Military Aircraft

[noluck]

We have to accept that we are not a large shipbuilding nation. We should keep the skills alive with maintenance and refit, because of the Cdn peso, this will be a good source of income for the big yards and their tradespeople.

Unfortunately Ottawa procurement suffers from an inferiority complex vis-a-vis the Americans, so it is always a knee jerk reaction that any Canadian procurement needs to conform to a specific list of 'Canadian' specific requirements. Not sure why, not like American equipment does not operate in high arctic conditions. It always seems strange that we need to have interoperability with the Americans, but we insist on all these Canadian specific specs.

BC Ferries have finally come around to buying offshore vessels, even with an NDP government, so it is acceptable to some extent.

burrard shipyards was world class shipbuilding, we just keep selling off waterfront

 

[ziggy]

Shipbuilding in Canada is boom and bust. When we produced the last of the 12 Frigates we had a top notch shipyard, with skilled labour and modern equipment. Like we have in the past though, once we built a batch of ships we stopped and took a couple of decade break. Technology advances and skilled workers move on. There is no long range plan.

 

[noluck]

i worked on the last steel ferry built in bc, the Skeena Queen, built at allied shipbuilders

 

[Doug]

I saw on the news, that Jan 31 will be the end of the Military jet exercises. The news showed refueling and formation flying.
Yesterday we saw about 30 X F-22 (?) coming in. They had vapor streaming from the wings yesterday which looked cool.
They are always entertaining and loud, Just like Fireworks.

 

[Max123]

Whenever anyone brings up procurement, I think of the Sea King Helicopter. God, what a disaster - I remember this from back in the mid 1990s when I started following national politics. Whether the F-35 was/is the right/wrong fit seems beside the point - it just shows me that the Feds still don't know anything about running a procurement process.

It always follows the familiar back and forth. Gold plated spec because every department has a finger in the pie. Whiplash due to the price / opposition makes a few catchy sound bites. Delays, overruns, political cowardice (by both the opposition and the party in power).

Eventually you end up with something like the PM's Residence at 24 Sussex. Uninhabited, falling apart - every department wants everything (Heritage wants it perfectly restored, RCMP wants it encased in steel, massive cost to do anything) - say what you want about Justin Trudeau, but at least he's smart enough to not touch that with a 10ft pole.

 

[Ryan A]

Th

Thanks to Trudeau's back and forth, Canada has been put to the back of the line for the F-35's. They'll be obsolete by the time we get them. Canada once boasted a pretty significant air force. Now we are insignificant. Concerning in the worlds present state.

They’ll be far from obsolete

 

[TheHurtLocker]

It never gets old. Merica.

Lol, god bless her and the ship she rode in on.