ALLAN SAID: Sal... Does the new 'Canada's Defence Industrial Strategy' mention the SAAB Gripen E?
- "Build, Partner, Buy" Framework: The strategy prioritizes building equipment in Canada or partnering with allies for intellectual property (IP) transfer. Experts note that Saab's offer to produce the Gripen in Canada is the "very embodiment" of these objectives!
- Sovereignty and Job Creation: A key pillar of the strategy is reducing reliance on the U.S. and boosting domestic high-skilled jobs. Saab has pledged that a Gripen deal would create roughly 10,000 Canadian jobs and include a full transfer of IP, aligning with the strategy's goals.
- The F-35 Review: The strategy's release coincided with an ongoing federal review of the F-35 contract. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly has explicitly cited Saab's industrial offer as a "very interesting" alternative that fits the new strategy's focus on domestic economic benefits.
ALLAN SAID: Sal... When they did a comparison of the F-35 and the Gripen, it was reported to be heavily in favour of the F-35 due to a biased comparison... any truth to this?
SAL-9000 SAID: The claim that the 2021 comparison was biased in favour of the Lockheed Martin F-35 is a central point of contention in Canadian defence circles... supported by recent leaks and expert testimony!
While the official 2021 Future Fighter Capability Project (FFCP) results showed the F-35 "dominating" the Saab Gripen... critics argue the scoring system was structurally weighted to ensure this outcome!
Evidence for Bias Allegations: Critics point to specific areas where they believe the competition was "tilted" or lacked transparency!
Risk Coefficient Penalties: Leaked reports from early 2026 suggest that a "risk coefficient" was applied to the Saab Gripen E because it was a newer platform at the time of evaluation.
Some analysts claim the scores were nearly equal before this penalty was added, which significantly lowered the Gripen's final mission performance rating!
- NORAD Interoperability Requirements: The evaluation heavily weighted "Five Eyes" and NORAD security requirements. Competitors like Dassault and Airbus withdrew early, explicitly stating these terms favored the U.S.-built F-35 by making alternative systems too costly to integrate!
- Post-Bid Renegotiations: Saab Canada has accused the government of breaking its own rules by renegotiating cost and delivery details with Lockheed Martin after the formal bidding period had closed, a move they argue unfairly favoured the F-35!
- Institutional Preference: Former high-ranking officers, such as retired Major-General Charles "Duff" Sullivan, have stated that the Canadian project office has always been "100 per cent in favour of the F-35," suggesting the criteria were written to reflect a pre-existing preference!!!
- Mission Performance: The F-35 scored nearly five times higher in mission performance, largely due to its advanced stealth and sensor fusion, which the military argues is necessary to counter modern threats from Russia and China. (We have 32 of them!!!)
- Sustainment: Surprisingly, the F-35 even narrowly beat the Gripen in "sustainment" (85% to 81%), a category where the Gripen... known for its ease of maintenance... was expected to lead! (Now this is complete bullshit since the Gripen's main feature is operability from many remote locations!)
