You might have thought the company would stress the technological superiority and/or cost-effectiveness of its planes, but only if you were wholly unfamiliar with how military procurement decisions are made in this country. Supposedly this was to be an example of a cleaned-up process, after the controversy surrounding the F-35 purchase, itself following on the EH-101 helicopter calamity, the submarine disaster and countless others. On the other hand, if the F-35 were allowed to compete, it might well win — which would be even more embarrassing. Bad enough the air force should have to maintain two fleets, CF-18s and Super Hornets, each with different training and equipment needs. This remains the case, notwithstanding the government’s decision to use existing blueprints rather than build the ships from all-new designs.

Source: National Post June 14, 2016 00:56 UTC