Vanguard Magazine

reduced the original fleet of 138 1980s-era fighters to 77, and Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan has been very vocal about the mili- tary's need for newer fighter aircraft. According to Gillian, Boeing is working on how the production of the jets for Can- ada can be scheduled, since the company has existing orders from the U.S. Navy as well. He is confident that Boeing, which turns out two Super Hornets a month, can meet its customers' demands. When the interim Super Hornet pur- chase was announced last fall, Sajjan prom- ised that an "open and transparent compe- tition" to replace the RCAF's entire F-18 fleet will take place. That competition will be launched sometime before the end of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's term of office. Sajjan said the government expects a permanent fleet delivered as quickly as pos- sible. Some estimates put that somewhere between 2029 and 2032. Boeing's ItB performance Boeing also touts its record industrial and technological benefits (ITB) to Canada. "For every dollar we spend in Canada di- rectly, there is another dollar that comes in as economic impact through the sup- ply chain," according to Roberto Valla, Boeing's vice-president of global sales for Canadian operations. He said Boeing has completed $6.7 bil- lion of its ITB commitments to Canada ahead of schedule. www.vanguardcanada.com FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017 15 aerosPace a have flown a CF-18, will find it easy to transition to the Super Hornet. "The control, hydraulics, and philoso- phy behind it are all the same and very easy to pick up," another pilot said. Canada is looking to replace its fleet of aging Boeing CF-18 fighter jets, which were purchased from 1982 to 1988. Apart from the Super Hornet, the contenders include the Dassault Rafale, Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lighting II, the Saab JAS 39 Gripen, and the Eurofighter Typhoon. However, it's the 5th-generation F-35 that is considered a top rival of the Super Hornet for the Canadian contract. "The 5th gen (platform) was super inno- vative 10 years ago and on paper, we're far more advanced now," according to Traven. He also downplayed the stealth capability of the F-35 as a "passive" form of defence which could be leapfrogged and rendered ineffective by advances in radar technology. "No one knows what will happen by 2025 to 2035; things evolve so quickly. But the Super Hornet has space to grow," says Traven. canada's interim super hornet purchase Recently, the Trudeau government had initiated talks with Washington on the pur- chase of 18 Super Hornets as a stopgap measure to relieve the pressure on the Roy- al Canadian Air Force's fleet of aging CF- 18 jets which were purchased from 1982 to 1988. Accidents and retirements have Boeing is also on track to invest over $10 million in Canadian research and develop- ment and another $10 million in university and industry research facilities. the advanced super hornet The interim purchase presents an excellent opportunity for Boeing to show the Cana- dian armed forces just how well the Super Hornet performs. However, another recent development south of the border could also be a boon for the aerospace company's concept for an enhanced Super Hornet. United States Defense Secretary James Mattis recently ordered a review of the country's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter pro- gram. The review will compare the F-35C's capabilities with those of the F/A-18 E/F, as well as assess the viability of Boeing's Advanced Super Hornet program. The idea of an Advanced Super Hornet was rolled out in 2013. Essentially, the proposed aircraft will feature new capa- bilities and upgrades such a centerline, fuel tank-mounted infrared search and track (IRST21) sensor, conformal fuel tanks, in- tegrated defensive electronic countermea- sures (IDECM) Block iV, active electronic scanned array (AESA) radar, and a next- generation jammer. The review ordered by Mattis could boost Boeing's push for its Super Hornet and provide the company a chance to prove the Advanced Super Hornet concept. "We'll be flying the Rhinos well into 2040; it still has a lot of development capability in it… it's the mission system that matters."

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