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As a former RCAF maintainer, with procurement experience, these vague statements of ‘concern’ lead me to believe that the Snowbirds won’t last 3 more years. The end of an era is coming.
The Minister just wants to “get them a better plane”. But F18s don’t really make sense to operate just for airshows when F35s are coming. I feel that jets are so costly, and so few, that the days of dedicating more than one airframe to demonstration of just not gonna fly.
The F18 is also an antique, it made its first flight in 1978.
On a personal note I hope they stick with something relatively quiet. I got to watch weeks of the Snowbirds practicing this spring and while they are noisy, all 10 of them in the air together are quieter than 1 F18.
I'm not sure if you're exercising hyperbole to emphasize your point, so I'll take you at face value. The model is still in service as a fourth generation fighter. Particular jets may be antiques. Given that Canada waited a few years to procure them, I doubt any of the CF-18's are as old as the original F-18's.
You can call it an antique when it's out of service and we're on to 6th gen. Until then, it's a perfectly reasonable assumption that a fleet us made up of current and next-gen models, or previous- and current-gen models if you're miserly.
Not sure you need the experience to judge based on the article, but I hear you. I cannot imagine the time and effort to keep those birds in the air, and it is indeed the end of an era. The snowbirds were a staple of every air show I ever went to.
To your point about what comes next, I don't see any reason to purchase manned air craft in the current climate. Air superiority is obviously important, but the landscape is drastically changing with drones being more and more invested in. I think we should pivot our Air force to unmanned and work on something that could actually guard our arctic regions, considering Drones aren't a fan of the cold, over getting some shiny new jets.
It's probably time for an upgrade, the RCAF still has a Spitfire parked outside at CFB Trenton
At the museum?
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The Department of National Defence is actively considering whether to retire some older ships, planes and other items of equipment that have become difficult and costly to maintain — including the aircraft belonging to the iconic Snowbird demonstration squadron.
The navy has made a case publicly for replacing its four Victoria-class submarines and the Liberal government announced during the recent NATO Summit in Washington that it would proceed with the program.
He added he believes the staffing crisis within the military is making the situation worse by leaving the CAF with fewer technicians to keep older aircraft and ships running.
A study by the defence department's director of major service delivery procurement warned at the time that the aircraft's life expectancy would run to 2010 but could be extended for another decade if absolutely necessary.
A DND report from the fall of 2014 cleared the fleet as "technically airworthy" but noted "significant concerns, including some caused by financial restraints."
I just want to get them a better plane," said Blair, adding that he's asked the commander of the air force about the feasibility of using "existing fighter jets" to maintain an aerial demonstration team, as other allies do.
The original article contains 955 words, the summary contains 188 words. Saved 80%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!