CF-18F Super Hornet

By Barry Snell

Italeri 1/48

In May of 2006, Canada's Federal Government announced yet another program to justify the retention of the few aging Hornets carried on strength at that time by the CAF in lieu of upgrading to any other, newer product. While the Liberals spun an upbeat name, calling their recycling concept The "C-FLEX" Program (for "Canadian Fighter Life EXtension"), the project was quickly dubbed by disgruntled CAF personnel as simply the "Cramps" program. In a measure that had by then become standard operating procedure, the Canadian government chose to finance C-FLEX in part by further reducing the number of operational Hornet airframes down to a mere 49 aircraft across the nation, selling off or salvaging the remainder (within the severe limitations of Canada's agreement at that time with the United States).
 

With the advent of the Second Korean War in 2012, Canada's ability to significantly contribute to the participating UNNATO effort was again in serious jeopardy. While Canadian CF-18A Hornets (which were older than their pilots) did manage to soldier on through the four-year conflict of K2, it was made very clear to the Canadian government that something had to be done in order for Canada's continued, active participation within UNNATO. Korea was seen as the fly-or-fail point for the CAF.
 

While lucrative deals were being offered at the time by SAAB, Sukhoi, and Embraer, in typical fashion, the Federal Liberal Government of Canada again turned to their American allies in 2016 and set about procuring some 57 ANG "SuperHornets" which had long since been superceded in their native forces by F-35's and F-22's. In the fall of 2017, the staggering unit price actually paid for the surplus SuperHornets was discovered to be MORE than that asked by SAAB for their brand-new, sixth generation "Straken" multi-role fighters. Soon thereafter, a report was leaked which revealed that the American SuperHornets being bought by the Canadian Federal Government had been previously slated for scrap salvage by their former American owners. This unwelcome news soon erupted into what become known as "The Picto Scandal" (named after the small Maritime town whose local newspaper had first broken the story to the nation).
 

Many Canadian pundits believe that the outbreak of this staggering story of multi-billion-dollar corruption must definitely be considered among the final blows which lead to the complete demise of the Federal Liberal Party in Canada by 2018. 

Of the 35 SuperHornets accepted by Canada to the time that the Picto Scandal was exposed and further transfer of title was terminated, Canada remains saddled with some 28 operational airframes such as the "Lynx" Squadron example shown here. In what is perhaps an ironic twist of
fate, the availability of maintenance parts for the aging, controversial Canadian SuperHornets is currently limited to a single, exclusive MDD licensee: Aero-Sinanju of Korea.