There’s a story going around that a small design group is pitching a revised design of the Avro Arrow as an alternative to the Conservative’s F35s with its skyrocketing price tag.
it’s an interesting and promising idea, although its not clear that the industry is here any longer to support such a massive enterprise.
Nevertheless, this presents a golden opportunity for an up and coming federal Liberal leadership candidate to champion the idea once more. It was a Liberal government that originally introduced the Arrow, while Diefenbaker’s Conservatives killed it.
The Liberals have been without a grand vision for Canada for a while, and while this one is far from perfect, it would give them something to point to.
(Of course I realise in an ideal world such a fighter redesign should be put through an open bidding process, where the best proposal – in terms of costs, Canadian job prospects, and performance – is awarded on its merits.)
