Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) News and Discussions

Yes, CBC articles are magnets that have the left-tards flocking in by the thousands.

I could post this in any of the three Canadian service threads but as the RCAF is the most financially stressed I am placing it here. Hard to believe spending this kind of money on photography for pollies is going on (as the article points out it is not only DND). WTF is wrong with having staff using iPhones for these trips? Not cool enough for junior’s minions no doubt.

This photograph (and others) of Harjit Sajjan cost Canadians $161,000

Hopefully this report on the used Hornet acquisition will be more grief for junior. Stuff is staring to add up that might be his demise in the Oct election.


Budget Officer’s analysis of used Australian F-18 deal to be released Thursday

The PBO report on the Australian Hornets has the overall price tag at over one billion which includes upgrades and operation out to 2032. This is 20% higher than junior’s minions at DND claimed. One billion could have allowed a small test fleet of 5-10 F-35s which would have paved the way to a properly equipped RCAF with 80-90 jets.

Budget officer says used Australian fighter jets will cost Canada over $1 billion — far more than DND claimed

(115 F35B)

John Fedup said:

The PBO report on the Australian Hornets has the overall price tag at over one billion which includes upgrades and operation out to 2032. This is 20% higher than junior’s minions at DND claimed. One billion could have allowed a small test fleet of 5-10 F-35s which would have paved the way to a properly equipped RCAF with 80-90 jets.

Budget officer says used Australian fighter jets will cost Canada over $1 billion — far more than DND claimed

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Sorry no that's not right John, that 1b would have been 10 F35 aircraft alone without all the cost associated with it. The report you link is for "The costing included weapons, upgrades, annual maintenance fees and the fuel that would be needed over the years of flying the aircraft"

10% is generally contingency but there still is a discrepancy depending on how one calculates it, Also Singapore is saying the F35 price is comparable to F15SG, within that they are saying F35A is roughly 90m usd(115m F35B) that's not including any Canadian supplied equipment

Singapore to buy 4 F-35 fighter jets with option for 8 more; price comparable to F-15SG

Fair enough but the 1 billion should cover cover the operation of 5 F-35s for the time mentioned. After that timeframe you still have 5 jets that can be operated for another 25 years whereas the current planned expenditure leaves us with SFA afterwards.

John Fedup said:

Fair enough but the 1 billion should cover cover the operation of 5 F-35s for the time mentioned. After that timeframe you still have 5 jets that can be operated for another 25 years whereas the current planned expenditure leaves us with SFA afterwards.

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For interim buy if the so called fighter cap was real and there were further delays in the F35 program, id say it was value for money. But since its not that 500m would have been better placed within the future fighter program, the reoccurring running cost will be there no matter which aircraft is chosen

Just another reference about pollie respect for the military. The last sentence sums it up, there is no timeline for when a new facility will be ready for the 1800 DND employees affected by the fire. If it was the Multiculturalism Ministry junior would be expropriating property from DND.

Will taxpayers be reimbursed for the $41 million spent on fire-damaged Louis St. Laurent building?

Another interesting article on the Cyclone: Leading the way - Skies Mag

Unfortunately another example of how hopeless procurement is. DND has had 8 years to figure out how to accommodate their 9,200 employees parking needs at their new location which is poorly served by mass transit. Surely a couple of multi level parking buildings could have been constructed by now to solve this issue. BTW, this location was the former site of NorTel, so the tradition of creating a cluster &uck continues on apparently.

NDHQ Carling – Are senior DND staff guaranteed parking spots?

John Fedup said:

Unfortunately another example of how hopeless procurement is. DND has had 8 years to figure out how to accommodate their 9,200 employees parking needs at their new location which is poorly served by mass transit. Surely a couple of multi level parking buildings could have been constructed by now to solve this issue. BTW, this location was the former site of NorTel, so the tradition of creating a cluster &uck continues on apparently.

NDHQ Carling – Are senior DND staff guaranteed parking spots?

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Just to be clear though John, Public Servants are NOT guaranteed parking spots as part of their job descriptions. There is a bus route 101 that serves that location, and additional routes are being added. Also, employees will be given priority access if they car pool. Finally, DND made it very clear up front to the first batch of employees that parking was not guaranteed, and that there were not enough spots to allow for single driver vehicles once the full contingent of 10000+ employees was on site.

How do I know this? My wife works at the Carling Campus. She's simply going to adapt to the new rules by driving to a local park-and-ride lot (which is free for bus riders) and taking the bus from there to work.

This is an example of someone bitching to the local press who jump on every opportunity to criticize the military without doing some basic fact checking first.

The article specifically mentions that the location is poorly served by transit. Promises of improved service are likely as worthless as the TTC’s promises here in Toronto. Waiting for buses during a cold Ottawa winter is a pretty good incentive for a career change to an area with better commute options IMHO. Again, why not build some multi level parking garages? As for parking guarantees, no that isn’t normal but when an organization makes a move, all sorts of factors have to be considered and certainly workforce stability is a factor. High value employees that don’t get parking permits are likely the ones to move on, the last thing DND needs at the moment.

John Fedup said:

The article specifically mentions that the location is poorly served by transit. Promises of improved service are likely as worthless as the TTC’s promises here in Toronto. Waiting for buses during a cold Ottawa winter is a pretty good incentive for a career change to an area with better commute options IMHO. Again, why not build some multi level parking garages? As for parking guarantees, no that isn’t normal but when an organization makes a move, all sorts of factors have to be considered and certainly workforce stability is a factor. High value employees that don’t get parking permits are likely the ones to move on, the last thing DND needs at the moment.

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Taking a bus is a fact of life in Ottawa. The vast majority of public servants do. I take one every day from Kanata to downtown, and I work for the government. I take the bus because it is cheaper than having to pay for a parking spot (yes, I have to pay for a parking spot - no guaranteed spot for me either), I save wear and tear on my vehicle, and I can get caught up on e-mails and such on the commute. Is it unpleasant when it is minus 20? Sure. But by and large it's a convenient and inexpensive method of transportation. Also, my experience with OC Transpo is they are very responsive to requests for better service, and they have publicly stated that they are working with DND on this issue. In addition, the city has recently announced that Phase 2 of the light rail will run right out to Moodie Drive, which is just up the road from the Carling Campus. This will be in place by 2023, so there are definitely things being done to address this "problem". With regards to multi-level parking structures, who would pay for these, and given parking is not a 'right" for government employees, what is the incentive? Finally, if DND loses employees because they don't want to take the bus to work, I would argue their commitment to DND was pretty suspect to begin with.

Future Fighter tender to be released next month: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/fighter-jet-saab-airbus-boeing-lockheed-martin-1.5096811

Don’t want to stay OT too long but I agree quality transit is a great option for most. The problem is”quality”. My phone gets constant alerts from my TTC app listing service problems, many of them subway related switch problems where the lines run above ground. From what you say, the situation appears to be better in Ottawa or will be shortly.

Parking garages should be an option and users have to pay. The incentive is providing all options for your employees. Happy employees are more productive, especially considering the looming fighter tender which will no doubt be a depressing exercise. The prospect of a minority government I fear won’t make this a a smooth process.

John Fedup said:

Unfortunately another example of how hopeless procurement is. DND has had 8 years to figure out how to accommodate their 9,200 employees parking needs at their new location which is poorly served by mass transit. Surely a couple of multi level parking buildings could have been constructed by now to solve this issue. BTW, this location was the former site of NorTel, so the tradition of creating a cluster &uck continues on apparently.

NDHQ Carling – Are senior DND staff guaranteed parking spots?

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A former employer of mine paid a bus company to run buses to its new HQ. Apparently, it was cheaper than providing parking for everyone.

swerve said:

A former employer of mine paid a bus company to run buses to its new HQ. Apparently, it was cheaper than providing parking for everyone.

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That's a brilliant solution. Too bad it would likely take a decade for our procurement people to award a contract to a bus company. Still faster and cheaper than building a parking facility though.

Funny thing is, it was only considered because the local council was worried about traffic congestion & demanded the company come up with a solution as a condition of planning permission. When they looked into it, they realised they could save money. A few years later I was working for the same firm at an office in another town - & they had a bus shuttle from the nearest railway station, & a small annual payment to everyone who declined an on-site parking permit. Cheaper than providing enough parking for everyone.

Of course, that could be different in another location. Land prices & driving distance would make a difference.

This article hypes the SH as a viable alternative to the F-35 as stealth is no longer the primary feature. From a USN perspective, the SH block 3 version is a decent addition to the USN aviation fleet but only because it will also have F-35Cs and the USMC’s F-35Bs for missions requiring Lo observability. As the RCAF will only have a single fleet of fast jets, the SH is not a viable choice. The SH will not be viable 30-35 years from now, the F-35 hopefully still will be, certainly more than a 4th + fighter..

ANALYSIS: Super Hornets find place in stealth fighter generation

Would Canada think its in its best interest to join either of the two European concerns who are in the process of getting partnerships for the development of a sixth generation fighter ?