Canada to Spend $5.0Bil on AEW Aircraft

[GR66]

Maybe the time has come to turn Whitehorse into a permanent RCAF base.....

• a squadron of helo's - combined SAR and Transport
• 1/2 squadron to full squadron of new F35's
• 3 of the potentially 6 yet to be purchase E-7's.
• 1 to 2 Polaris or replacements

I'm sure it would do wonders for retention as well. a town of 28,000 (21,000 in the urban area)

 

[KevinB]

Would go a long way in currying favour with the US and adding real assets to the western arctic

And force the GoC to invest in the infrastructure

 

[KevinB]

I'm sure it would do wonders for retention as well. a town of 28,000 (21,000 in the urban area)

I know you are being sarcastic, but if there was both significant infrastructure improvements, as well as some incentives added, I don’t think it would be awful.

 

[Czech_pivo]

I'm sure it would do wonders for retention as well. a town of 28,000 (21,000 in the urban area)

Yes, I hear you and yes it would be a concern. But how do you propose that our airspace be actually defended? The Americans station thousands and thousands of troops in Alaska, don't they?

 

[Furniture]

Yes, I hear you and yes it would be a concern. But how do you propose that our airspace be actually defended? The Americans station thousands and thousands of troops in Alaska, don't they?

There are 730K people in Alaska, there are 45K in Yukon, 44K in NWT, and about 39K in Nunavut. Anchorage has 230K+ residents alone. Alaska and the Canadian north are not the same beast.

The big base in Alaska is outside a city about the size of Victoria, not a place the size of Charlottetown, while still being multiple hours by air from anything else.

 

[Brad Sallows]

Maybe the time has come to turn Whitehorse into a permanent RCAF base.....

• a squadron of helo's - combined SAR and Transport
• 1/2 squadron to full squadron of new F35's
• 3 of the potentially 6 yet to be purchase E-7's.
• 1 to 2 Polaris or replacements

What's the flight time from Edmonton to Whitehorse? Two and a half hours?

 

[KevinB]

There are 730K people in Alaska, there are 45K in Yukon, 44K in NWT, and about 39K in Nunavut. Anchorage has 230K+ residents alone. Alaska and the Canadian north are not the same beast.

The big base in Alaska is outside a city about the size of Victoria, not a place the size of Charlottetown, while still being multiple hours by air from anything else.

But less face it your also 1/10th our pop with more land.

So Anchorage would equate to relatively 23k Canadian, plus our Big Bases are DIV+ sized and a small city in their own.

 

[Furniture]

But less face it your also 1/10th our pop with more land.

So Anchorage would equate to relatively 23k Canadian, plus our Big Bases are DIV+ sized and a small city in their own.

Except amenities and opportunities don't work on population percentages, they work on raw numbers. A city of 230K has more opportunities and amenities than a city of 25K.

Most of the Canadian population lives between Sarnia and Quebec City. An area that has a population density that is close to what much of America has. That means the average Canadian doesn't live in a city of 25K in the middle of nowhere, regardless of landmass.

If the CAF wants to put a full base up there, the bonus we pay will need to be large, meaning less money for other things like jets, ships, artillery, etc...

 

[Czech_pivo]

What's the flight time from Edmonton to Whitehorse? Two and a half hours?

Yes and its 30mins longer than the flight time from Cold Lake to Comox.

 

[Czech_pivo]

Except amenities and opportunities don't work on population percentages, they work on raw numbers. A city of 230K has more opportunities and amenities than a city of 25K.

Most of the Canadian population lives between Sarnia and Quebec City. An area that has a population density that is close to what much of America has. That means the average Canadian doesn't live in a city of 25K in the middle of nowhere, regardless of landmass.

If the CAF wants to put a full base up there, the bonus we pay will need to be large, meaning less money for other things like jets, ships, artillery, etc...

Small price to pay to defend ones Sovereignty, but that's just my opinion.

Maybe we should just sell the North to the US and use the money to plough into our Healthcare System, National Housing Policy, Dental Plan, Livable Wage and no longer have to worry about the 100k people that live in Arctic areas. Sound good?

 

[Good2Golf]

Or one Bombardier Global Express….

…for a 5-year lease…

Thoughts on where these would be stationed? Would they be broken into an East/West coast grouping? East coast - Greenwood and West Coast - Comox?

Dorval…

Correct. Same as the P-8

Technically the E-7 is based on a 737-NG700 with NG800 wings, while the P-8A is based on an NG800 with NG900 wings…

 

[Furniture]

Small price to pay to defend ones Sovereignty, but that's just my opinion.

Maybe we should just sell the North to the US and use the money to plough into our Healthcare System, National Housing Policy, Dental Plan, Livable Wage and no longer have to worry about the 100k people that live in Arctic areas. Sound good?

I'd love to have a well funded CAF with a strong northern presence, but as Alan Jackson says "Here in the real world, it's not that easy at all".

The CAF is struggling to attract and retain people now, if we move thousands up north we will definitely have an even harder time. The better solution is likely to make use of bases we already have, and slightly bolster the FOLs with a few more permanent people to ensure a greater level of support.

 

[GR66]

I know you are being sarcastic, but if there was both significant infrastructure improvements, as well as some incentives added, I don’t think it would be awful.

How are the winters in Virginia?

 

[KevinB]

How are the winters in Virginia?

Bearable

Except amenities and opportunities don't work on population percentages, they work on raw numbers. A city of 230K has more opportunities and amenities than a city of 25K.

So like Pembrooke or Oromocto?

Most of the Canadian population lives between Sarnia and Quebec City. An area that has a population density that is close to what much of America has. That means the average Canadian doesn't live in a city of 25K in the middle of nowhere, regardless of landmass.

True but that other landmass is still Canada...

If the CAF wants to put a full base up there, the bonus we pay will need to be large, meaning less money for other things like jets, ships, artillery, etc...

I'd argue that if the GoC wants to secure Canada, it needs to look way past 2%...

 

[Furniture]

So like Pembrooke or Oromocto?

Pembrooke is 1.5 hours from a city of a million. Oromocto is four hours drive from Halifax, 8 from Montreal or Boston, etc... They also aren't in the land of the midnight sun, with winters that are long and bitterly cold.

True but that other landmass is still Canada...

True, but it's largely unpopulated and can be defended from the air. Unless you're suggesting the RCR need to move to Pickle Lake to ensure Northern Ontario is defended?

I'd argue that if the GoC wants to secure Canada, it needs to look way past 2%...

I don't disagree, but I suspect it won't happen short of a full shooting war between NATO and China/Russia.

 

[KevinB]

I don't disagree, but I suspect it won't happen short of a full shooting war between NATO and China/Russia.

or 18 months after...

 

[KevinB]

meanwhile in the UK

https://twitter.com/x/status/1782808680594808951

https://twitter.com/x/status/1782769618425135130

 

[Czech_pivo]

I'm sure it would do wonders for retention as well. a town of 28,000 (21,000 in the urban area)

Well, Whitehorse is about 25+% bigger than Cold Lake.

 

[Kirkhill]

But less face it your also 1/10th our pop with more land.

So Anchorage would equate to relatively 23k Canadian, plus our Big Bases are DIV+ sized and a small city in their own.

The cost of owning an acreage. Elbow room costs money.

 

[dapaterson]

In the immortal words of Rick Mercer, "We're bigger and we're on top. If we were in prison, America would be our bitch."