Defence analysts warn U.S. will control key systems on F-35 fighter jets, putting Canada at risk
Defence analysts warn U.S. will control key systems on F-35 fighter jets, putting Canada at risk
Analysts warn that the U.S. will have full control over software upgrades needed for the Canadian military’s new fleet of F-35s.
The Liberal government announced in early 2023, that it would purchase 88 F-35s in a project costing $19 billion. DND officials also confirmed the full life-cycle cost for the F-35 project would eventually tally $70 billion.
The first of Canada’s F-35s will be first delivered to a U.S. military base in 2026 and then into Canada in 2028. Canada plans to operate the aircraft until 2060.
In recent days, some Canadians have voiced concerns online that the U.S. has installed a specialized kill switch that could disable the Royal Canadian Air Force’s F-35 fleet.
DND spokesperson Kened Sadiku said no such switch exists on the aircraft, but he did acknowledge that the U.S. is in charge of both software and hardware upgrades for the planes.
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I have no stance on the above article but this is a friendly reminder that the Ottawa Citizen is American billionaire owned, not Canadian! Double check anything they say 😀
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If Canada needs to make the USA squirm, just buy one (1) J-35 from China.
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China won't sell just 1, unless they want it for the price of 30.
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Ah, the John Deere move
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NATO needs to expel USA, so if USA attack any NATO country, we will stand together against them.
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Algeria is already purchasing Su-57s from Russia, perhaps Canada should call Putin up?
No no, he would not place kill switches in them. What do you mean that Putin once gave Israel the codes for Iran’s Russian-supplied Tor-M1 air defense systems? Pure nonsense!
But seriously, cmon Canada, sell your F-35s to my beloved Putin in exchange for Su-57s! It would be the best trade agreement of all time.
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The Saab Aerospace marketing team just looks on at this exchange in dismay.
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Why would any Western ally buy anything military from Russia? Maybe sell the Junk F-35 to them for a good price. And then buy European fighter jets.
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Europe isn't using modern fighter jets, they're flying fourth generation fighters while America, China, and Russia are starting to fly sixth generation jets.
But yeah it would make more sense to buy from China if you're trying to put pressure on America. America does not see Russia as a near-peer adversary, and Europe is even less threatening.
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And be subject to the same issue from the Russians!?! The European initiatives (and Sweden) are a much better idea, even if they are still a generation behind.
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Nah! Cmon my dude, Putin is very trustable and would never place kill switches in export Su-57s.
I mean just look at him! how can you imagine him doing such a horrendous thing such as installing a kill switch on export Su-57s? Putin is very great guy! Just don’t ask what happened to Iranian Tor-M1s.
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Yeah, that's not a bad idea
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USA should absolutely do that, I bet Russia and China would be more than happy to pay a good price for the Junk that makes them.