaffordable to Buy, Unaffordable to Fly
The overdue, overpriced and under performing F-35, light strike bomber, has hit another major snag. The US government accounting office has released a report showing the F-35 will be upwards of 79% more costly to operate than the warplanes it is intended to replace. The GAO concludes the F-35 may
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Why the F-35 Was DOOMed From Birth
US Air Force Lt. Col. Dan Ward has an interesting take on just when the F-35 light strike bomber went off the rails – right from the outset. In February of 2014, Lt. Gen. Charles Davis, the Air Force’s top uniformed acquisition official, said big, audacious programs like the Joint Strike Fighter were
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Hey Washington. If You Want Us to Stand Up to Putin, Why Not Sell Us the Plane He Doesn’t Want Us to Have?
The events of the past few months have made us again think of the unthinkable. A resurgent Russia, talk from its president about the use of nuclear weapons, the deployment of new missiles, subs and strategic bombers. Sure we did a fair bit to egg this on but that doesn’t
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: When Confidence Fails
Few who lived through the Cold War with its constant threat of nuclear annihilation realize the role confidence played in preventing an outbreak of apocalyptic hostilities. Even at times when we thought the “other side” might be nearing the point of pre-emptive attack, we had a sufficient degree of confidence
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: My Deepest Apology to Stephen Harper, Military Genius
Yes? For years I have been openly mocking our prime minister. He believes he’s the combined reincarnation of General Douglas MacArthur and Winston Churchill, often touting things like the Canadian victory in the War of 1812, even though Canada wouldn’t exist for another 55 years. Pish posh. In reality, I
Continue readingAlberta Diary: CTF bullying and misinformation: just what’s ‘wacky’ about rape prevention research?
Canadian Taxpayers Association Federal Director Gregory Thomas dressed up as a professor, with a man dressed as a pig, at a CTF news conference trashing government support for academic research. A cameraman can be seen at left obligingly filming. Below: Dr. Melanie Beres, unfairly ridiculed by the CTF for her
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: An F-35 Update From The Mound Of Sound
The Mound of Sound sent along this note, followed by his guest post on the F-35: I thought an update on the F-35 would be appropriate after reading Bill Sweetman’s latest piece in Aviation Week. He writes that this warplane’s Canadian backers are desperate to convince us that we don’t
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Let’s Be Honest – Canada Will Wind Up With the F-35, Largely by Default
It may be the biggest military blunder in Canadian history but all signs point to our country succumbing to the F-35, Lockheed’s first-strike, light attack bomber. Harper, the ultimate stealth politician, is playing a waiting game. He knows that the clock is running out on most potential F-35 rivals. With
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: It’s Funny What You Can Pick Up from Watching TV
Last evening I stumbled across a documentary on America’s B-2 stealth bomber on the Smithsonian Channel. At one point there was an interview with an American engineering expert. She mentioned that at the heart of stealth technology, it’s all math. Angles that will reflect radar waves back to the transmitter
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: F-35: Lies from Lying Liars #cdnpoli
The F-35 was going to be a plane made with Chinese parts, despite US law forbidding that. mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSBR… this just adds to the ridiculousness. Russia probably has deal w china to remotely disable these.— jeff cliff (@jeffcliff1) January 04, 2014
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: First Nations Get $0.3M for Solar Research #skpoli
The Conservative government generously gave First Nations in Saskatchewan enough grant money to build one impressively sized solar array that could power a half dozen homes. Ontario is going with $5,000M. SaskPower gave 10 times this much to the UofR to research how to put CO2 underground so more oil
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: The Stealth Achilles’ Heel – Numbers
Joseph Stalin is cited as observing that, “quantity is a quality unto itself.” You can have the best of something and the other guy can have the worst of something but if he’s got 20 of the worst and you’ve only got one of the best, chances are you’re in
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: F-35 – Already Getting Obsolete
The authoritative military journal, Janes, reports that Lockheed’s overdue, overpriced and under-performing F-35 Wunderjet is already encountering problems with obsolescence. The United States has embarked on a technology refresh development track for the electronic warfare (EW) module of the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter to overcome obsolescence issues before
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Shadow Boxing – the F-35
“There may be a universe where it is smart to give your adversaries 25 year’s notice of exactly how you plan to render their defenses obsolete. We just don’t live there.”
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Lockheed – Arm Twister Extraordinaire?
What Lockheed wants, Lockheed intends to get especially when it comes to the F-35 stealth light attack bomber. Last week the company tried to stiffen spines here in Canada by warning that Canadian businesses stood to lose over $10-billion in contract work if their government tries to play wise guy
Continue reading