Despite having soured relations with the Canadian government with
, Boeing is reportedly still planning to submit a bid on the contract to replace the Royal Canadian Air Force’s
, almost certainly offering new
. The Chicago-headquartered plane maker could try to make its submission more attractive
its already working on for the Super Hornet, such as the range-extending conformal fuel tanks it is developing for the U.S. Navy.
On Feb. 15, 2018,
, citing unnamed sources, reported that Boeing had formally applied to be a part of Canada’s fighter jet tender, which could be worth an between approximately $12 billion and $15 billion at the time of writing. According to a separate report
, in the winning company will begin delivering aircraft in 2025 and supply up to 88 planes by 2032.
American firm Lockheed Martin is expected to offer its
, and possibility a version of
. European consortium Eurofighter, France’s Dassault, and Sweden’s Saab are also set to submit proposals involving
,
, and
jets respectively.
Whether or not Boeing would take part in the competition has been the topic of much speculation after it
against Canadian firm Bombardier in 2017. Boeing accused the Canadian firm of “dumping” its CSeries airliners into the American market at artificially low prices thanks in part to subsidies from the government in Ottawa.
In September 2017, the U.S. Department of Commerce sided with Boeing and
of almost 200 percent on any Bombardier products entering the United States. This in turn precipitated a major international spat with not only Canada, but the United Kingdom, which is home to factory that employs more than 4,000 workers to build wings for the CSeries.
But in January 2018, the U.S. International Trade Commission
and refused to approve the tariffs, leaving the American company with the options of abandoning the issue or starting its legal challenge all over again. The Canadian government has said that “past and recent economic behavior of potential bidders leading up to the procurement” will have an impact on their chances of winning the fighter deal, according to Reuters.
As a result of the trade fight, Boeing has already lost out on
to supply 18 Super Hornets to the Royal Canadian Air Force as an interim replacement for some of the CF-18A+ aircraft. Canada is
a number of older ex-Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18A/B Hornets instead.
It is very likely that the company decided it was not in its best interests not to pursue its dispute with Bombardier, at least for the time being. As we at The War Zone have noted before, Boeing
to make for supplying F/A-18E/Fs as Canada’s next fighter jet, which offers an established, reliable advanced fourth generation design with a number of highly desirable features, and synergistic commonality with their existing fleet of "legacy" Hornets.
AESA type radars are a relatively easy way to squeeze more capability out of an existing fourth generation fighter jet design, since they give pilots improved capability to identify and engage their targets and extended distances. Canada has already
to buy the advanced
, which would make use of the Super Hornet's radar.
Canada could leverage the U.S. Navy’s
project and get jets with the same or similar improvements while sharing the cost burden. Boeing says those updated aircraft will have
capability, which would offer another means to detect and target opponents at long range. The final American versions might also have
, such as a fully enclosed, aerodynamic weapons pod. With stealthy additions, the Super Hornet would be an even more attractive to Canada as a cost-effective alternative to the stealthy F-35.
By the time the Canadian government signs an actual contract for new fighters, many of those improvements are likely to be out of development and in production, as well, further reducing the costs. For example, on Feb. 14, 2018, the Navy announced it would pay Boeing nearly $220 million over the next four years
conformal fuel tanks for the Super Hornet, another important part of the Block III upgrade program. The Chicago-headquartered firm has already explored the possibility of adding CFTs as part of past Advanced Super Hornet and Super Hornet International projects.
These add-on fuel packs will give the jets between 100 and 120 miles additional combat radius, something that is important for the Royal Canadian Air Force given its primary day-to-day missions of contributing to standing aerial patrols and quick reaction forces defending the skies over North America and those of NATO allies in Europe. CFTs have become
to get more capability out of existing fourth generation fighter jets since they both extend the aircraft's effective range without the need for drop tanks, freeing up that space for additional weapons or other stores.
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