Derek 2.0

I’ve no doubt that any Government that delivers humanitarian, financial or military aid is executing a political agenda, in all circumstances.

Based on the recent USAF pricing for their KC-46 Pegasus, ~1 ½ billion for acquisition. I have no idea of the cost.......I would assume the same price as the B & C. I have no idea.......A drouge chute will be standard on all F-35As, like all other fighters. As to maintenance, that is correct to a degree, but non-carrier types have no requirement to have automatic retrieval of their hooks, nor a requirement for repeated use…….If a conventional fighter is deploying it’s arresting gear on a runway, there will be far more post flight maintenance issues to contend with………repeated use of course leads to structural issues with the aircraft. Hence why the employment of drogue chutes is the primary means of rapidly slowing an aircraft if required.

What good is providing humanitarian aid, be it directly or through an NGO proxy, if the people we’re providing the aid to, are unable to defend themselves against aggressors and will ultimately be killed?

The vast majority of all military conflicts that Canada has participated in, began under a Liberal Government……isn’t the same true of Democrats?

So to clarify your position, you’re opposed to the GoC providing humanitarian aid to war torn regions?

How would delivering weapons and humanitarian supplies get us mired in a multi-year conflict? Also, is a perspective Liberal Government opposed to such deliveries? The previous Liberal Government did get Canada involved in increased combat operations in Southern Afghanistan.

I was surprised that he didn’t have an RCMP detail…none the less, I’d think expensing a home security system, for all his homes (and direct family members’ homes) would be justifiable, until such time as he became the Prime Minister or Leader of the Official Opposition, then being accredited an RCMP security detail.

Missed this one……this passage is telling of the author's knowledge of the F-35: Our current tanker fleet is old and will need to be replaced, none the less, the F-35B & C do have drogue refuelling, so it could be equipped on production…….And of course, the F-35 has a greater range than our current Hornets. We’ve lost Hornets from engine failures, none the less, the single engine is not an issue with other users of the type…………As to Arctic usage, the F-35A does have a drogue chute (developed and made in Ontario) and of course, it does have a tail-hook.....

So that’s a no on providing the methodology………….As I’ve clearly stated, new gun ammo will be needed from the start, as would munitions to replace stores used over the aircraft’s life………As I’ve asked numerous times, how can an estimate of RCAF costs be provided by using estimates used by the RAAF? By all means, provide the link.

I never stated that.....What has been asked for, and you either refuse to provide or can’t, is a detailed methodology explaining how they have reached an estimate based off of RAAF numbers, numbers that include weapons systems we don’t currently, nor intend to use. How about those Rafale related numbers?

No, you provided an estimate based on the RAAF’s planned purchases……..Of course the Australians, unlike Canada, will be purchasing munitions the RCAF doesn’t deploy from its fighter force, nor intends to, namely anti-ship and stand-off missiles…..Care to further expand on the methodology that estimate uses? As I said, outside of gun ammunition, the RCAF already has in its inventory munitions that currently equip our Hornet fleet, and will be used on the F-35 fleet…..Your reluctance to include a detail costing of either integrating our current stores or purchasing new French munitions is noted.

I wonder if he refused previous patrons, turned looters, food stamps? Clearly the looted stores have nothing to do with the shooting....

But grunts also loved the CAS provided by B-52s, Strike Eagles, Hornets, Falcons, Apaches etc........I doubt the Army will get them: That's not to say if funds can be found, keeping them in limited service with the ANG is a bad idea.....It all comes down to money, and if you asked the USAF to pick between several Fighter Wings of F-16s/F-35s and the like amount of A-10s, the choice is clear.

Indeed.......It is telling that they haven't deployed some to Kuwait to counter ISIS.......I suppose the chance of captured MANPADS weighs heavily?

Where is the outrage from the Oval Office?

Exactly....I won’t pooh-pooh the A-10’s storied record as a CAS platform, for that it is king……but with funding cuts to DoD, solely niche platforms will face more scrutiny in such political environments……If that wasn’t the case, ASW orientated destroyers, the Iowa Battleships, medium range bombers and IRBMs would still be in service. I’m surprised the AC-130s weren’t also offered up, but then again, they are also capable ISTAR and battlefield management platforms.

Is Brown’s alleged robbery and attack of a Indian corner store clerk indicate a racially motivated crime? Likewise, those that looted and set afire the store……..racially motivated?

No, I asked for further details on the estimate, likewise what it would cost, from the ground-up, to do the like for the Rafale.

The A-10 line has been out of production for decades, and the current inventory can't undertake the various roles performed by current legacy types and their replacements.

What talking point? The A-10 fleet is older than our Hornet fleet, and not as flexible.

Aside from gun ammo, we already can with our current inventory.......not so much with the Rafale........So the cost of the Rafale?

The concern of the retirement of the A-10 is fostered not in it's replacement, but the impact on various States Air National Guards and job losses.....

What portion of our current inventory can’t be used on the F-35? Aside from the gun munitions of course……..a billion dollars buys a lot of bullets…..I doubt the Americans have even spent that sum on fighter gun ammo, for all the services, post Vietnam. Again what is the cost to equip the Rafale?

Once you provide the number of international Rafale partners

So what is the cost to replace the RCAF's entire munitions inventory or cost to integrate it so it could be used with the Rafale?