As a Canadian, I must say that the timing of this fire is <i>exquisite</i> because the government is due to release a decision on the acquisition of the F-35 within the next few weeks.<p>First of all, it's important to realize that the Canadian government is not looking to acquire the F-35 to fill a specific niche in their air force. They're looking for a single fighter that will fill <i>all</i> roles in the Canadian military, as the CF-18 has been doing. Operating a single model of fighter is considered cheaper.<p>While the F-35 is probably going to be a good Harrier replacement, Canada never has operated any Harriers. The biggest need for the Canadian military is all-weather, long-range patrol and interdiction. Canada has vast, unpopulated areas, especially in the arctic, and a slow (compared to competing fighters), single-engine plane with small control surfaces is totally unsuitable for this application. To make matters worse, the most likely threats in this application are Russian jets that are vastly superior to the F-35 in air-to-air combat. The potential safety offered by the F-35's stealth in combat pales when compared to the certain danger that will accompany everyday domestic patrols.<p>Almost the only compelling factor in favor of Canada acquiring the F-35 is it's stealth technology. However, that stealth tech is of questionable value. First, Canada routinely defends but rarely attacks. Second, the F-35's stealth is questionable. China and Russia, and numerous countries that buy hardware from them, likely have access to radar that can detect the F-35 easily [1]. Given that these planes will likely remain in service for two decades at the very least, the probability of them remaining stealthy for that long is very low.<p>If the F-35 is so unsuited for Canada's needs, why is it still the front-runner versus much cheaper competition? Well, that's the thing. Nobody really knows except the Canadian government, and they're not telling. We can only speculate that it's more due to pressure from the U.S. and the certain economic reprisals that will accompany backing out of the F-35 program. A lot of Canadian companies are currently working on the F-35 project, and they will almost certainly be cut off if Canada pulls out, which may cause some of them to go under.<p>The F-35 isn't so much a plane, as an industry unto itself. The question is, is the Canadian F-35 industry too big to be allowed to fail? The F-35's have been grounded <i>again</i> right when the government was expected to finally give them the green light. This probably only delays the inevitable, but one can always hope!<p>[1]<a href="http://www.presstv.com/detail/2014/04/29/360578/us-stealth-jet-cant-evade-russia-radars/" rel="nofollow">http://www.presstv.com/detail/2014/04/29/360578/us-stealth-j...</a>