." Not when we can get Saab's Gripen E which operates at $4000. Per Flight Hour and is mu h faster, much more economical, can out maneuver an F35...with the fastest turn rate of all the jet fighters and hss been designed like it wss being custom built for Canada. " this is beyond absurd. despite wild internet rumors to the contrary no the Gripen does not operate anywhere near $4000 an hour. Even the USAF T-6 Texan II training airplane doesn't run at $4,000. That an unverified number that saab puts out there and its never made any sense whatsover other than to trap people who don't know better. meanwhile F-35 CPFH is not $60,000 Gripen E is not custom built for Canada at all. that's ridiculous. Canada has been involved in the JSF for decades though and got to incorporate actual Canadian needs as Canada is again an F-35 partner, and not a Gripen partner. I'll also point out that the Gripen E can't do all the things you claim, as it is still in testing. They have fielded 3 prototypes. and its still years away from full service. Sweden won't take their first deliveries of Gripen E until 2023. Meanwhile F-35 actually has all variant in service and has already been used in combat. NEXT "In my opinion, if we made a deal for F35's l would be suspicious of some kind of scam. We can't afford that pig and it wasn't designed for our needs. Nobody in their right mind would favout the F35 over the Gripen E...period. " The RCAF must not be in their right mind. The Gripen E you champion has only 60 percent of the thrust of Canada's current CF-18s. yes thats right. 40 percent less power than the CF-18 Canada has used since the 1980s. NEXT Remember as well it has the meteor missile that can shoot down Russian or Chinese junk from BVR. F-35 will get meteor missile as well. LASTLY: "Has STOL capabilities and can be re-armed with fuel and munitions in 10 minutes from a pre determined highway location. Engine replacement in another very short time, especially compared to the F35. If the engine can be provided to the highway location it can be done with a small crew in a few hours. This plane has a RCS almost as small as the F35 but without the horrendous cost of what they call strealth. Just saw a news article on Venezuelan radar that can now see the F22. I think it was made by Russia. There are so many benefits that make the Gripen a much better deal to operate for Canada over the F35. Nobody in their right mind would want a plane that costs $60,000. Hour to fly when ee can have the Gripen E built in Canada by our aerospace employees at a fraction of the cost. Kindest Regards, Paul. PS: If somehow you make a deal for the F35 we'll want to no why and who got paid off." no gripen doesn't havn't the RCS of an F-35. Thats absurd. F-16s are only slightly smaller than a GRipen and no on was claiming they were even as stealthy as an F-117. So I really like how you just read the saab sales pamphlet and then just parroted it for us. That was great. one of the ways the Gripen rearmed in 10 minutes was that the Gripen A-D had 2 fewer pylons than the F-16. Its really easy to run 8 kilometers and place first when everyone else is running 10 kilometers. its one of the many silly measurements that Saab has elevated and people think are relevant. What you are loading and who (experienced crew) is loading it (along with how many pylons they have to load!) will have more bearing on time than the type of airplane being loaded. same thing with the roadside repair. Thats not really new or unique and Gripen like every other aircraft still has to submit to large scale heavy maintenance when their due for it. Gripen is no exception to this. They have to have big extensive inspections, submit to upgrades (which are not free) etc etc. Whats happened is that when the costs are compared from start to finish, F-35s cost less and of course they perform better. as to getting "paid off" the F-35 is the largest and most scrutinized defense program in history its been heavily audited ad vetted by a dozen countries, including the DND, RCAF and even KPMG Canada did an audit and estimation about what it would cost to buy, maintain and then retire them after 42 years of service. The Gripen on the other hand is still very much a mystery. The Swedish air force does not share its cost numbers, nor does it share its test results. for all we know Gripen E test pilots pass out and the skin bubbles too and it costs far far more than Saab is telling us, but Gripen E is not an open program. We are simply not told. The Gripen E is still not in service. It has less than 5 airplanes finished compared to the F-35s 500+ units across 3 variants. The gripen F Variant promised for brazil has yet to start construction.

The Gripen E can shoot down enemy aircraft with the Meteor missile from beyond the range of their radar BVR (Beyond Visual Range) l think the Meteor can take out enemy aircraft from 200+ km range. Who needs stealth, we need fast agile interceptors. Why pay for stealth when the Gripen has a very advanced electronic warfare suite that is so good the Gripen ended up flying underneath one of the European fighters without even knowing the Gripen was there.

Well Mr Ullmer the F35 has one problem after another and now the stealth coating is peeling off, just a few months ago there was some kind of air problem that was causing pilots to pass out in the F22. No thanks, l can certainly see why the maintenance expenses are at $60,000. per flight hour and that's in U.S. $.

Let's keep this about the F35 and the other fighters in our Fighter Competition. Actually there really isn't a competition at all. The Gripen E is so much better for Canadian needs than the F35 it's a joke.

Anybody who signs our name an F35 contract has to be a few bricks short of a load. At $60,000. Per Flight Hour we'll go broke. That's another U.S. rip off. Maybe their citizens aren't on the ball enough to see what's going on but don't bother trying that crap here. Not when we can get Saab's Gripen E which operates at $4000. Per Flight Hour and is mu h faster, much more economical, can out maneuver an F35...with the fastest turn rate of all the jet fighters and hss been designed like it wss being custom built for Canada. In my opinion, if we made a deal for F35's l would be suspicious of some kind of scam. We can't afford that pig and it wasn't designed for our needs. Nobody in their right mind would favout the F35 over the Gripen E...period. Remember as well it has the meteor missile that can shoot down Russian or Chinese junk from BVR. Has STOL capabilities and can be re-armed with fuel and munitions in 10 minutes from a pre determined highway location. Engine replacement in another very short time, especially compared to the F35. If the engine can be provided to the highway location it can be done with a small crew in a few hours. This plane has a RCS almost as small as the F35 but without the horrendous cost of what they call strealth. Just saw a news article on Venezuelan radar that can now see the F22. I think it was made by Russia. There are so many benefits that make the Gripen a much better deal to operate for Canada over the F35. Nobody in their right mind would want a plane that costs $60,000. Hour to fly when ee can have the Gripen E built in Canada by our aerospace employees at a fraction of the cost. Kindest Regards, Paul. PS: If somehow you make a deal for the F35 we'll want to no why and who got paid off.

A typical Liberal move just like the replacements for the Sea King. Lets cancel an order no matter the cost just cause the PC's where behind it. Never mind if it might have been the best choice. So I wonder whether the recent crash has anything to do with the Liberals Cheaping out on the replacement of the Sea Kings.