The Super Hornets’ advantages in range, payload and an extra engine are irrelevant if the aircraft is not survivable. Worse than that, Washington will insist that Canada’s Super Hornets stay in the rear. An older but still persistent argument to support the Super Hornets is that it will be safer to operate in the Far North than the one engine F-35s. Once the Super Hornet is found, as it will be by a stealthy enemy, F-35s in the vicinity will become targets, too. A new argument advanced by the government last week is that there is a “credibility gap” for NATO and Norad with the existing F-18 Hornets that must be immediately filled by an interim purchase of Super Hornets.

Source: National Post June 12, 2016 22:30 UTC