The mighty Maple Leaf, America’s northern neighbor, has been on the prowl for a new fighter aircraft for an agonizingly long time, well over a decade. The glaring issue is that Canada badly needs to replace its aging fleet of CF-18A/B Hornet fighter jets, which have been in service since 1982.
With an eye to the future, Canada became a member of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program and has spent 500 million USD as a participant since 1997. This participation has allowed Canadian companies to lock in F-35-related contracts worth over 1.8 billion USD, as the F-35 is a multinational effort.
JAS 39 Gripen. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
By 2023, Canada Signed a 19 billion USD contract to purchase 88 F-35s, with funds already allocated for the first 16 aircraft. All seemed well and on track until Washington imposed 25% tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum imports in March. To make matters worse, discussions about making Canada the 51st state (serious or otherwise) did not assuage the general anger and frustration on the Canadian street.
The tariff issue set into motion the desire to review the remainder of Canada’s participation in its F-35 contract. At this point, Canada’s new Prime Minister, Mark Carney, directed his Defense Minister, Bill Blair, to “…determine if the F-35 contract, as it stands, is the best investment for Canada, and if there are other options that could better meet Canada’s needs.”
JAS 39 Gripen Coming To Canada
The move to acquire a fighter aircraft, particularly the JAS 39 Gripen, to loosen the Canadian military’s dependence on the US defense industry can be considered short-sighted, even obtuse.
The Gripen has modern sensors and electronic warfare capabilities and is designed for short takeoff and landing operations, which allows it to operate from improvised airstrips. In spite of these attributes, the Gripen remains dependent on an American powerplant, the General Electric F414-GE-39E, the same engine that powers the Super Hornet.
This key dependency on an American engine (or any other American-made aircraft component) places the possible deal under American export controls. This essentially gives Washington a veto on any Gripen sale to any country at any time.
This veto power has already been exercised to devastating effect, and on a perspective, Gripen sale no less. In February of this year, Colombia was preparing to acquire the Gripen as it fits within its budget and was tailored to Colombia’s airspace and operational needs. However, Washington vetoed this deal, which was worth approximately $3.2 billion. Most likely, they are overly afraid of US technology getting into the wrong hands. China has been very active in Latin America within the last 15 or more years, and they have a history of bribing military personnel to leak sensitive information.
So, the perceived “independence” from the American defense sector associated with a move towards purchasing the Gripen is essentially wishful thinking. Any Gripen purchase will not only require US permission, but the engines will also require a logistics tail emanating from the US and possibly US contractor support.
Does Canada Need the F-35?
In short…No.
The F-35, which has a radar cross-section of 0.005m2 (about the size of a golf ball), is designed for deep penetration strikes on enemy air defenses, sensitive military sites and equipment, air superiority, and reconnaissance.
The F-35 is also a flying communications node capable of collecting and seamlessly sharing data with other platforms. It has been described as a flying quarterback, as it will lead the charge into enemy airspace, blow holes in enemy defense infrastructure, and direct follow-on waves of fourth-generation aircraft.
Canada does not need this type of deep, first-strike capability. It requires a more basic, less capable aircraft to adequately patrol and defend its airspace. About expeditionary or peacekeeping operations, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives correctly asserts that the Canadian military should specialize in more general-use capabilities.
To this point, they state:
Canadian “… contributions might normally consist of land forces. If Canada wished to retain the option to make occasional air contributions to such missions, it could leave air superiority and other high-end air combat roles to its allies and focus on capabilities such as pilotless surveillance aircraft, transport planes, and heavy-lift helicopters.”
The Royal Canadian Air Force does need fighter aircraft that operate from short runways or improvised airstrips. The Gripen can take off from a runway of less than 2,600 feet, which makes this fighter particularly well suited for Canada’s vast, barren Arctic region, replete with sparse airfields and limited infrastructure.
The Gripen has also been designed for interoperability with allied forces via shared datalinks and standardized communication systems. Additionally, the Grippen E’s systems support compliance with NATO and NORAD operational protocols. This is supported by the fact that the Gripen has been tested operationally since 2004 via air policing operations conducted over the Baltic by Hungarian and Czech pilots.
Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place
In light of the contract to purchase 16 F-35s and the move towards possibly purchasing a fleet of Gripens, the Canadian military is opening a Pandora’s box of complications.
If they decide to move forward with a mixed fleet, this will create a logistical headache. Indeed, some defense commentators have even said it is a nightmare.
Such a decision will require the standing up of two pipelines to purchase spare parts, dual training programs for pilots, and separate doctrines for operational employment.
A unified approach to creating a new air fleet does make the most sense; however, Ottawa may be looking at the numbers. Saab claims the Gripen’s operational cost per flight hour is approximately $7,500, while the same amount of time for the F-35 is a staggering $33,000.
JAS 39 Gripen over a Road. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
JAS 39 Gripen. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Whatever direction Ottawa takes with the future of its air fleet, the decision will not be easy. Both aircraft have benefits and drawbacks, particularly operating a mixed fleet. Yet a decision must be made, and both hinge on American consent for the sale, which nullifies any type of Canadian defense independence in terms of air combat capabilities.
Author Biography: Christian P. Martin
Christian P. Martin is a Michigan-based writer; he earned a Master’s degree in Defense & Strategic Studies (Summa cum laude) from the University of Texas, El Paso. Currently, he is a research assistant at the Asia Pacific Security Innovation Forum. Concerning writing, he has published several dozen articles in places like Simple Flying, SOFREP, SOF News, and The Collector.
