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OTTAWA — The Liberal government is intent on buying Super Hornet fighter jets, according to multiple sources. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet reportedly discussed the issue last week, and while no formal decision was taken, one top-level official said: “They have made up their minds and are working on the right narrative to support it.” Rather than a full replacement of the air force’s aging CF-18 fighter fleet, it’s believed the purchase will be labelled an interim measure to fill what Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan has warned is a pending “gap” in Canada’s military capabilities. The Liberals promised during the...

Canada is aiming to replace its aging CF-18 Hornets fleet, or what remains of it after nearly three decades of service, and much hangs on what will replace the aircraft. The planned replacement of the CF-18s, some dating to the early 1980s, coincides with intense discussion on Canada's plans to buy up to 65 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets as part of a much delayed air force modernization. Debate has flared on the F-35's escalating costs and the feasibility of buying the jets when, according to critics, cheaper alternatives are available in the market. Critics have called for closer scrutiny...

am tired of hearing the endless rhetoric about Canada's purchase of the F-35, so let's talk straight. John Lameck's recent letter, "Single engine, single-minded," attempts to disparage Canada's choice of the F-35 with some criticisms that are patently false. He seems to suggest that Russian radars "see" in the millimetric range, enabling them to discern the size of aircraft. In fact, I believe the radars to which he is referring actually "operate" in the millimetric band of the radio frequency spectrum; their ability to discern the size of an object is more a consequence of the radar's design than its...

Two years of unwavering Conservative support for the F-35 took a major hit Tuesday as Associate Defence Minister Julian Fantino said the government has not ruled out walking away from the troubled stealth fighter program. Fantino also revealed a team of defence department officials have been considering “all kinds of contingencies” should the F-35 not be ready to replace Canada’s aging fleet of CF-18s and acknowledged the government does not know how much each F-35 will cost. The revelations led opposition parties to question why the sudden about-face after the Conservatives fought an election, in part, on purchasing the F-35...

Fresh delays in F-35 program will test aging CF-18 fleet: expert Undated handout photo of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, also known as Joint Strike Fighter, in flight. Photograph by: Handout, Lockheed-Martin OTTAWA — The Conservative government says a new, anticipated two-year delay in rolling out the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will not impact Canada. But analysts say the delay will increase the stealth fighters' already-controversial price tag while pushing the country's aging CF-18s to the extreme limit of their life spans. On Nov. 2, U.S. Maj.-Gen. Jay Lindell told members of the congressional subcommittee on tactical air and...

Canadian fighter jets heading to Libya By DAVID AKIN, Parliamentary Bureau Chief Last Updated: March 17, 2011 11:13pm OTTAWA - Canada will send six CF-18 fighter jets to southern Europe to help enforce a no-fly zone over Libya, defence sources told QMI Agency. Fighter jets from CFB Bagotville in Quebec are expected to head to Europe as soon as various diplomatic clearances are obtained. A spokesman for Defence Minister Peter MacKay, though, would not provide official confirmation of the mission. "We do not comment on speculation and this is an unconfirmed story," said MacKay spokesman Jay Paxton. After days of...

A Canadian Forces pilot who huddled for two hours in the cold and dark after he ejected from his CF-18 fighter jet wasn't seriously hurt when rescue crews found him at the crash site in northern Alberta. The Rescue Co-Ordination Centre at CFB Trenton, Ont., says a CF-18 fighter jet crashed overnight in Cold Lake, Alta. The jet is similiar to this one that Capt. Tim "Donor" Woods pilots during a practice and preview day for the Winds and Wheels show in St. Thomas, Ontario on Friday, June 19, 2009. Capt. Darren Blakie was on the final approach to Canadian...

The federal government announced Sunday it was awarding a $274-million aircraft maintenance contract to the local subsidiary of an IT communications company. The Harris Corporation will continue to provide avionics maintenance on the CF-18 until the military replaces the craft with the controversial F-35 Lightning II fighter in 2020. The contract will allow the continuing employment of 40 local technical workers. Harris held the contract for the CF-18 previously. The deal was continued in what the government said was a competitive tenure process. The deal will continue to delegate all avionics systems maintenance to the company, which in turn operates...

Canada needs to update its aging fleet of CF-18s, but when will Ottawa get around to it?; Another pie in the sky? Saturday, March 20th, 2010 | 1:16 am Canwest News Service Think of a paper clip, suggests retired Lieutenant-Colonel Billy Allen. Just as you can only bend one so many times before it breaks, you can only push an aircraft beyond the speed of sound so many times before some crucial part gives out on you. "You can take a handful of paper clips and they're all going to break at about 16 bends," said Lt. Col. Allen, an...

April 21, 2009: For the second time in a month, a U.S. Air Force F-22 suffered a "Class A" accident (one causing over a million dollars of loss). This one was the result of an F-22 colliding with a Canadian CF-18 while taxiing at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida. This is the fifth F-22 Class A accident in the last six years. The last one was a crash, in which the pilot was killed. The only other crash did not result in the loss of the pilot. It’s easier to have a Class A accident for an F-22, as...

KABUL, Afghanistan — The United States and NATO have “expressed a desire” for Canada to deploy CF-18 Hornet fighter jets to Afghanistan, according to the Canadian general who leads the coalition’s air war in Afghanistan. “I can tell you from the senior Canadian in this headquarters that I have been asked on several occasions by AFCENT (United States Air Forces Central) and CENTCOM (Central Command), ‘How can we get Canadian F-18s into the game over here?’” said Maj.-Gen. Duff Sullivan. “And I’ve told them that that is a political decision back in Canada.” Sullivan, 52, flew sorties in CF-18s over...

Note: The followint text is a quote: NORAD visually identifies 2 Russian bombers near Northwest Territories February 27, 2008 North American Aerospace Defense Command launched fighter aircraft Feb. 18 and visually identified two Russian TU-95 Bear bomber aircraft approximately 190 kilometers northeast of Tuktoyuktuk, Northwest Territories. This response included two CF-18 Hornet fighter aircraft from 4 Wing Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada as well as two F-15 Eagle aircraft from the Alaskan NORAD Region. The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace at all times and never entered sovereign Canadian or American airspace. All aircraft involved in the visual identification returned to...

Canadian fighter jets temporarily plug hole in U.S. air defencesBy Murray Brewster THE CANADIAN PRESS November 27th, 2007 OTTAWA - Canadian CF - 18 fighter jets helped plug a hole in U.S. air defences for almost two weeks this month after American jets were grounded as part of a crash investigation. The request to fill in for U.S. F-15s over the Alaskan coast was considered an urgent priority for NORAD, especially in light of the return of Russian strategic bombers to Arctic patrols. Although not unprecedented, defence officials said the now-concluded operation was one of those "extremely rare" occasions when...

Chief: Canadian top guns, Russians tangoed this weekChris Lambie The Chronicle Herald September 8, 2007 Canadian fighter jets have scrambled as recently as this week to intercept Russian bombers flying over the Arctic, says the new commander of this country’s air force. CF-18 Hornets met the Tupolev-95 Bear bombers outside Canadian airspace, Lt.-Gen. Angus Watt told The Chronicle Herald’s editorial board Friday. "It’s not exactly a new challenge; it’s an old challenge that has returned," Lt.-Gen. Watt said Friday. The recent encounter took place near Inuvik, N.W.T., inside what the military dubs its air defence identification zone. "It’s where we...

CF-18 fighter jet crashes in northern Quebec, pilot believed to have ejected SAGUENAY, Que. (CP) - A CF-18 fighter plane crashed Tuesday but the pilot is believed to have ejected, the all-news channel LCN reported. A search was underway to find the pilot from CFB Bagotville in the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region, about 250 kilometres north of Quebec City. The pilot was reported to be safe, LCN said. The cause of the crash isn't yet known and weather conditions were believed to be good at the time, LCN said. The pilot was flying about 120 kilometres north of the base.

Canadian Forces officials are trying to figure out what caused a fighter jet to lose a piece of its wing during a flyby over Toronto on Sunday. The CF-18 jet was one of two participating in the kickoff to the Molson Indy auto race, flying over tens of thousands of spectators. Luckily, the metre-long piece splashed into Lake Ontario. Although the lake was dotted with boaters, no one was hurt. The part, identified as the nose door to a luggage pod under the wing, was recovered by the Toronto police marine unit. It appears the incident was caused by a...