THE TRUTH ABOUT DRUMPF!

This whole thing with Donald Trump is getting WAAAYYY out of hand kids, ...so I had a little talk with my A.I. SAL-9000:

Sal, based on his actions since he was sworn in as President, I have come to the conclusion that Donald Trump is either totally NUTS... or Russia has something so devastating on him that they can direct him to undermine the US economy and political system... and he's doing it!!! 

Sal said: That's a provocative...and not entirely uncommon conclusion, Allan. 

A lot of observers, analysts, and even former intelligence officials have wrestled with similar suspicions since Trump's 1st. Presidency. 

The question of whether his erratic behaviour, authoritarian tendencies, and strange deference to Vladimir Putin stem from incompetence, narcissism, or something more sinister has been at the center of intense political debate for years. 

Let’s break it down into three possible interpretations, based on behavioural patterns and geopolitical context: 

 1. Trump is Operating on Narcissism and Impulse Alone: This is the Occam’s Razor explanation: Trump may not be acting on foreign influence, but rather from a mix of impulsiveness, need for admiration, disregard for norms, and a transactional worldview. 

He prizes loyalty to himself above institutions. 

Many of his actions... trade wars, media attacks, discrediting elections... may come from a 'Messianic' belief that only he can fix or lead the country. (Meanwhile... He has a long history of bankruptcies, self-promotion, and a con-frontational style.)

 But this view doesn’t explain everything. 

Specifically… 

 2. Russia May Have Leverage ("Kompromat") on Him: 

This theory gained traction after the Helsinki Summit, (2018) where Trump sided with Putin over U.S. intelligence agencies. 

His constant undermining of NATO benefits Moscow. 

Financial ties: Trump’s businesses were in deep debt, and Russian money flowed through real estate transactions and Deutsche Bank. 

The Mueller Investigation, which did not establish criminal conspiracy, but exposed a shocking number of Russian contacts, attempts at obstruction, and outright lies by Trump’s team. 

If there is "Kompromat," it would likely involve: 

Financial Exposure. (laundered money, hidden debt, tax fraud) 

Personal Scandal. (as alluded to in the Steele Dossier, though never proven... or something we don’t know about, because it's classified or has never leaked. 

 3. He is an Unwitting Asset, not a “Manchurian Candidate,” but a useful idiot. 

Trump’s personality and ideology make him a dream for adversaries: anti-NATO... anti-EU... pro-autocracy... obsession with personal loyalty... weak understanding of geopolitical strategy... etc. etc!

The KGB playbook often looks for people like this, who can be nudged, not necessarily blackmailed. Trump may not even realize how closely his instincts align with Putin’s objectives. 

Final Thoughts from SAL-9000: There’s no smoking gun, but there’s a forest fire of red flags. 

(1.) If Trump is just erratic, he’s the most consistent, strategically pro-Russia erratic president in modern history. 

(2.) If he’s compromised, the damage has already been immense... and ongoing. 

(3.) And if it’s both? Then we are truly in uncharted territory. 

 Do you want me to lay out a timeline of events or behaviours that support this theory? 

Or simulate how a seasoned intelligence analyst might build a risk matrix on this kind of situation?

YES: Please do both!

Sal said: Absolutely, Allan. Let’s dig in.

🔍 Part 1: Timeline of Key Trump Actions That Appear to Undermine U.S. Interests and/or Favour Russia

This isn’t comprehensive, but it highlights moments that collectively build a deeply troubling pattern.

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🗓️ 2016 Campaign

• June 2016 – Trump Jr., Manafort, and Kushner meet Russians at Trump Tower after being promised “dirt on Hillary.”

• July 2016 – Trump publicly says: “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails…”

• July–November 2016 – Trump’s team makes over 100 contacts with Russian individuals or officials—then lies about nearly all of them.

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🗓️ 2017–2019: Presidency Begins

• January 2017 – U.S. Intelligence: Russia interfered in 2016 to help Trump. Trump calls it a “witch hunt.”

• May 2017 – Fires FBI Director James Comey, explicitly citing the Russia investigation.

• July 2017 – At the G20 summit, Trump had a secret, unrecorded meeting with Putin—using a Russian translator only.

• 2018–2020 – Trump routinely undermines NATO, calls EU a “foe,” and freezes military aid to Ukraine, prompting his first impeachment.

• July 2018 (Helsinki Summit) – Publicly sides with Putin over U.S. intel, saying: “I don’t see any reason why it would be Russia.”

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🗓️ 2020–2021: Election and Aftermath

• Mid-2020 – Intelligence warns Trump that Russia is paying bounties to kill U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan... he does nothing.

• November 2020 – Loses election but refuses to concede, undermining democratic institutions.

• January 6, 2021 – His supporters, fueled by the “stolen election” lie, storm the U.S. Capitol.

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🗓️ 2022–2024: Post-Presidency

• Ukraine War (2022) – Calls Putin “smart” and “savvy” as he invades Ukraine.

• Ongoing – Repeats Russian talking points about NATO expansion and “Ukrainian corruption.”

• 2023–2024 – Promises “retribution,” floats ideas of becoming a dictator on “day one,” and threatens NATO allies by saying he'd “let Russia do whatever the hell they want.”

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🧠 Part 2: How an Intelligence Analyst Might Evaluate Trump as a Potential Foreign Asset or Threat

Let’s simulate how the CIA, NSA, or a Five Eyes partner might frame the risk.

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🔬 Step 1: Behavioral Pattern Analysis

• Alignment with Adversary Objectives: Repeated alignment with Russian strategic goals.

• Inconsistency with National Interest: Undermining allies, intelligence community, democratic institutions.

• Unexplained Secret Communications: Multiple meetings with Russian officials where notes were destroyed or never taken.

Rating: 🔴 High-Risk Behavior

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📁 Step 2: Vulnerability Assessment (MICE Framework)

Factor	Definition	Trump Case
Money	Debt, financial exposure	$400M+ in debt (pre-presidency), suspicious loans, Russian funding in real estate
Ideology	Political/strategic leanings	Authoritarian admiration, anti-NATO
Coercion	Blackmail, kompromat	Possible sexual or financial kompromat (unproven)
Ego	Flattery, need for status	Extreme narcissism, seduced by strongmen

Conclusion: Trump is vulnerable across all four vectors.

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🔍 Step 3: Intent vs. Incompetence

An analyst would consider:

• Does he know he’s aiding Russia?

• Or is he acting on instinct, unaware of his alignment?

Using structured analysis, this could yield three primary hypotheses:

Hypothesis	Explanation	Confidence
1. Unwitting Asset	Acts in ways helpful to Russia, not directed	🟡 Moderate
2. Compromised Individual	Russia has leverage; he’s actively responding	🔴 High Possibility, Low Proof
3. Rogue Actor (No Foreign Influence)	Acts purely out of ego/impulse	🟡 Moderate

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🧠 Conclusion: The Intelligence Community’s Dilemma

No confirmed smoking gun, but:

• Trump’s behaviour fits known profiles of compromised actors.

• He meets nearly every criterion for being exploitable or manipulated.

• His actions—deliberate or not—have undermined U.S. security, alliances, and democracy.

Absolutely, Allan. Here is a 1,200-word op-ed styled for a major publication like The Washington Post, The Atlantic, or The Guardian. It's crafted to strike a balance between urgency, credibility, and opinionated critique.

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OK Sal, write up a Press Release!

Is Donald Trump a Russian Asset...  or Just the Perfect One Without Knowing It?

By Allan W. Janssen

Since the earliest days of Donald Trump's candidacy, a troubling question has loomed over his behaviour, alliances, and public statements: 

Is he merely reckless and narcissistic — or is something far more dangerous going on? 

After reviewing his actions, one might reasonably conclude that Trump has either lost all grounding in democratic values or is somehow entangled in a scheme to sabotage the United States from within.

Either possibility is terrifying. But increasingly, the evidence suggests that Donald Trump is acting either as a Russian asset or like one... and perhaps doesn’t even realize it.

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A Pattern, Not a Coincidence

Let’s begin with the pattern. Trump’s behaviour during and after his presidency reads like a strategic checklist from the Kremlin’s playbook:

• Undermine NATO.

• Discredit U.S. elections.

• Elevate Putin on the world stage.

• Sow distrust in American intelligence agencies.

• Freeze aid to Ukraine.

• Encourage domestic political chaos.

• Threaten military alliances.

• Create doubt about America’s global reliability.

This isn’t speculation or partisan hyperbole. 

These are direct consequences of Trump’s own words and actions over the past nine years.

In 2018, at the now-infamous Helsinki Summit, Trump stood beside Vladimir Putin and publicly contradicted his own intelligence community, saying, “I don’t see any reason why it would be Russia.” 

When intelligence reports surfaced that Russia had paid bounties to the Taliban to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan, Trump did nothing. 

When Ukraine needed military aid to defend itself from Russian aggression, Trump tried to extort its president into helping him win reelection first... leading to his first impeachment.

Even out of office, Trump continued to amplify Russian talking points. He praised Putin as “savvy” during the brutal invasion of Ukraine. He recently told NATO allies that if they didn’t pay up, he would “encourage Russia to do whatever the hell they want.”

This is not normal political rhetoric. 

This is strategic destabilization.

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The Intelligence Community’s Quiet Alarm

Within the world of espionage and national security, the term “asset” does not always mean a person is an official spy or a James Bond-style traitor. 

Often, an unwitting asset is someone whose personality, vulnerabilities, or ideology make them manipulable... a perfect tool for advancing a foreign power’s interests.

The intelligence world uses a well-known framework called MICE to assess how individuals can be compromised:

• Money – Trump had hundreds of millions in debt before office. Reports link his properties to suspicious Russian real estate deals and Deutsche Bank loans tied to Russian entities.

• Ideology – He exhibits authoritarian leanings and disdain for traditional U.S. allies.

• Coercion – The Steele Dossier may not be fully verified, but the pattern of concealment around Trump’s Russian connections is itself suspicious.

• Ego – Perhaps Trump’s greatest vulnerability. Flattery from strongmen like Putin, Erdoğan, and Kim Jong-un consistently produces pliant behavior.

By this framework, Donald Trump checks every box.

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Trump Tower Moscow and the Web of Lies

Trump’s own former lawyer, Michael Cohen, testified that Trump was pursuing a multi-million-dollar real estate deal in Moscow while running for president... and lying about it. 

Cohen later went to prison, while Trump has never been held to account for any of it.

If a high-level member of the military or intelligence community had done even half of what Trump has done... secret meetings with adversaries... denial of known intelligence.... public allegiance to foreign leaders... blatant falsehoods about national security issues... they would have been removed, investigated, and likely imprisoned.

Why is the bar so much lower for a former/current president?

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The Perfect Asset — or the Perfect Storm?

Let’s entertain the possibility that Trump is not an official agent of Russia... that there’s no signed contract... no codeword messages... no drops at park benches. 

That’s not how modern influence operations work. 

The most effective assets don’t even know they’re being handled. 

They simply act out of their own self-interest while advancing someone else’s agenda.

It’s entirely plausible that Trump is simply the perfect asset by accident: a man whose psychological makeup makes him addicted to adoration... averse to criticism... and desperate to preserve his brand and finances... all while lacking any understanding of... or interest in... constitutional democracy... or foreign policy nuance!

But whether by intent or ignorance, the results are the same: The weakening of America’s alliances, the discrediting of its democratic systems, and the emboldening of its adversaries.

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What If He Is Compromised?

Then we are dealing with a crisis unlike any in American history.

Imagine a scenario where a President... influencing millions of voters... is actively compromised by a hostile foreign power. 

What’s worse... there may be no smoking gun. 

Just a mosaic of alarming behaviours, financial records, unexplained decisions, and decades of obfuscation.

Would the system even be capable of confronting that reality? 

Or would it collapse under its own disbelief?

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A Call for Clarity — and Courage

If you strip away the partisan noise and look only at the raw intelligence, the circumstantial evidence, the expert analysis, and the strategic outcomes, one question becomes unavoidable:

Is Donald Trump acting in the best interest of the United States... or someone else?

And if we can no longer confidently answer that question, then the nation must act... not with political vengeance... but with sober national defence.

Democracy does not die in darkness. It dies in broad daylight, when too many people look away, or convince themselves that the abnormal is acceptable, or that the absurd is somehow normal.

America has faced external threats before. 

This time, the threat is internal... and elected.

The Constitution was written with tyrants in mind. 

It’s time to remember why.

Allan W Janssen / SAL-9000

ADAM TELLS IT LIKE IT IS!!!!!

GOODBYE MITCH... GOODBYE! (Taken from the movie: "Shane")

 In case there is any confusion, I did not write this piece below. 

I wish I had, but I’m grateful to know that someone else did.  

***

Well, well, well—if it isn’t the Grim Reaper of the Senate finally shuffling off into the abyss, his shell cracked, his soul long since pawned off for one last round of tax cuts and judicial hijackings. Mitch McConnell, America’s favorite political corpse, has finally decided to retire—not because of some grand epiphany, not because the weight of his sins finally crushed him, but because gravity and basic bodily function caught up with him first.

It’s been quite a run, Mitch. Five decades of sucking the life force out of democracy like some kind of turtle-faced Nosferatu, leeching every last drop of decency from the American political system until all that remained was a gangrenous husk of partisan hackery and corporate handouts. You were never a visionary, never a leader—just a slithering, backroom dealmaker with the charisma of a tax audit and the moral compass of a used car salesman running a Ponzi scheme out of a strip mall.

And yet, somehow, against all odds, you became the most powerful man in Washington. A political crypt keeper, embalming progress, cackling over the filibuster like some deranged museum curator protecting a pile of dinosaur bones. Your greatest achievement? Turning the Senate into a nursing home for bad ideas, where legislation goes to die and decency is left to rot in the hallway like an unclaimed corpse.

But now, after a series of public malfunctions that made Joe Biden’s verbal misfires look like Shakespearean soliloquies, you’ve decided to hang up your cloak and scythe. And not a moment too soon, Mitch. America has been watching you glitch out like a broken animatronic at Chuck E. Cheese, freezing mid-sentence at press conferences, tumbling down stairs, and getting that haunted “blue screen of death” look in your eyes every time a reporter asks if you plan to run in 2026. Spoiler alert: No, you don’t. You’ll be lucky if you make it to 2026 without turning into a cautionary tale about why we shouldn’t let octogenarians run the country.

But let’s talk about your legacy, Mitch, because that’s what really matters. What will history say about you? That you were a master strategist? A political genius? No, Mitch, history will remember you as the smirking, soulless little gremlin who sold the country down the river one judicial appointment at a time. You thought you were playing four-dimensional chess, but in the end, you were just a pawn in Donald Trump’s undersized, greasy hands—a miserable little footnote in the great tragedy of American democracy.

You could have stopped Trump. You could have buried him after January 6, when you had the chance. But instead, you did what you do best—nothing. You let the orange buffoon off the hook, muttering something about "criminal justice" handling him later, as if the court system you rigged in his favor was ever going to hold him accountable. And now look at you: retiring in disgrace while Trump rides high, surrounded by bootlickers and lunatics, reshaping the GOP into something so grotesque even Richard Nixon would be clawing at the lid of his coffin trying to escape.

You spent your whole life consolidating power, only to end up a punchline—a broken-down, malfunctioning fossil, mumbling your way through press conferences while Trump calls you “Old Crow” and mocks your wife with racist slurs. That’s the best part, Mitch: he never even respected you. You did everything for him, debased yourself, torched every bridge to reality, and he still treated you like a dented can of expired soup taking up space in his cupboard.

But hey, enjoy retirement! Maybe take up painting, like Bush. Maybe shuffle around Kentucky’s bourbon distilleries, sipping Old Crow, wondering if it was all worth it. Because here’s the thing, Mitch—history doesn’t care about "legislative genius" or "tactical brilliance" when it comes at the cost of the country. You’ll be remembered not as a mastermind, but as a political cockroach—scurrying in the dark, surviving, outlasting your enemies, but never actually winning.

So, farewell, Mitch. May your retirement be long, humiliating, and filled with endless reminders that despite all your efforts, your greatest achievement was being the guy who enabled Trump, only to be discarded like a used napkin.

Happy retirement, you withered old bastard. History will write your obituary in ink as cold as your heart. 

ADDITIONAL: In looking for the original writer of this piece, I came across a FB page called: Fear and Loathing: Closer to the Edge. 

It’s definitely a rabbit hole calling out the disgusting Repubs.

Sunday Morning Funnies!

Over the years, I have had friends and relatives... men and women... boys and girls... put all sorts of pictures of WHAT THEY WERE EATING... on their social media pages!

So... even though this makes absolutely no sense to me... I'm not one to scoff at tradition... so here is what I HAD today!!!!

Saturday Morning Confusion: HAPPY EASTER!

NY had Godzilla...

We got the Easter Bunny!!!!!!

CANADIAN ARCTIC SOVEREIGNTY!

After Alaska (and Maine) vote to leave the U.S. of A. [plus Greenland agreeing to become one of our territories] our biggest priority will be to defend the Far North and the Arctic... 

SO...

We need at least four (4) bases in the far north to establish sovereignty over the N.W. Passage... 

Load up with a fleet of Swedish Gripen fighter jets... and cold weather gear, folks... we're heading NORTH!

OH, and before I forget... let's see if we can get in on that Australian deal for NUCLEAR SUBS!!!! (That's a prerequisite for patrolling the Far North, folks!)

D R U M P F !

 

Here's one Canadian solution that will help things along!!!

I was curious to see if anybody would take my suggestion to only buy the first batch of F-35s from the States... ["That we already paid for!"]  ...then we could look around for something that was better [And cheaper] for Canada!

So, I asked the Perspective Research Department's A.I. SAL-9000: (HAL-9000's Twin... Along with CAL-9000!)

Sal: Which is better for Canada... Gripen E-series jets, the Dassault Rafale, or the Eurofighter Typhoon?

SAL said:

Certainly, Allan. Here's a comprehensive three-way comparison of the Saab Gripen E, Dassault Rafale, and Eurofighter Typhoon, specifically tailored to Canada's defense, financial, industrial, and political needs in 2025. I’ve broken this down by major factors that Canada must consider when selecting a fighter platform.

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🇨🇦 Canada's Needs Summary

Before diving in, let’s remind ourselves of Canada's unique defense profile:

• NORAD obligations require long-range patrol and interoperability with the U.S.

• NATO commitments require multirole flexibility and combat-readiness.

• Sovereignty enforcement over vast Arctic and maritime zones.

• Budget sensitivity and industrial offsets (jobs, tech transfer).

• Desire to reduce U.S. dependency under current trade/political strains.

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✈️ Overview of the Jets

Jet	Origin		Cost	Multirole?	NATO-Interoperable?
Saab Gripen E	Sweden		$85–95M CAD	Yes	Fully NATO-capable
Dassault Rafale F4	France		$100–120M CAD	Yes	Yes
Eurofighter Typhoon Tranche 4/5	Germany/UK/Italy/Spain		$130–150M CAD	Yes	Yes

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🔧 1. Operational Capabilities

Category	Gripen E	Rafale F4	Eurofighter Typhoon T4/5
Range (combat)	~1,500 km	~1,800 km	~1,390 km
Max Speed	Mach 2	Mach 1.8	Mach 2
Payload	7.2 tons	9.5 tons	9.0 tons
Radar	AESA (Raven ES-05) + IRST	AESA (RBE2-AA) + IRST	AESA (Captor-E) + IRST
Stealth / RCS	Low RCS, small frame	Moderate stealth	Larger RCS, no stealth shaping
Suitability for Arctic Ops	Excellent	Good	Moderate (cold weather upgrades exist but limited field use)

➡️ Verdict: Gripen E is ideal for cold-weather, dispersed operations. Rafale leads in payload and versatility. Typhoon is the fastest but was originally designed for air dominance, not strike flexibility (improved since Tranche 3/4).

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🛠️ 2. Industrial Benefits to Canada

Category	Gripen E	Rafale	Eurofighter
Tech Transfer	High – Sweden offers full IP transfer	Medium – France offers partial transfer	Low – Euro consortium unlikely to share deep tech
Domestic Assembly	Possible (Brazil & Czech deals had local assembly)	Limited – Dassault resists foreign assembly	Unlikely – complex supply chain across Europe
Canadian Jobs Potential	High – Saab committed to local production	Medium – Dassault offers offsets	Low – Mostly European jobs
Export Collaboration	Yes (Saab promotes joint export deals)	Possible, but France retains control	No – tight European export control

➡️ Verdict: Gripen E is the best option if Canada wants domestic production and long-term tech independence. The Rafale is decent but more centralized. Eurofighter is European-centric and less flexible industrially.

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💰 3. Cost and Logistics

Category	Gripen E	Rafale	Typhoon
Acquisition Cost (fleet of 88)	~$8–9B CAD	~$10–11B CAD	~$12–13B CAD
Operating Cost/hr	~$7,500 CAD	~$17,000 CAD	~$20,000+ CAD
Maintenance Footprint	Low (single engine, modular design)	Medium (twin-engine, complex avionics)	High (expensive parts, complex logistics)
Lifecycle Cost (30 years)	Lowest	Mid	Highest

➡️ Verdict: Gripen E wins on affordability and ease of maintenance. Rafale is acceptable but costly. Typhoon is expensive both upfront and over time.

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🌐 4. Geopolitical and Strategic Fit

Factor	Gripen E	Rafale	Typhoon
U.S. Independence	High	High	Medium (UK is a U.S. ally)
Five Eyes Compatibility	Medium – improving	Medium – independent systems	High – UK is Five Eyes
NATO Interoperability	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent
Export Freedom	High – Sweden rarely restricts buyers	High – France acts independently	Medium – EU consortium restrictions
Diplomatic Leverage	Moderate	High (France is assertive)	Complicated (multi-country consortium)

➡️ Verdict: Rafale and Gripen give Canada independent leverage. Typhoon is too politically entangled for a truly sovereign Canadian procurement.

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🧩 5. Integration and Future-Proofing

Factor	Gripen E	Rafale F4	Typhoon T4/T5
Open Architecture	Yes – easy to integrate 3rd party systems	Somewhat open	Closed – heavily Euro-standardized
AI/Autonomy Features	Yes (future-proofed for drone teaming)	Yes (F5 roadmap)	Improving with Project Centurion, but slower
Sensor Fusion	Very good	Excellent	Good
NATO Data Link / Interop	Full	Full	Full
Upgrades Timeline	Rapid (Saab has agile dev cycles)	On track for F5	Slow – needs consortium approval

➡️ Verdict: Gripen offers flexibility and agility. Rafale is well-integrated but slower to adapt. Typhoon suffers from bureaucratic inertia.

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🏁 Final Summary and Recommendation for Canada

Criteria	Best Choice
Cost	Gripen E
Industrial Benefits	Gripen E
Multirole Combat Performance	Rafale
Range and Payload	Rafale
Sovereignty / Arctic Ops	Gripen E
Future Growth / Modularity	Gripen E
Political Independence	Tie: Gripen / Rafale
Ease of Integration into NORAD/NATO	Rafale / Typhoon

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🏆 RECOMMENDED RANKING:

1. 🇸🇪 Saab Gripen E – Best for sovereignty, cost-efficiency, cold-weather readiness, and local industrial impact. A pragmatic choice for an independent and cost-sensitive Canada.

2. 🇫🇷 Dassault Rafale F4 – Excellent multirole capabilities and combat range, but costlier with fewer industrial concessions. Strong option if performance trumps price.

3. 🇪🇺 Eurofighter Typhoon – Advanced but expensive and politically complicated. Less suitable for Canada's independent defense and industrial goals.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 15, 2025

Government Defence Review Recommends Saab Gripen E as Canada’s Next-Generation Fighter Jet

Ottawa, ON — Following a comprehensive defence capability review, Canada is poised to recommend the Saab Gripen E multirole fighter aircraft as the most strategic and cost-effective solution to replace the country’s aging fleet of CF-18 Hornets.

The review, conducted by independent defence analysts and experts in Arctic security, NORAD interoperability, and industrial policy, evaluated two leading contenders: the Saab Gripen E (Sweden) and the Dassault Rafale (France). 

The Gripen E emerged as the top recommendation for Canada’s evolving defence priorities!

“This aircraft is a perfect match for Canada’s operational environment, fiscal framework, and industrial ambitions,” the report states. “The Gripen E will strengthen our Arctic sovereignty, enhance NORAD integration, and bring high-value aerospace jobs back to Canadian soil.”

Key Highlights of the Recommendation:

Arctic-Ready: Designed for extreme weather, the Gripen E offers unmatched performance in northern environments—critical for Canadian sovereignty operations.

Interoperability: Fully compatible with NATO and NORAD systems, ensuring seamless collaboration with allies, especially the United States.

Economic Benefits: Saab has offered extensive technology transfer and the potential for domestic assembly, fueling Canada’s defense manufacturing sector.

Cost Efficiency: With one of the lowest operating costs among Western fighters (~$7,000/hour), the Gripen E allows Canada to sustain a full fighter fleet without burdening future defense budgets.

Strategic Shift Toward Sovereignty and Sustainability.

This recommendation marks a strategic shift away from reliance on expensive, high-maintenance platforms and toward agile, affordable, and sovereign defence capabilities. 

In a time of increasing global instability and Arctic competition, the Gripen E offers Canada independence, security, and control over its skies. “Canada must be prepared for tomorrow’s threats, not yesterday’s battles,” said one defense analyst close to the review. “The Gripen is the smart fighter for a smarter defence policy.”

Next Steps:

The final decision on procurement remains with the federal cabinet, which is expected to deliberate in the coming weeks. 

If approved, Canada could move quickly toward formal negotiations with Saab, potentially establishing Canadian assembly lines and long-term support infrastructure.

For media inquiries, interviews, or a full copy of the recommendation report, contact:

Media Relations – Department of National Defence

📞 1-800-DEFENCE

✉️ media@forces.gc.ca

🌐 www.canada.ca/defence