The government of new Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to fulfill a campaign promise and to cancel his government's 65 plane order for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The F-35 was to replace Canada's aging fleet of 138 CF-18 Hornets.

The main reason for dropping the plane is its cost, which has been reported to Canadian taxpayers at somewhere between $175 million (the cost quoted by Trudeau's Liberal Party) and $75 million (the cost quoted by Lockheed Martin.) The F-35 was also expected to cost Canada $44 billion dollars over the plane's 42 year expected service life, with an hourly operating cost of about $33,000 per hour.

Whatever the cost, a new fighter competition is certain and the contract will go to another plane. Let's look at some possible contenders.

Flickr/Ronnie Macdonald

1. F/A-18E Super Hornet

The first contender is probably the front runner: the F/A-18E Super Hornet. A larger, improved version of the original Hornet, the "Super Bug" includes airframe radar signature reduction, the Raytheon APG-79 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, two General Electric GE F414-GE-400 turbofan engines, and infra-red search and track (IRST) for air to air combat. The Super Hornet would also have full commonality with Canada's current arsenal of modern American weapons, including the AIM-9 Sidewinder, AIM-120 AMRAAM, AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon, and JDAM satellite-guided bombs.

Other factors make the Super Hornet attractive. Having two engines would be preferable to a single engine, especially during long flights over the Canadian tundra when an engine might suddenly fail. The Super Hornet will also have a high level of familiarity for aircrews, especially with regards to the engine, which is merely an enlarged version of the CF-18 engine. Finally, at $16,000 to $17,000 , the Super Hornet costs half as much to operate per hour versus the F-35.

The Super Hornet is estimated to cost $75 to $85 million per plane—equal to or slightly more than the builder's estimate for the F-35.

Flickr/User Airwolfhound

2. Dassault Rafale

The second candidate to replace the F-35 is the Dassault Rafale. Developed in the 1980s as a replacement for France's Mirage 2000, Rafale has kept current with a steady stream of upgrades. Like the F-35 and Super Hornet, there are both land and carrier-based versions. Rafale is also a twin-engine aircraft, and although its SNECMA engines produce less thrust, the aircraft weighs less the Super Hornet and has a higher thrust to weight ratio, allowing it to cruise at Mach 1.4, above the speed of sound.

Much of the Rafale's electronics are roughly comparable to the Super Hornet. Rafale also has an AESA radar and IRST capability , though there are bound to be performance differences. One arguable downside to the Rafale is it would lock Canada into the world of French air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons. While the Super Hornet could use legacy weapons, including air-to-air missiles, left over from the CF-18, Rafale would require new air-to-air missile such as the MICA, Storm Shadow and Apache cruise missiles, and Exocet anti-ship missiles. Only Canada's GBU-12 Paveway laser-guided bombs would still be compatible with the new aircraft.

While Rafale is a good plane, it's not a cheap plane. In May, Qatar signed a deal for 24 Rafale fighters for a jaw-dropping $291 million per plane. This high cost is includes missiles, pilot and ground crew training.

In terns of cost per hour to operate, at $16,000 per hour Rafale is comparable to the Super Hornet.

Flickr/Milan Nykodym

3. Saab JAS-39EF Gripen

A third option for Canada is to go Swedish and adopt the Saab JAS-39E Gripen fighter. Like the previous planes Gripen is a child of the '80s that has been continuously upgraded, and Canada would likely pursue the latest -E version. Still in development, Gripen-E ticks off all the key boxes, with an Raven AESA radar and Selex IRST.

Gripen-E is a much smaller plane than the F-35, Super Hornet or Rafale. The aircraft is powered by a single General Electric F414-G, a version of the engine used in the Super Hornet. Small and light with a powerful engine, it has the highest thrust to weight ratio of the three planes, meaning it can supercruise at Mach 1.2. Downsides include a the lack of stealth and a relatively short combat range. A single engine isn't ideal given Canada's expanse, but it's worth pointing out the F-35 had a single engine also.

Gripen's weapons loadout is a mixture of American and European, with a choice of Sidewinder or IRIS-T missiles, AIM-120 AMRAAM or MICA missiles, and drop the same GBU-12 Paveway laser-guided bombs. Pretty much all the weapons employed by the CF-18 Hornet could be employed by a Canadian Gripen.

Cost per aircraft for the current version of Gripen is approximately $85 million. It's bit steep for a single engine plane, but if Canada is concerned about long-term affordability there Gripen might well come out on top, as current versions cost a mere $7,560 dollars per hour to operate. How much Gripen E will cost per hour is still unknown.

Canada's refusal to buy the F-35 doesn't mean it won't buy a good aircraft. If Canada is willing to make concessions on performance—chiefly stealth technology—in the name of savings it can still end up with a very capable fighter. Whether that fighter is American, French or Swedish remains to be seen.

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