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Oh totally. But this is kinda the problem. We've taken so long with procurement that technology and doctrine has moved on. Same thing now with GBAD too.

I guess the debate is whether we would have been better off with a Hi-Lo mix of a HALE for domestic surveillance and a low end MALE for the armed reconnaissance mission or our current jack of all solution.

Kinda ties in. Gotta wonder how useful Reapers/Guardians will be when CCAs hit the line and can be controlled from AEW aircraft.

Agreed. Nothing groundbreaking. But doctrinally developed to be substantially part of LSCO. Here's a hypothetical. If we had the SkyGuardians right now, would we be deploying a det to Latvia as part of our EfP? Here's where I have doubts. I think something a bit smaller and thought of more...

I stand corrected. I thought they were pushed to their border agency. But I guess it's the RAAF operating them to assist the border agency. Isn't the Mojave being developed with SOCOM input? In any event, Mojave is closer to this thing (that it is supposed to replace)...

Loved this. By the way cost asymmetry has been a concept for over a decade. And really came to the fore when the Israelis used a patriot missile against a drone that you could probably buy on Amazon. There have definitely been calls to incorporate the idea into doctrinal development. But most...

Requirement: Must be able to communicate with the F-35. Contractor: We are giving you unsecured VHF radios.

They redirected funding to the ASD because they saw a bigger threat and more value in investing in the Cyber domain that building up an UCAS capability that was not survivable in near-peer. And they aren't wrong. What is the point of having drones capable of dropping ordinance if they can't be...

The additional capability wasn't enough to stop Australia from cancelling. The reality is that non-stealthy drones have little value in the current threat environment and if we wanted drones to simply monitor the coasts and the Arctic, we should have bought something larger (more icing...

I don't know where you get this stuff. The company was definitely not the limfac on this project. It was the existing airframe and a willingness to invest on the part of the CAF. Nobody supported substantial upgrades for an aircraft that could be out of service in 7-10 years after delivery.

^ They also do a ton of things because of their defence industrial strategy. The Wedgetail is an Australian designed aircraft that the US is buying at least partly because it's the only option built in the US and available right now. If an AEW competition were to be run today, they'd be using...

This is where I'm at. I think both have merits. I dislike the automatic default idea that it's good just because the Americans bought it.

That's funny. Cause we had a patched ABM on my ASPOC course and his preferred option was something small like the GlobalEye. It was even one of his course presentations. He had experience with the Italian Air Force CAEW and said that would be just fine for the RCAF. And he was on TD from his...

I wouldn't be this pessimistic. Honestly. The RCAF is just in an awkward spot right now. The Griffons are getting old. But next gen rotorcraft aren't going to actually be operational till the mid-2030s. So anything we decide to acquire now, enters service just in time to be obsolete. Agree...

We aren't "wasting time". We need all the potential options to actually enter service and mature. If we get to 2032 and the only option is the V-280 that's what it'll be. But given that the first operational V-280 unit isn't going to be in service till 2031, it's extremely high risk to pull...

I know the history. It's sad that we missed out. I know DAR is gearing up to try this again with either V-280 or NGRC or even the Defiant (if it matures). Hence why we have GLLE to buy us some runway till next gen rotorcraft actually enter service. Hopefully, politics doesn't mess it up again.

It's more than the talent. There's infrastructure and entire supply chains that enable third line and depot level work at Mirabel. Kinda difficult to move that elsewhere. And it's also where our F-35 support is going.

Less politics than the reality that our entire deep maintenance organization for all our fighters are at Mirabel. You'll notice that I've never suggested Mirabel for any other fleet. Also, no big deal for those who wouldn't want to serve there. Post them to another base/fleet. There's...

The federal government is a lot bigger than most companies. And honestly, they actually do have reason to sue or blackball too. The government just never does it, except in the most egregious of circumstances. And this has created a culture of impunity amongst suppliers and contractors.