DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN 10.04.2016
The Canadian military is hoping
to ask the government early next year for approval to spend up to $500 million
to modernize its CF-18 fighter jets.
The upgrade would keep the planes flying until 2025, giving the
government some breathing room to organize the purchase of replacements and
make sure they are delivered before the older jets are taken out of service.
Work has already started to ensure the CF-18s are structurally
sound.
Now, the military is analyzing improvement options for
communications equipment to deal with changes in civil aviation regulations.
There could be other upgrades to weapons and how the CF-18s communicate and
operate with Allied fighter jets.
“This project is expected to go for potential government
submission early in 2017,” said Ashley Lemire, Department of National Defence
spokeswoman.
The options focus “on what is required from a regulatory and
interoperability perspective.”
The DND estimates the cost of the modernization at between $250
million and $499 million, depending on the options chosen and what the
government accepts, say defence sources.
Military officers say the upgrades will have to be done by 2021 to
make financial sense — new fighter jets are expected by 2025. That means
decisions on the upgrades must be made and contracts placed by 2018.
Since 2002, Canada has spent $2.6 billion modernizing the CF-18s.
The planes were bought in 1982.
The Conservative government planned to buy 65 F-35 stealth
fighters to replace the CF-18s. The purchase was put on hold as the cost
ballooned and technical problems emerged.
During last year’s federal election, the Liberals said they would
buy a less expensive fighter jet if they came to power.
In June, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the F-35 “does not
work, and is far from working.”
But the Liberal promise not to buy the F-35 has been thrown into
question by Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, who has said any competition would
be open to all jets. He has insisted the government must move “quickly”
selecting a new fighter jet, but has not outlined any timetable.
Last month, the House of Commons defence committee called on the
government to pick a replacement within a year. It pointed out the costs of the
new jets should be well documented so other military equipment programs would
not be affected.
Both the NDP and Conservatives argued the report was written to
support the Liberal government’s defence strategy.
“The committee report marshals evidence to bolster the Liberal
decision to sole-source the purchase of Super Hornets,” the NDP said in its
submission.
That refers to the Liberals’ attempt in the summer to buy Super
Hornet fighter jets, built by Boeing, instead of holding a competition. The
plan was put on hold after it prematurely became public when Postmedia revealed
the scheme.
Industry sources say they believe some senior Liberals still hope
to revive the Super Hornet sole-source purchase in the near future.
Sajjan has said the Canadian military is facing a “capability gap”
since the CF-18 fleet can’t handle the country’s commitments to NATO and
the North American Aerospace Defence Command’s needs to protect the continent.
“Between our NORAD and NATO commitments and how many jets are
serviceable at one time, we cannot meet both those requirements
simultaneously,” he said in July.
“The Canadian Armed Forces have been risk-managing this problem
for some time now and the previous government found it acceptable. I do not,
and I want to make sure that we give all the tools necessary not to put the
Canadian Armed Forces in a scenario to risk-manage.”
Original post: ottawacitizen
Related post:
CF-18
Hornet
The Boeing CF-18 Hornet (military designation: CF-188) is a
multi-role combat aircraft designed and manufactured by McDonnell Douglas which
is currently part of Boeing Integrated and Defence System (BIDS), US. The
aircraft was built for the Canadian Force and is based on its predecessor, the
F/A 18 Hornet.
The aircraft can be utilised for air defence, air superiority,
tactical support, training, aerobatic examination and aerospace testing and
evaluation.
The Canadian Forces initially acquired 128 CF-18 Hornets of
which 25 were lost in accidents and 43 were sold to an undisclosed customer.
The fleet is expected to be retired from service between 2017 and 2020.
CF-18A and CF18B variants
Boeing CF-18 Hornet is available in two variants namely CF-18A
and CF-18B. CF-18A is a single seat combat and ground attack aircraft. Its
military designation is CF-188A.
CF-18B is fitted with two seats in the cockpit for pilot and
co-pilot. Its military designation is CF-188B.
CF-18 Hornet programme and development
In an effort to replace its F-104 Star Fighter aircraft the
Canadian Government launched the Fighter Aircraft Competition (FAC) in 1977,
disclosing a purchase budget of around C$2.4bn for the competition winner.
F/A-18 Hornet won the competition in 1980. The maiden flight of
the aircraft took place in November 1978. The deliveries to Canadian Forces
began in 1982. The aircraft entered service in January 1983.
The Department of National Defence (DND) initiated Incremental
Modernisation Project (IMP) in 2001 to modernise the CF-18 Hornet Fighter
aircraft. The modernisation contract was awarded to Boeing and L-3 Communications
in 2002. About 62 CF-18As and 18 CF-18Bs were upgraded as part of the IMP
project, in two phases.
Phase I was completed in August 2006 and had cost $436m. It
included replacing the AN/APG-65 radar in the aircraft with AN/APG-73. The
aircraft was fitted with a terrain avoidance system (TAS), identification
friend or foe (IFF) transponder and a modern AN/ARC-210 RT-1556/ARC VHF/UHF
radio for line of sight communications.
Other works in Phase I included replacement of the existing
mission computer and stores management with General Dynamics AN/AYK-14 XN-8
mission computer and Smiths Aerospace AN/AYQ-9 Stores Management System
respectively.
Phase II was completed in March 2010 and had cost $150m. It
included integration of a Link 16 data net system, a joint helmet mounted
cueing system (JHMCS), a crash survivable flight data recorder (CSFDR) and a
flare dispensing electronic warfare suite into the aircraft. The JHMCS
facilitates the pilot to designate targets around the aircraft.
Features
The CF-18 Hornet features a high-powered night identification
light fitted in the gun loading door. A dummy canopy under the aircraft's
fuselage confuses the enemy while executing air-to-air combat missions.
The aircraft is equipped with an infra-red sensor pod, colour
LCD displays, a night vision imaging system, a combat training system, an air
combat guiding instrumentation system, and rough landing gear.
Engines
The supersonic fighter aircraft is powered by two General
Electric F404-GE-400 turbofan engines. Each engine can produce 71.2kN of
thrust.
The length and diameter of the engine are 3.9m and 0.88m
respectively. The dry weight is 995kg.
Performance
The Boeing CF-18 can climb at a rate of 254m/s. The maximum
speed of the aircraft is 1,814km/h. The combat radius and ferry range are 537km
and 3,330km respectively. The service ceiling is 15,000m.
The aircraft weighs 10,455kg and its maximum take-off weight is
23,400kg.
Source: airforce-technology
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