While 16 F-35 fighters remain contractually committed for delivery starting this year, the full 88-jet procurement is stalled amidst trade friction with the Trump administration.
Rising program costs—now estimated at $30 billion—have reopened the door for Saab’s JAS 39 Gripen E.
The Gripen offers superior industrial benefits, including 12,600 domestic jobs and Arctic-optimized maintenance.
Ottawa must now balance the F-35’s unmatched NORAD interoperability against the Gripen’s economic sovereignty as the aging CF-18 Hornet fleet reaches its structur

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[–] Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works 1 points 6 hours ago

Air combat superiority will do only if you're still beyond missile range at that point. Otherwise the other side also shoots back a long range missile at you, and it's likely to end in mutual destruction. And even if it's not, you revealed yourself, so better not be outnumbered. That reduces the usage in air combat.

This simply isn't true. Long range air to air missiles have to lock onto a radar return. The enemy might be aware that you've launched a missile at them, and that might tell them where you are, but it doesn't give them a missile lock on you in return. If your stealth is better than their detection, return fire becomes significantly less likely to be able to accurately target you before your missile hits.