Tag Archives: Saab

January 27, 2026 · 05:22

What The Actual Fuck

That was the first thought that I had when US Ambassador Pete Hoekstra opened his mouth again. Then again, his lifetime service ends in 1089 days, so Canada survive his term for another three years? So what brought this about? Well, CBC gives us (at https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/norad-canada-us-f35-9.7059800) ‘NORAD pact would change if Canada pulls back from F-35 order, warns U.S. ambassador’ where we see “and would fly them more often into Canadian airspace to address threats approaching the U.S.” what does that flagrantly inappropriate piece of (whatever he is) think he is by violating Canadian airspace without consent of the Canadian government? A case might be made on Changing NORAD, they are usually too busy tracking Santa Claus with their systems, making these systems active one day a year. But to give Canada the setting that we  are given that “Ambassador Hoekstra describes the current defence relationship as “awesome,” but says such interventions by the U.S. military over Canada would increase if Canada does not increase its purchase of F-35s beyond the 16 currently on order.” And the setting that America has any input in HOW MANY and which airplanes come the Seraglio of the United States (their new nickname) is beyond his seat and beyond his entitlement (as I personally see it). So when I see “U.S. President Donald Trump’s ambassador to Canada is warning of consequences to the continental defence pact if Canada does not move forward with the purchase of 88 F-35 fighter jets.” I feel entitled to loosely lose it. Canada is making his requirement known and it is THEIR opinion that the Saab JAS 39 Gripen can do the job as the choice for Canadian defence, that is up to the people who are empowered (in Canada) to do so, not for the White House, or are the losses that the White House enacted over themselves no longer paying for the electricity bill? You know that stuff that is coming from Canada and now comes with a 100% tariff?

In this light I would personally offer the setting that the 88 F-35’s are an option when it comes with a 63.4% discount, but then it would still be up for Minister Mélanie Joly and Minister David McGuinty to give that go ahead, but in no way is there any acceptance that this is up to American Ambassador Pete Hoekstra, or to even suggest that USA planes fly into Canada (without permission) and take optionally seen as hostile actions. And as NORAD is also in Alaska, there is enough time for the Canadian air force to take positive actions before there is an actual issue on United States soil. 

So even as the article in CBC ends with ““That’s crazy. We’re not a threat,” said Hoekstra.” I would like to add “Not we, you are the threat Ambassador Hoekstra” and you better realise that really soon before you run your mouth again in anti-Canadian outbursts, as the selling through threats of buying airlines to counter invasion tactics, it shows the ‘craft’ level of a lousy second hand car salesman and Canada made its choice when it selected the Saab to do the job at  25% of the cost and perhaps it was partially selected because your boss ran his mouth with those ‘51st state’ remarks. So at present there are concerns that the United States needs to sell at least 105 F-35 airplanes to counter the setting of “US Treasury bonds experienced a significant sell-off, with yields on 10-year notes reaching 4.3% and 30-year yields touching 4.9%. This surge in yields, the highest since September 2025, was driven by concerns over potential trade wars with Europe and geopolitical tensions. Foreign investors hold roughly 31% ($9.4 trillion) of US debt, and some European entities have signaled a re-evaluation of their holdings.” It comes with the unconfirmed information from a source that Goldman Sachs had sold over 800 billion in bonds. I only had one source and no validation of this, not with the SEC (who had over 4200 documents of actions by Goldman Sachs), but it might not be easy to find as 800 billion+ implies that the United States and its dollar are pretty much done for, not something you want to herald to the media. And I was ready to reject it, but in comes Ambassador Pete Hoekstra making demands that Canada takes a 100% of the 88 Lockheed Martin dinky toys (could be corgi toys), now that lose statement of sold bonds seems a little too ‘conveniently’ out there. But there is another setting, since when does any government bully its way to the purchase line with an overpriced drone that requires a pilot? So, are you feeling the animosity yet Ambassador Hoekstra? And I am a mere Australian, but that makes me a Commonwealthian and one that stands with its Canadian brothers (sisters too). You seemingly forgot that you are merely boasting towards Canadians, but as it stands you are offending Australians (aka Aussies), New Zealanders (aka Kiwi’s) and the United Kingdom (aka Britons) as well. As such you might want to pick up your book ‘101 ways for being clever in diplomacy’ up again, you might have looked into that in your first year in addressing negotiation, international relations, and conflict resolution. Optionally books given to you by UNITAR, but that is mere speculation by me. 

And perhaps you want to point pout where you can do such a thing as the 11 principles that govern NORAD include (as 6th principle) “No permanent change of station for forces under NORAD control can occur without national authority approval.” Or even principle 11 which gives us “The agreement includes provisions for review or renewal (originally set for 10 years).” When exactly is that renewal due? I might be foggy on this part. So exactly who is in charge of NORAD? We are given “The Commander and Deputy Commander will not be from the same country; appointments require approval from both nations.” So when did you discuss this matter with General Gregory Guillot of the United States Air Force? Or perhaps his deputy (which I personally doubt) which is General Iain S. Huddleston of the Royal Canadian Air Force. And perhaps you might want to refresh my mind on where it stands what flying materials each player brings to the NORAD table. As I stated, I might be foggy on that part and in this the media is no help at all.

But I reckon you know all this because you opened your mouth and as such you would have reviewed the materials before speaking. It might be an incorrect view on the matter but don’t several diplomacy books tell the diplomat to any table prepared for what is to come? Sun Tzu (not a diplomat) tells us that victory is secured through meticulous preparation and strategic calculation before a battle begins. And as you entered that field speaking, I gathered that you would have been prepared for that and as such you would have familiarised yourself with the doctrine of NORAD. Was I right?

So you all have a great day and as I stood up for my Canadian brethren (sisters too) I feel great and I am now 150 minutes from breakfast, so I feel good. Especially as I feel the urgent urge for coffee at this time.

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November 26, 2025 · 06:48

When one domino falls

That is always the case, isn’t it? For completely unrelated settings, one tends to dump over the other one. It isn’t fair, it doesn’t always make sense, but there you have it and whilst several players reported on it, I was pushed into motion by the Army Recognition story giving us “Canada is reexamining its plan to buy 88 F-35A fighters after Sweden used a royal state visit to promote a Gripen E or F production and R&D hub in Canada. The debate now pits industrial and political incentives against warnings from former RCAF leaders that a mixed fleet could dilute combat power and strain a tight defense budget.” It comes from the article ‘Canada Reconsiders Full U.S. F-35A Fleet As Swedish Gripen-E Fighter Offer Gains Ground’ which we see (at https://www.armyrecognition.com/news/aerospace-news/2025/canada-reconsiders-full-us-f-35a-fleet-as-swedish-gripen-e-fighter-offer-gains-ground) it isn’t merely about Swedish precision (Hasselblad is a great example), but the American administration is rearing its ugly head in a few nasty ways. There was the massive setting on the Ukraine peace plan, which according to some (unreliable sources) was delivered in Russian on a napkin, then there is the Epstein files, which first never existed, then it was a Dem Socratic hoax and now (source: the guardian) ‘US justice department renews request to unseal Epstein grand jury materials’, so the DoJ had to renew its request? This happens with “The justice department has renewed its request to unseal grand jury materials from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation that led to the disgraced financier’s federal indictment on sex-trafficking charges in 2019.” And with the actions of Ambassador Pete Hoekstra  actions in Canada. These matters all influence what is happening and with ‘Hoekstra hints F-35 deal could impact stalled U.S.-Canada trade talks’ (source: CBC) the Canadians have had enough and with the lingering ‘51st state’ comments from all over the place (mostly from America)  the entire setting of $20.2 billion is about to be thrown out of the window. And would you know it, the Gripen is cheaper, has a better Arctic track record (it tends to get really cold in Calgary and Winnipeg) and it is NON-AMERICAN and whilst PM Carney is making deals all over the globe and the 2 deals with the UAE and India setting the investment score for Canada at 125 billion. That is money not going to America, merely Canada and now they also lose out on 20 billion to their defense industry. Loss upon loss upon loss. How long can America pretend that it was no big deal? 

So while we read “Canada’s fighter replacement program, long anchored on an order for 88 F-35A Lightning II jets under the Future Fighter Capability Project, has entered a new and politically charged phase, as reported by Newsweek. During a state visit to Ottawa by King Carl XVI Gustaf, Swedish officials and Saab executives pressed a structured proposal to meet part of Canada’s requirement with Gripen E or F aircraft assembled in the country, tied to sizable job-creation and technology transfer promises. According to those familiar with the discussions, the idea of a dual fleet is now being floated just as former Royal Canadian Air Force officers publicly urge Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government not to trim the F-35 buy or introduce a second fighter type that would require separate training, infrastructure, and logistics.” This makes me wonder the ‘financial position’ of these FORMER officers. Wouldn’t ask that question? I am also wondering why they became former officers, but that is me because I do not know these people and I question everything. I reckon that Lockheed Martin might be worried when they lose 20 billion, making the deal with Saudi Arabia almost essential to make a living (an exaggeration for sure).

But the story from the Canadian side is whether the Gripen can uphold keeping the Canadian air-force competitive enough over Canadian sky. I tend to think yes, but then I am not a pilot and I never flown a jet, I merely watched Tom Cruise do so. My biggest flight setting was using the bar on a jet from Amsterdam of JFK international, so there, not entirely a noob. ;-P

And as Defence Industry Europe gives us ‘Canada considers shifting F-35 order toward Sweden’s Gripen as Ottawa reviews jet procurement’ (at https://defence-industry.eu/canada-considers-shifting-f-35-order-toward-swedens-gripen-as-ottawa-reviews-jet-procurement/) with “Canada has already selected the F-35A to renew its Royal Canadian Air Force fleet and has committed to buying 88 aircraft to replace its Boeing F/A-18 Hornets. Ottawa has allocated funds for 16 F-35s now being built in Fort Worth, Texas, but the remainder of the order appears uncertain amid worsening relations between Canada and the Trump administration”, so Lockheed Martin won’t lose all the dineros, but a large amount is seemingly move towards Sweden and as I see it, Sweden now needs to properly fund two Christmas baskets (nuts that time again). One for President Trump and one for Ambassador Pete Hoekstra for making this possible, expected Hamper shown below.

You see, this all seems clear cut, but I am wondering what this domino will throw over, because that is almost certain happening, especially with the American Ambassador throwing his accusations in the air. He might be claiming that Canadians are meddling in American politics, but they started the ‘51st state’ claims and the next Canadian step might be even less nice, Canada now have options especially when they are gaining so much ground in revenue, investments and manufacturing options (aka jobs). All these parts never involved America (other than making them no longer part of any equation), so what is next? I see options in possible ammunition replacements for the entire Defense industry. Jets and ships might make the news for the larger amounts, but the steady stream of revenue that ammunition brings could also fall to other places (like the UK), so what will that cost America?

Have a great day, I am now 83 minutes removed from the upcoming breakfast and there is a subtle hint hidden in that part too.

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November 17, 2025 · 17:07

Is it one or the other?

That is the question I had today/this morning. You see, I saw a few things happen/unfold and it made me think on several other settings. To get there, let me take you through the settings I already knew. The first cog in this machine is American tourism. The ‘setting’ is that THEY (whoever they are) expect a $12.5 billion loss. The data from a few sources already give a multitude of that, the airports, the BNB industry and several other retail settings. Some give others the losses of 12 airports which goes far beyond the $12.5 billion and as I saw it that part is a mere $30-$45 billion, its hard to be more precise when you do not have access to the raw numbers. But in a chain trend Airfares, visas, BNB/hotels, snacks/diversities, staff incomes I got to $80-$135 billion and I think that I was being kind to the situation as I took merely the most conservative numbers, as such the damage could be decently more. 

This is merely the first cog. Second is the Canadian setting of fighters. They have set their minds on the Saab Gripen s such I thought they came for

Silly me, Gripen means Griffin and a Hogwarts professor was eager to assist me in this matter, it was apparently 

Although I have no idea how it can hide that proud flag in the clouds. What does matter that it comes with “SAAB President and CEO Micael Johansson told CTV News that the offer is on the table and Ottawa might see a boost in economic development with the added positions. The deal could be more than just parts and components; Canada may even get the go-ahead to assemble the entire Gripen on its soil.” (Initial source: CTV news) this brings close to 10,000 jobs (which was given by another source) but what non-Canadian people ‘ignore’ is that this will cost the American defense industry billions and when these puppies (that what they call little Griffins) are built in Canada, more orders will follow costing the American Defense industry a lot more. So whilst some sources say that “American tourism is predicted to start a full recovery in 2029” I think that they are overly confident that the mess this administration is making is solved by then. I think that with Vision 2030 and a few others, recovery is unlikely before 2032. And when you consider The news (at https://www.thetravel.com/fifa-world-cup-2026-usa-tourist-visa-integrity-fee-100-day-wait-time-warning-us-consul-general/) by Travel dot com, giving us ‘FIFA World Cup 2026 Travelers Warned Of $435 Fee And 100-Day Delay By U.S. Consul General’ that there is every chance that FIFA will pull the 2026 setting from America and it is my speculation that Yalla Vamos 2030 might be hosting the 2026 and leave 2030 to whomever comes next, which is Saudi Arabia, the initial thought is that they might not be ready at that time, but that is mere speculation from me and there is a chance (a small one) that Canada could step in and do the hosting in Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa, but that would be called ‘smirking speculation’ But the setting behind these settings is that Tourism will likely collapse in America and at that point the Banks of Wall Street will cancel the Credit Cards of America for a really long time and that will set in motion a lot of cascading events all at the same time. Now if you would voice that this would never Tom’s Hardware gave us last week ‘Sam Altman backs away from OpenAI’s statements about possible U.S. gov’t AI industry bailouts — company continues to lobby for financial support from the industry’ If his AI is so spectastic  (a combination of Fantastic and Spectacular) why does he need a bailout? And when we consider this. Microsoft once gave the AI builder a value of a billion dollars and they blew that in under a year on over 600 engineers. So why didn’t Microsoft see that? 600 engineers leave a digital footprint and they have licensed software. Microsoft didn’t catch on? And as we see the ‘unification’ of Microsoft and OpenAI have a connection. Microsoft has an investment in the OpenAI Group PBC valued at approximately $135 billion, representing a 27% stake. So there is a need to ask questions and when that bubble goes, America gets to bail that Windows 3.1 vendor out.

As I see it, don’t ever put all your eggs in one basket and at this point America has all the eggs of its ‘kingdom’ in one plastic bag and it reckon that bag is showing rips and soon enough the eggs fall away into an abyss where Microsoft can’t get to it. The resources will flee to Google, IBM, Amazon and a few other places and it is the other places that will reap havoc on the American economy. So when the tally is made, America has a real problem and this administration called the storm over its own head and I am not alone feeling this way. When you consider the validation and verification of data, pretty much the first step in data related systems you can see that things do not add up and it will not take long for others to see that too. And in part the others will want to prove that THEIR data is sweet and the way they do that is to ask questions of the data of others. A tell tale sign that the bubble is about to implode and at present it is given at ‘Global AI spend to total US$1.5 trillion’ (source: ARNnet) but that puppy has been blown up to a lot more as the speculators that they have a great dane, so when that bubble implodes it will cost a whole lot of people a lot of money. I reckon that it will take until 2026/2027 to hit the walls. Even as Forbes gave us less than 24 hours ago ‘OpenAI Just Issued An AI Risk Warning. Your Job Could Be Impacted’ and they talk about ASI (too many now know that AI doesn’t exist) where we see “Superintelligence is also referred to as ASI (artificial superintelligence) which varies slightly from AGI (artificial general intelligence) in that it’s all about machines being able to exceed even the most advanced and highly gifted cognitive abilities, according to IBM.” And we also get “OpenAI acknowledges the potential dangers associated with advancing AI to this level, and they continue by making it clear what can be anticipated and what will be needed for this experiment to be a safe success” so these statements, now consider the simple facts of Data Verification and Data Validation, when these parts are missing any ‘super intelligence’ merely comes across as the village idiot. I can already see the Microsoft Copilot advertisement “We now offer the copilot with everyones favourite son, the village idiot Clippy II” (OK, I am being mean, I loved my clippy in the Office 95 days) but I reckon you are now getting clued in to the disaster that is coming? 

It isn’t merely the AI bubble, or the American economy, or any of these related settings. It is that they are happening almost at the same time, so a nasdaq screen where all the firms are shown in deep red showing a $10 trillion write-off is not out of the blue. That setting better be clear to anyone out there. This is merely my point of view and I might be wrong to read the data as it is, but I am not alone and more people are seeing the fringe of the speculative gold stream showing it Pyrite origins. Have a great day it is another 2 hours before Vancouver joins us on this Monday. Time for me to consider a nice cup of coffee (my personal drug of choice).

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November 18, 2019 · 12:03

IP in the balance

This weekend, roughly 25 hours ago, the Washington Post released a story regarding the F-35, now there are a few stories about that crazy bird in circulation, yet this one was particularly fetching. The article (at https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/11/16/power-struggle-over-f-fighter-jet-comes-head-lawmaker-threatens-hold-up-contract/) called ‘A power struggle over the F-35 fighter jet comes to a head as lawmaker threatens to hold up contract‘ starts with “the complicated IT system supporting the fleet’s maintenance infrastructure still falls far short of expectations” is an eye opener, but it is not the IT systems (no matter how defunct they are) that is the issue, it is the ownership of certain IP systems in the plane, the patents themselves that are now the issue. It is not “some lawmakers criticized the terms of Lockheed’s arrangement with the government, saying overly generous intellectual property agreements threaten to lock Lockheed into a wasteful long-term profit machine with limited accountability” even though it is certainly an issue that is the setting, no it is “Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) threatened to hold up a multibillion-dollar contract if fundamental questions aren’t resolved” that is the issue, yes having multi billion dollars in sales held up is one part way to go, for some of these buyers with a few billion in their pocket, looking at alternatives will be the coarse course they could be sailing, this gives additional problems for Lockheed Martin and the US government is setting the stage as it has the inner lane in this skating race, the problem for Lockheed Martin is that the opposition they face are Russians (who are coming with the Su-35 and the Su-57), apparently NATO sees the Sukhoi Su-57 as a bit of a felon, so anything can happen. China is coming with the J-31, according to some it is a copy of the F-35 (source: Business Insider) yet it comes without IP and Patent battles, so the copy will be out without a politician stopping production on elemental questions not being answered. In addition, its unit cost is $70 million, whilst the F-35 is between $77 million and $108 million, the cost price of the more expensive version implicitly states ‘including engine‘, so there is that to consider as well.

There is however a more serious note to the F-35 and the Washington Post gets there when we see: “Carolyn Nelson, a Lockheed Martin spokeswoman, said the government is working on a new technical data package that was not a part of the initial F-35 contract, as well as a separate “performance-based” contract for logistics support“, you see the issue we see here is not merely IP and patents, it is the situation where government is yielding the floor to local business. If we accept the mess that the US has made in regards to 5G and Huawei, whilst we accept the words of Alex Younger (MI-6) “Alex is giving us the national need and the premise that another government should not have ownership of infrastructure this important“, something I mentioned in ‘Tic Toc Ruination‘ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2018/12/06/tic-toc-ruination/) almost a year ago. That setting is crucial, as such when you have a national product called ‘Defence‘ why on earth would you let that reside with a global player like Lockheed Martin? I get the idea that the avionics are a bit of a call, yet the IT systems are a larger debate, basically America has large needs with Lockheed Martin, so what happens when the well dries when the US debt becomes a noose around the nations neck? Do you think Lockheed Martin is sitting still? I do not expect that Russia or China ever having a piece of Lockheed Martin, but the UAE, Saudi Arabia? If we take premise to the situation ‘the premise that another government should not have ownership of infrastructure this important‘ the point of view I am taking is a lot less theoretical, is it?

And when we consider: “Air Force estimates that most of a given aircraft’s long-term cost actually comes from keeping it flight worthy. Manufacturers are keenly aware of this, with companies such as Boeing launching whole business units focused on maintenance and repair” we should be wondering why the Air force is striking out, not out like in ‘too bad, let’s try again‘ but in the way that the batsman asks ‘where on earth is the playing field‘, I get it, some jobs are too specific, but is that not the Air force focal point? That in light of the procurement: “the Pentagon has been buying jets in greater quantities in order to get the average price down. They recently finalized a $34 billion agreement that defense officials described as “the largest procurement in the Department’s history.” The deal brought the F-35’s price per plane below $80 million ahead of schedule“, so when you consider that buying 2400 planes (at the very least) got the price down, what math was done on fixing and maintaining these birds? 2400 planes imply 100-250 squadrons, it implies no less than 200-500 repair and maintenance teams, it implies that these people need to be schooled and as they come up short, the move of Boeing starts making sense in a real way, so how much additional costs are involved there? Let’s not forget that the US is currently at minus $23,000 billion (-$23 trillion), we might see the victorious ‘Yohza’ on them reducing the price of a bird, but how much debt, interests and cost of maintenance was seemingly overlooked?

In all this, the Government Accountability Office was seemingly not heard clearly enough, we get this when we consider “the program is having trouble keeping the F-35’s mission-capable, an odd problem for a brand new fleet. The overall F-35 fleet was capable of performing all of its tasked missions only about a third of the time” and that is before we consider the maintenance staff, their training and the setting of spending money before the elements are all adjusted for. So as the article ends with ““if we are missing parts and can’t get our jets airborne, our ability to deliver combat effects on this aircraft is significantly diminished,” said Lt. Gen. Eric Fick, the Pentagon’s F-35 program executive“, I merely wonder what other options were overlooked, that’s fair is it not?

You see when we are considering the upgrades and the adjustment to technical flaws in the hardware, the IT systems become a very real part of it all, oh and any person telling you that the IT is OK and there are not issues, will be my reason to introduce you to a liar. For that you merely have to look at DELL and their setting of laptops, I have had two laptops, both delivered on the same day, and both needing separate upgrades before I got them delivered to their respected users, not different systems, no identical systems! So when we see “we are missing parts and can’t get our jets airborne” in light of software glitches, it becomes a very real thing, the F-35 might be the final straw of short sighted management, whilst asking for the moon. Even as in the past operators like Boeing and Saab decided not to play along in light of bias towards the F-35, we see an evolving matter where they will grasp the events that surround the F-35 as a way to show nations that they have what it takes, in addition, there are outstanding offers from France (Dassault Aviation), it was the initial offer to a much larger degree to train technicians in the fields of service, training and operations that might swing previous missed hits, and no matter how we slice it, Lockheed Martin might be looking at the US as a sole customer soon enough, what a change IP and IT systems can make, even in two-seater planes.

I believe that the over grasp in the 2004-2014 era is now coming back to bite the eager who signed certain agreements. In light of the fact that the F-35 fleet is mission capable only 30% of the time should worry Lt. Gen. Eric Fick a little.

And even as the F-35 might be the odd duck out, the words of Loren Thompson stating “The struggle over IP between the government and defense contractors is likely to go on indefinitely. If you own the information, you can largely shape the future of the system” might be valid in the commercial world, but Lockheed Martin is in the defence world, the rules are a little different there, feel free not to believe me, but in light of The Project on Government Oversight (POGO) and their push to “prevent a future situation like the one now facing the F-35 program — and by extension, American service members and taxpayers“, here we see that the letter to congress by POGO executive director Danielle Brian might become a swing and a Jack, so whilst POGO seeks the optional “It would also allow the government to seek alternative suppliers should the original contractor fail to live up to expectations“, we see more than a victory, the entire Huawei issue might push for this solution, which would make several nations queasy on the F-35 solution they heralded.

The F-35 is showing me the one solution that mattered to the wrong people, it was greed overjoyed and that is about to gain the sunlight and limelight others wanted to keep out of consideration.

 

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