I built this a while ago mating a Spiteful fuselage to a Spitfire wing
Very nice, Robert
Some time ago, I did an ur-
Spiteful profile somewhat along that line ...
But for now, some election-day trouble-making ...
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Canada's Future Fighter Capability Project (FFCP) which collapsed in the Spring of 2023. DND attempted to launch a New Future Fighter Capability (NFFC) project without success. After the 44rd Canadian general election (held on 16 October 2023), a major bureaucratic revisions to defence procurement was made. Under those revisions, the AIR 3026 program was begun.
AIR 3026 Phase 1 - aka CSIA/AISC or the Canadian Sovereignty Interceptor Aircraft Program/Programme canadien des aéronefs intercepteurs de la souveraineté - represented a broader contest for a more restricted fighter role. [1] This was one outcome of the 2023-2027 Canada Defence Plan resulting from a majority agreement within Parliament. AIR 3026 moved through to completion with tremendous speed (by previous Canadian procurement standards) but the outcome would prove just as contentious.
Since most modern fighters are designed as multi-purpose aircraft, it proved difficult to find a range of dedicated interceptors. As potential AIR 3026 candidates were winnowed, only one design remained viable - based on performance, availability, and cost. This was the J-20 '
Mighty Dragon' from China's Chengdu Aerospace Corporation (CAC). Incorporating little Western technology, the J-20 immediately raised concerns over compatibility with the aircraft's primary intended role - satisfying Canada's NORAD commitments. The United States government also had ideological 'issues' with the supplier.
Unbeknownst to Washington, the J-20 purchase was actually a component of addressing Ottawa's own concerns about dealing with the People's Republic of China. A previous Canadian government had sign a trade treaty with the PRC - the Foreign Investment Protection Agreement (FIPA) - which compromised Canadian sovereignty in several respects. [2] China was willing to abandon FIPA without penalty in exchange for opening Canadian military procurement - especially shipbuilding - to potential Chinese suppliers. So, the J-20 fit the bill for a new long-range RCAF interceptor while also meeting a pre-condition of escaping from the terms of FIPA.
Enter the 'Dragon - the CAC CF-200 Canuck II InterceptorIn RCAF service, the Chengdu interceptor would be known as the CF-200A
Canuck II. It represented a slightly less capable fighter than its PLAAF equivalent - most notably in lacking the J-20's thrust-vectoring Shenyang WS-15 turbofan engines. Instead, the CF-200 retained the earlier Shenyang WS-10C engines - designated CFM/Shenyang TF-10 in the West. These engines reduce the CF-200's manoeuvrability (and 'supercruise' potential) but these were capabilities seen as non-essential for the Canadian interceptor role.
Equipment for the CF-200 has a mixture of Western and Chinese origin. Examples of retained PRC electronics include the PeDAS (Photo-electric Distributed Aperture System) electro-optic sensors, EORD-31 IR search and track, EOTS-86 EO targeting system, and AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) radar - assigned the JETDS/NORAD designation AN/APG(C)-98C. The most important Western electronics are the MADL (Multi-function Advanced Datalink) network and Link 16 communications system (installed in Canada at US DOD insistance).
From the RCAF's retiring CF-18M fleet, the CF-200 inherited the pilot's JHMCS (Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System), AN/ARC-210 radios, AN/AYQ-9 Stores Management System, and pylon-mounted ACMI (Air Combat Manoeuvring Instrumentation) system. CF-18 330 gallon drop tanks can also be carried on the CF-200
Canuck II's removable wing pylons.
Also carried over from the CF-18M were AIM-120 missiles. Standard load in the CF-200A's main missile bay is four SD-15J long-range BVRAAMs. A shorter-range AIM-120 missile is carried on either side of the main bay (in a smaller, lateral weapon bay) for self-defence. [3] As needed, four wing pylons can be mounted and used to carry weapons (although, as noted above, these pylons are used almost exclusively to carry drop tanks for ferry flights).
Procurement Politics Go Cross-BorderMultiple objections were made to the Canadian purchase of a Chinese-made interceptor to satisfy NORAD. US President Mike Pence went so far as accusing Prime Minister McKenna of personal interference in the procurement process while endangering North American security. European objections to the RCAF abandoning the ground-attack role would ease once Canada confirmed that Land Forces (including upgraded
Leopard 2a8M tanks) would soon be returning to reinforce NATO in Europe. How all this plays out politically, remains to be seen ...
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[1] Plans to fill the NORAD interceptor role while abandoning NATO/Coalition ground attack missions became an election issue in 2023. This decision sprang from choices made by Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Andrew Leslie, Parliamentary Secretary for Military Reform and Procurement.
[2] In official circles, this treaty was labelled the Canada-China Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments Agreement (CCPRPIA). This agreement came to be seen to unfairly favour Chinese investors - including those representing state-owned Chinese businesses.
[3] AIM-120s often form the sole armament on twin-seat CF-200B trainers. On PLAAF J-20s, those lateral bays carry 'short-range' Luoyang PL-10 IR AAMs.