Feds sign $8 billion preliminary contract for new navy destroyers while Parliament sidelined
Feds sign $8 billion preliminary contract for new navy destroyers while Parliament sidelined
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It’s tough for me to understand if this is a necessary expenditure or an excessive waste. On the positive, our allies want us to increase our defense budget and this will definitely put that number up.
It does seem prudent to be able to better patrol our northern waters to guard against internet cable cutting b.s.
I'm hardly an expert, but I think the Navy is in notoriously bad shape, even by Canadian national defense standards.
It is. I would say (in my entirely non-expert opinion) that any naval spending now is worth more than any navy spending later, simply because it gets the ball rolling sooner.
I think we need to have a more robust military, a more resilient supply chain, and more reliable equipment. These frigates have been being planned for a while, dragging it out longer just differs cost, and military capability is built capacity; your military does missions with the equipment is has, not the equipment it will have.
The best time to build these frigates was probably years ago, then we would be in a much better position. The next best time is now.
Are these frigates perfect? Probably not, especially with the newfound unreliability of our historic friend, ally and brother nation the US. Thing is, I don't think there is a perfect solution to this. Plus never let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
Also, we live in a more dangerous world, and Canadian prosperity will suffer. Being a robust partner to our reliable allies and being self reliant on defence will reduce that loss of prosperity. Defence spending should be seen as an investment, or more akin to an insurance policy.
#ElbowsUp
@Grimpen@lemmy.ca
Money would probably be better spent on drone tech—land, sea, subSurface and air. Bigger bang for the buck and the future. Large surface vessels are considerable targets. Tactics have evolved.
@ValueSubtracted@startrek.website @puppinstuff@lemmy.ca
Please arm chair general, let's invest in drones and send you specifically to patrol our northern waterways. I'd like to see you intercept a Russian or American vessel violating our territorial waters with your drones.
I don't say that drones are bad, it's just 2 entirely different tools.
It is very important as we've been lazy with our naval and military procurement ... because America was right next door.
We can't count on them anymore for anything. So it's past time to do it.
Whether or not we buy the F-35s is still up in the air.
I keep advocating for GCAP (Global Combat Air Program), a partnership between Japan, UK and Italy to develop a 6th generation fighter. We can't pull off an Avro Arrow 2: 2Fast2Arrow any more, our domestic aviation industry has atrophied too much. Even if it hadn't, it's just getting too complex.
Joining our more reliable allies, even as a junior partner we can reinvigorate our domestic aerospace industry and get a 6th gen fighter out the back end.
There is a problem, GCAP isn't scheduled to deliver until 2035, so we still need a stopgap. F35 is the most capable, but also most expensive. It's also in progress. I like Gripen personally, but it would mean starting again from scratch pretty much. Granted with a more basic craft, so maybe even faster to upgrade as a stopgap? Past my pay grade, but GCAP seems an obvious way to signal a long term commitment, with very attractive benefits along the path ^(the real 6th generation fighter was the domestic aerospace industry we reinvigorated along the way). Plus it draws us together with more reliable allies.
There is an alternative to GCAP, FCAS (Future Combat Air System), a partnership between France, Germany, and Spain. It seems less urgent, with a scheduled delivery of 2040. Plus it's all EU+NATO, so something about eggs and baskets… although I trust the EU and other NATO countries more than the US right now.