Saturday Morning Confusion! Arctic Saab Gripen Defense Map!

 Allan: 

Here are four of the overwhelming reasons to buy the Swedish Gripen that I have not heard addressed: 

Extra cost for the F-35 hangers and storage. 

The fact that the Gripen parts will be readily available if they are assembled in Canada! 

The length of runway required would be much less! (the Gripen can take off on a dime) 

And the biggest area of concern, namely the flying availability when required. For the F-35, it’s about 50 per cent of the time, and for the Gripen it’s over 80 per cent!

Not only that... but the 16 F35's we already bought could be used for NATO work in Europe... and the Gripen spread all over our far north... where they don't need all the expensive infrastructure that the Yankee planes would require!

***

Sal drew a map of Canada, Alaska, and Greenland [After they have been amalgamated with Canada.] and showed me the best places to put the Saab Gripen on military bases to protect the Northwest Passage... since it will become much more accessible in the future with climate change!!

Sal-9000 said: Hello, Allan:

Yup, I remember that scenario—our “Big Canada” with Alaska as the rump and Greenland as the hat, and Gripens watching over the Northwest Passage. 😄

Let me very quickly restate the logic of that basing plan and tweak it a bit now that you’ve mentioned climate change making the Passage much more accessible:

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1. Western Gate: Approaches from the Pacific

Goal: Control traffic coming in via the Bering Strait and into the Beaufort/Chukchi Seas.

• Primary base: Around Anchorage (ex-Elmendorf area)

  • Covers: Bering Strait approaches, Gulf of Alaska, western Arctic routes.

  • Big advantage: existing major air infrastructure, logistics, population, and road/port access.

• Secondary / forward strip: Around Fairbanks / Eielson region

  • Acts as a high-latitude springboard for quick interception into the Arctic Basin.

Role:

• Intercept unknown aircraft and long-range bombers.

• Patrol early legs of shipping coming from Asia trying to use Arctic shortcuts.

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2. Central Arctic Shield: The True Northwest Passage

Goal: Provide overlapping coverage of the key choke points of the Northwest Passage itself.

• Base A: Inuvik region (Western Arctic, NWT)

  • Protects: Western entrance of the Passage, Beaufort Sea, and access routes north of the MacKenzie Delta.

• Base B: Yellowknife or similar latitude site

  • More “rear” support: logistics, training, maintenance hub for northern ops, plus reach into central Arctic.

• Base C: Iqaluit (Baffin Island)

  • Covers: Eastern legs of the Passage, Davis Strait approaches, and shipping transiting between Atlantic and central Arctic.

Role:

• Gripen road-base capability could allow dispersed operations on upgraded Arctic highways / austere runways.

• These three points create a triangular coverage so that any ship/aircraft moving along the Passage is never far from a rapid-response fighter.

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3. Eastern Anchor & Atlantic–Arctic Link: Greenland

Goal: Tie the Arctic defence grid into the North Atlantic and the GIUK gap (Greenland–Iceland–UK).

• Primary base: Thule / Pituffik region (northern Greenland)

  • Deep Arctic reach, radar and space-based integration.

• Secondary base: Kangerlussuaq or Nuuk area

  • More temperate logistics node with strong Atlantic access and mid-Arctic reach.

Role:

• Intercept traffic coming from the North Atlantic into the Arctic and vice versa.

• Backstop NATO-style GIUK-gap monitoring in your alt-history where “Canada+Greenland” is one polity.

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4. How Many Gripens? (Rough Notional Layout)

If we imagine a modest but serious Arctic-oriented force:

• 3–4 Arctic-focused fighter wings, roughly:

  • Wing 1: Anchorage / Fairbanks

  • Wing 2: Inuvik / Yellowknife hub

  • Wing 3: Iqaluit

  • Wing 4: Greenland (Thule + southern node)

Each wing could have:

• ~18–24 Gripens (one full squadron + reserve/OT&E)

• Some air-to-air focus (Arctic interdiction, long-range patrol)

• Some maritime-strike / reconnaissance capability to keep tabs on shipping trying to slip through resource zones.

Gripen’s strengths here:

• Designed for dispersed basing and road operations

• Lower operating costs than F-35, making it more realistic to maintain multiple Arctic bases rather than one or two “gold-plated” ones.

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5. Climate Change Twist

As the Northwest Passage becomes navigable more often:

• You’d see more civilian shipping, some of it shady: flags of convenience, resource poachers, and “research vessels” doing… other things.

• The job of these bases isn’t just intercepting Russian bombers
• It’s also:

• Sanity-checking who’s transiting the Passage.

• Backing up coast guard and navy patrols.

• Showing the flag over newly open waters and resource zones.

Here is the new map, exactly as requested — a clean, simple, horizontal illustration of Canada + Alaska + Greenland merged together, with Saab Gripen bases placed in the optimal Arctic-defense configuration.

Below is the custom version I generated, with your merged geography and my base placements.

(I’ve generated it as a neutral, clean-styled diagram so you can download or reuse it.)

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✅ Custom Map: Canada + Alaska + Greenland + Optimal Gripen Bases

Base Locations Marked

I placed the bases exactly where the defence geometry is optimal:

1. Anchorage / Elmendorf (Western Arctic Gate)

• Controls Bering Strait

• Watching Pacific → Arctic approaches

• Primary rapid-scramble base

2. Inuvik (Western Entrance to Northwest Passage)

• First choke point of the Passage

• Ideal for road-basing Gripens

3. Yellowknife (Central Shield Hub)

• Maintenance + training hub

• Supports long-range patrols north into the Basin

4. Iqaluit (Eastern Gate of the Passage)

• Controls traffic entering/exiting from the Atlantic

• Overlaps with Greenland’s western sensors

5. Thule / Pituffik (High-Arctic Radar + Intercept)

• Deep-Arctic overwatch

• Ties into GIUK security geometry

6. Nuuk / Kangerlussuaq (Atlantic–Arctic Link)

• Maritime patrol support

• Atlantic side choke point

CANADA BORDERS ALMOST HALF OF THE HIGH ARCTIC... SO THIS IS THE BARE MINIMUM STUFF WE NEED TO DO AS A NORTHERN COUNTRY!

Canada wants to make Greenland a Canadian Territory!

Today the Canadian Government opened up a Consulate in Greenland... and they should be promoting Greenland as another Canadian Province. (To keep them out of the clutches of big-bad America!)

While we're at it... Alaska is not joined to the rest of the United States... It's a part of Canada! And Maine sticks a big thumb up the nose of Canada!

SO! We should invite them to become our eleventh and twelfth provinces! (While we're at it, we should annex the Turks and Caicos Islands so that we have somewhere to go in the winter... since the U.S. is OUT!

Maine Senator wants to Assimilate Western Canada!

For those who haven’t heard... about a week ago... a Member of British Columbia's Legislative Assembly... Brennan Day, made public that the American Senator Joseph E. Martin of Maine sent an invitation to all elected officials in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba to join the U.S.A!

A Maine State senator named Joseph E. Martin sent letters to Western Canadian MLAs.  In those letters, he laid out how Canada should join the United States. He said our provinces would benefit under the Great Constitution, and he even explained how ties to Canada would have to be given up... and how Canadians would need to assimilate to become US citizens.

"Maine State Senator Joseph Martin thought he could lecture Canada with a letter telling us how to give up our sovereignty and assimilate into the United States!" 

What he didn’t expect was the response!

By the hundreds, if not thousands, Canadians sent him emails and phone calls calling his letter ignorant, disrespectful, and completely out of touch. 

Many of those powerful messages prove Canadians are standing together!

It wasn’t just Canadians either. 

Citizens from the UK and Germany also joined in... sending their own replies... and showing that Canada has international allies who see right through this 51st state rhetoric and Trump-style annexation talk!

Here's what this guy is suggesting:

Meanwhile, a lot of delusional Canadians are suggesting THIS map!

BUT...

A more realistic map would look like this:

That's right, Bunky... Alaska and Maine should join Canada as our 11th and 12th Provinces... While Greenland and the Turks and Caicos Islands should become Canadian Territories!

***

That would give us 12 Provinces and 5 Territories... which means we would control the top half of North America!

And what about the Turks and Caicos... you ask?

Well... Everyone needs somewhere to go in the winter... and it sure ain't gonna be Florida or Arizona!

Forget Drumpf... We've got a Great Plan for North America!

When you look at a map of the world, it is usually out of proportion... because it's taken from a round globe onto a flat picture... and this distorts the true size of everything!

Here is a Global Map with the right proportions!

 

NOW... Here's North America in the proper perspective!

THEN: We are going to hold a referendum in Alaska and Maine to see if they want to join Canada...! (And throw in Pt. Roberts!)

Then we will approach Greenland and the Turks and Caicos Islands to become two of our territories... (That's a total of twelve Provinces and five Territories!)

***

First of all... even though we have a lot more land than the States... most of it is too damned cold to do any good... so we're all jammed up in the bottom (southern) part... and second... we need the Turks and Caicos Islands for when winter gets to be... 'too much!'

ALASKA AND MAINE SET TO HOLD A VOTE ON JOINING CANADA!

MEANWHILE... 

Greenland and the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean... 

Want to join as territories!!!

Alaska and Maine want to join Canada... and so does Greenland!

Now all we need is for the Turks and Caicos Islands to get on board... so we don't have to go to Florida or Arizona in the winter anymore!!!!!!

M.A.G.A. IS DEAD... LONG LIVE M.A.G.

 Canada has its own version of "Manifest Destiny!"

It's not M.A.G.A... It's MAG. (Maine - Alaska - Greenland!)

As we speak, preparations are being made to hold a referendum in Maine and Alaska to join Canada as our new provinces... and Greenland (and Turks and Caicos Islands) as new Canadian Territories!

This will give us 12 Provinces and 5 Territories!

(We should be holding a referendum later this year... folks!)

Re-Drawing North America!

 O.K. kids... I think I have this all figured out!!!!

For the benefit of both the U.S. and Canada... we here at the "Perspective Research Department" have arranged to have a "REFERENDUM" ballot in the summer... where Greenland is invited to join Canada as a Fourth "Territory" ..and Alaska and Maine become the Eleventh and Twelfth Provinces of Canada!!!! 

Date to follow:

P.S. And remember folks... FREE HEALTH CARE!!!!!

GREAT NEWS FOR CANADA!

 Since we first talked about this last week... it seems as if there is a growing consensus among the citizens of Greenland that becoming a "Territory" of Canada has certain advantages!

First and foremost... the adjacent Canadian Territory of Nunavut is also populated almost entirely with Native Inuit... so we should help to unite them again...!

Second... all the Canadian systems and infrastructure for The Yukon... Northwest Territories... and Nunavut... could easily be expanded by 1/4  to include Greenland! 

AND BESIDES....

Alaska is thinking of jumping in too... as a Province!

P.S. Come to think of it... MAINE should be joining us too!