The Sukoi 35 is already flying
Canada and these other nations will sort of get seconds, not the real McCoy F-35s. The Yanks don’t trust us with all of their technology. The price starts about $ 500,000 a copy with a few local jobs thrown in to protect our politician’s asses. You know table scraps. The new Chinese fighter just announced will go along nicely with the used aircraft carrier they just purchase from Russia. China now has an ice breaker and is building more. Of course there is quite a bit of ice in the south China Sea to break. My thinking is that after buying up Canada’s tar sands, a deal that is being facilitated by our boy Prime Minister so the Chinese, the Russians and others will be able to sail through OUR NORTHWEST PASSAGE ON A WHIM.
So you will see them now develop a separate jump jet like the Harrier
And what might we do about that? Maybe throw a hissy fit? Go on the net and compare the 3 aircraft, almost the same. The Russians have the capability to develop fighters as good as the USA. However the Chinese don’t. China’s fighter was certainly built with stolen tech data from the Americans. The Russians will supply the Chinese with all of the avionics and hardware, thus they can’t be accused of arming a belligerent. The difference in the Chinese /Russian aircraft is that they have two engines. The F-35 only has one engine and is a single seater, very much in the Top Gun / old west / gunslinger tradition. Canadians build practical / utilitarian aeroplanes. The Americans build Hollywood.
I would think the Chinese are looking to dominate Asia, New Zealand, Australia and the Arctic. With carrier based fighters they could easily do that. Do you remember the Falklands and the English Harriers The US had nothing like it as they had nothing like our Arrow. The Russians are looking more to dominating their satellite countries and Eastern Europe so the Sukhoi fits that bill. The F-35 is 3 planes in one. It is like a Swiss Army knife, very useful but a lousy axe or sword. The US needs aircraft to protect only its’ coasts [ there is no danger from the north or south ] and engage in military operations around the world which can be supported by carriers and a fleet of huge transports planes.
This short range, single seater fits the bill but it doesn’t satisfy Canadian requirements. A couple of years ago the protection of Canadian sovereignty in the high Arctic was high on the RCAF’s list. That has been quietly dropped because the F-35 just can’t do that job. So what are our options? Let’s sell out all of the tar sands to the Chinese complete. All of the Wall St. No market for western oil or natural gas now exists. We and the streeters could have one hell of a party to toast the end of an era. No oil or natural gas will come out of the west for years.
Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba will become have-not-provinces and be guided in their deliberations by Chinese law [ whatever that will be this week ]. The Chinese, Russians, the USA and others will traverse our North West Passage without reference to Ottawa. China is now meddling in Greenland looking for minerals and oil. We ourselves will revert to herding Caribou and living in Yurts like the Outer Mongolians. Joe Oliver will be proud of us, his hewers of trees and drawers of water. But at least the CO2 will not be a problem in the tar sands anymore payday loans Louisiana. All of the environmentalists will have to find work. One great advantage will accrue. We will be able to set up laundries for the Chinese sailors right across the top of Canada and call them Canadian laundries.