CF-18 replacement possibilities

Not just the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter:

Even though Pentagon officials this week inked agreements with three of the eight Joint Strike Fighter partner nations, two of those countries will continue to examine secondary options to the F-35 [first flight photos at link] in the coming months, international defense officials tell Inside the Air Force...

U.S. and Canadian defense officials finalized terms of the MOU during a Dec. 11 signing ceremony at the Pentagon. Representatives from the U.K. and Australian defense ministries followed suit a day later, ratifying the terms of the MOU during separate ceremonies at the Pentagon and the State Department, respectively.

Noting the effort “has proved to us to be an excellent program [and] an excellent example of international cooperation and collaboration,” Canada’s Joint Strike Fighter program manager, Michael Slack, said his nation is pleased with the final version of the agreement.

“At the end of the day, we reached a consensus on what was going to be required by Canada to operate and sustain these airplanes well into the future,” he said during a Dec. 11 interview...

While echoing the sentiment that preliminary evaluations of the F-35 have shown the aircraft to be the answer to its fighter requirements, Canadian defense officials are also looking at potential alternatives to the fifth-generation aircraft.

“I think that we are going to look at the full spectrum of capabilities to meet future operational requirements,” Slack said in the interview. “If something emerges that turns out to be extremely capable, who knows? I do not have a crystal ball anymore than you do.”

Canadian defense officials are eying the 2012 time frame for a final decision on what platform, or mix of platforms, will replace the F/A -18E/F Super Hornets [well no, they're just Hornets, not "Super" (warning: Boeing site)] that make up the majority [all] of Canada’s fighter fleet.

Production aircraft seen as possible alternatives to the JSF include the JAS 39 Gripen and the Eurofighter Typhoon, along with upgraded versions of the Super Hornet, Col. Dave Burt, Canada’s director for air requirements, said in a brief Dec. 11 interview with ITAF.

That eventual fighter force structure is expected to be transitioned into the Canadian air force between 2017 and 2020, he added.

However, the chances of Canada fielding a mixed fighter fleet are slim, Burt said, adding that the operation and sustainment costs to field two fighter platforms would be too expensive.

“We will look at all options, but from an affordability perspective, that would create significant challenges,” Burt said. “Having a mixed fleet, in relatively small numbers, would be extremely expensive.”

The more likely option would be to select a single fighter aircraft to fill the country’s requirements, he added.