[Bruce_the_vii]

A reasonable post, thank you. The sticker price on these Cadillac equipment purchase is amazing. The Chinooks are $326 million each over their life time. Isn't there a limit?

My own idea is to invest in something that future government will be likely to deploy. We need to carry our weight rather than be equiped for all situations.

I don't see much mention of smart bombs, drones and cruises missiles. These could cripple a modern economy very quickly and are a future threat.

[Gunnair]

I would also like to see more discussion on drones like Predators.

[Canadian_Mind]

Bruce_the_vii Bruce_the_vii:

A reasonable post, thank you. The sticker price on these Cadillac equipment purchase is amazing. The Chinooks are $326 million each over their life time. Isn't there a limit?

I don't understand why what was old tried, tested, and true kit, can end up costing so much over it's lifespan. Can someone more knowledgeable explain that one to me?

[EyeBrock]

Come on CM.

Kit get's bought, pilots, techies, loggies, have to be trained.

Bits wear out, people leave the job, we have to train new people to fly the kites, bits wear out etc.

It all adds to the operational cost of an aircraft's life.

[Canadian_Mind]

Oh I understand that, but how does it lead to $365 million over the life of a single helicopter? It's not like each individual airframe has it's own set of techs babysitting the thing, they aren't Seakings.

[EyeBrock]

Wages, hangars, infrastucture, etc.

Aircraft need a nice cosy home. Our CF18's have one as in the 9 years the Army have been in Afghanistan, they haven't ventured further than Bagotville or Cold Lake.

[bootlegga]

EyeBrock EyeBrock:

Come on CM.

Kit get's bought, pilots, techies, loggies, have to be trained.

Bits wear out, people leave the job, we have to train new people to fly the kites, bits wear out etc.

It all adds to the operational cost of an aircraft's life.

Don't forget that when you only buy a few airframes (4 C-17s, 16 Chinooks, etc), we don't get the economies of scale that we did in the past when we bought several hundred fighters or helicopters.

[EyeBrock]

True but a C17 can lift the equivalent of 5-6 C130's payload, faster and further. Plus it can handle basically just about any bit of kit with wheels or tracks that the CF have.

The Chinooks can also lift 10-15 times the payload of the Griffon's we currently have in Afghanistan and carry 50+ troops compared to the 8 (at a push) troops the Griffon can carry in ideal situations, as in at sea level. Khandahar is 3300 ft above sea level.

Few airframes that can do a lot more than the aircraft they replace.

[bootlegga]

I'm not denigrating their capabilities EB, I'm saying that when you support 4 airframes instead of 20 or 50 or 100, you don't enjoy economies of scale in your operations - meaning upkeep, maintenance, etc cost more per unit.

[EyeBrock]

Agreed, but the upsides are that these aircraft require far less aircrew and support crew to move/lift what 5 or 10 of those aircraft they replaced needed.