Yeah, that’s kinda like asking your mechanic neighbor “why don’t you design and build your own car”. Sure with enough time and money somebody could do this but it’s likely to cost more, take longer, and have issues that an experienced producer has already come across and accounted for.
It requires a massive investment in research and development of advanced aerodynamics, material science, supply chain, skilled mechanics, etc. You just don’t pop out a plane from a group of engineers like we did during WW1. Creating a fighter jet that is capable enough to defend against today’s adversaries will require a couple decades of investment to start from scratch. And yes I know you probably think that we can just use the knowledge already available from previous fighter jet programs like older American jets but even if they had de-classified designs they still don’t have the supply chain and technical experts to pull it off in a few years.
I don’t think 20 years is enough especially for countries without the experience to fall back on. Not counting licensed builds. Engines and materials science. Also all the software. Digital and analog instruments. Modern fighters operate in connection with ground data links, satellite data links, other partner aircraft data links. All incredibly expensive and time consuming to develop
Countries with experience in Europe are all trying to partner up because of the financial costs and different part specialities for a 6th gen fighter and mockups make them look more like they’d be a gen 5.5 and they’re pretty much all targeting ~2035 operationally when serious planning started between 2015-2020. I would not bet on any of the european gen 5+ being operationally ready for serial production by 2035.
Why redesign the wheel when we can build the wheels our allies designed? And I don’t mean our former allies to the south. I wouldn’t want to import Gripens, but it would be fantastic if we started building them here
Giant waste of money. Much smarter to buy a product someone else already wasted all the money to develop. Current-generation fighter jets are incredibly complex, Russia can’t even figure out how to mass-produce one at all, even before the sanctions, and they’re a very militarized state. Why spend 5x as much to develop something worse than what they can just buy?
What Canada really needs is a massive drone program. Drones from the size of a 747 to the size of a dime, and everything inbetween. The entire Russia-Ukraine war is a drone war.
Why doesn’t Canada design and build its own fighter jet?
Yeah, that’s kinda like asking your mechanic neighbor “why don’t you design and build your own car”. Sure with enough time and money somebody could do this but it’s likely to cost more, take longer, and have issues that an experienced producer has already come across and accounted for.
It requires a massive investment in research and development of advanced aerodynamics, material science, supply chain, skilled mechanics, etc. You just don’t pop out a plane from a group of engineers like we did during WW1. Creating a fighter jet that is capable enough to defend against today’s adversaries will require a couple decades of investment to start from scratch. And yes I know you probably think that we can just use the knowledge already available from previous fighter jet programs like older American jets but even if they had de-classified designs they still don’t have the supply chain and technical experts to pull it off in a few years.
I don’t think 20 years is enough especially for countries without the experience to fall back on. Not counting licensed builds. Engines and materials science. Also all the software. Digital and analog instruments. Modern fighters operate in connection with ground data links, satellite data links, other partner aircraft data links. All incredibly expensive and time consuming to develop
Countries with experience in Europe are all trying to partner up because of the financial costs and different part specialities for a 6th gen fighter and mockups make them look more like they’d be a gen 5.5 and they’re pretty much all targeting ~2035 operationally when serious planning started between 2015-2020. I would not bet on any of the european gen 5+ being operationally ready for serial production by 2035.
I don’t think I can understate just how ridiculously expensive it is to start up your own jet fighting industry from basically scratch.
In the entire world, there are only 5 countries that produce fighter jets. USA, Sweden, France, China, Russia.
Look at Sweden over here punching above its weight class!
(going strictly by population size)
Why redesign the wheel when we can build the wheels our allies designed? And I don’t mean our former allies to the south. I wouldn’t want to import Gripens, but it would be fantastic if we started building them here
We tried once. Our government lacks vision sometimes.
Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow
We should bring back the program! And in the name of true Canadian patriotism, I vote we call it the Avro Lavigne.
Giant waste of money. Much smarter to buy a product someone else already wasted all the money to develop. Current-generation fighter jets are incredibly complex, Russia can’t even figure out how to mass-produce one at all, even before the sanctions, and they’re a very militarized state. Why spend 5x as much to develop something worse than what they can just buy?
What Canada really needs is a massive drone program. Drones from the size of a 747 to the size of a dime, and everything inbetween. The entire Russia-Ukraine war is a drone war.
Will require a lot of research and developement and spending and i am not ready to sacrifice services for it
Why dump more resources into something, that you don’t need to, because there’s a very serviceable option already prepped for sale?