187 F22's based at Elemndor alsaka hawaii florida , just out of curiosity what would we do with a strategic bomber that is 30 years out of date?
If your referring to the B-52, you say thanks as it flys overhead having done an end run of the enmies defenses and laid hellfire and brimstone on them. They do what they are designed to do.
As I see the f-35 fiasco is just a repeat of the Dart in the Defenbaker era. It's pure politics. Every time I hear LAURA Han speak in an interview i don't have to listen, just turn on replay and hear his words from the last 50 interviews. He's simply spouting 10 second sound bites laid down by Harper.
As I understand it the F-35 is only stealth capable, often spouted by the government as a main reason for the choice, yet it looses it stealth capability when it is armed with anything more than the most basic weapons package; certainly a lot less tha what I'd want to into battle with. No interviewers seem to press him on this.
The competition mention is nothing special and is a fine example of reverse engineering of a competition for something or somebody you want. i got introduce to this duringh my short career in the federal government and nothing has change one bit.
The real life roll of th new jet in Canada will be parol, locate and delay. The plane or pilots will not be expected to fight and turn back an attack from the nasty Ruskies or Red Chinese. I have no doubt that the Canadian pilots would put up a fight at a level that most Air Forces can only wish to do, but they will need help to defeat an attack and we all know where that help will come.
As far as the 'enemies will have better plane', it has been a time honoured practice that the major weapon suppliers never sell the best versionof their weapons with all the bells and whistles. They always sell a 'lite' version just incase the weapons get turned back on them.
It's pure political horse shite.
Enough for now
