FILE - In this March 7, 2007, file photo, the Israeli army Heron TP drone, also known locally as the Eitan, flies during a display at the Palmahim Air Force Base. The Canadian Forces used the surveillance drone in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, File)Ariel Schalit/The Associated Press
Challenging the orthodoxy isn't typically encouraged in large organizations, so when it happens, a minor celebration is in order. General Jonathan Vance, the country's top soldier, is reimagining the future of the Royal Canadian Air Force – and that may include fewer fighter planes, but more drones.
The Chief of the Defence Staff deserves plaudits for stepping outside the usual sandbox as he prepares a wide-ranging defence policy review. At a Senate committee this week, he suggested it will look at the possibility of a significant shift toward unmanned aerial vehicles, specifically long-range drones capable of carrying weapons. They could provide a versatile option for everything from surveillance, to search-and-rescue operations, to full-fledged military campaigns in places like Iraq and Syria.
Acquiring them could reduce or even eliminate the need for an expensive program to replace Canada's aging CF-18 fighters. At the very least it implies the possibility of a smaller-scale one.
The Canadian Forces already own a few small drones and have been thinking about acquiring more for some years; UAVs are de rigueur. It can be argued Gen. Vance is simply hewing to a newer military dogma.
These days, modern conflicts are rarely waged between fighter jocks in supersonic jets engaging in aerial dogfights. Nor are high-cost fighter aircraft necessarily what's needed for handling a lot of what Canada's air force does, things like northern sovereignty patrols and maritime reconnaissance. The fighter program is comparatively small.
There is growing evidence that the next generation of combat aircraft will be unmanned, for reasons of technology and cost. Sophisticated drones aren't cheap – they can run in the tens of millions – but they are a bargain when compared to, for example, the controversial F-35 strike fighter.
That plane has been plagued with technical hiccups and rampaging cost overruns, and the previous Conservative government rightly shelved plans to acquire it. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ran on a promise to find cheaper alternatives.
In the end, cabinet may opt to splash out for one last fighter fleet. The good news is it won't be because the senior defence leadership is entirely wedded to old ideas.