The CF-188 symbolizes the reliance on the United States for just about everything in Canada.

Canada’s government was caught unawares by the Trump administration’s peculiar—yet very real—push to absorb the land of the Maple Leaf into America’s union. Upon their meeting at the start of Trump’s second term, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau complained that President Donald Trump’s attempt to renegotiate trade deals with America’s neighbor to the north would collapse the Canadian economy, since so much of Canada’s economy required U.S. trade.

That complaint prompted Trump to posit the notion that Canada should simply become America’s 51st state, if Ottawa is so dependent on unfair trade with the United States.

Since that initial meeting, Trudeau has repeated that Trump was serious. In response, members of Canada’s government, both at the provincial and the federal level, have called for Canada to take more proactive steps to stand up their declining nation against their American neighbors. But, in many cases, the Canadian government (and their economy) is simply not up to the task.

The Royal Canadian Air Force is a Mess

Just look at the Royal Canadian Air Force. Their primary warplane is the CF-188 Hornet, commonly referred to as the CF-18. That plane is itself a derivative of Boeing’s fourth-generation F/A-18 Super Hornet. Waiting in the wings, if you’ll pardon the expression, is Lockheed Martin’s fifth-generation F-35. These are both entirely American military warplanes. Until the F-35 is fully stood up, the Canadians are maintaining the CF-188 as the primary warplane of their tiny air force.

Yet the CF-188 is well beyond its prime, and the Canadians lack sufficient numbers of these birds to even put on a believable show of deterrence against possible threats, either from their neighbors in the United States or the Russian Federation—which, it should be noted, is increasingly creeping into their territory across the Arctic. In fact, according to Eric Tegler of Forbes, “Canada’s fighter fleet is in crisis.”

Although the CF-188 Hornet and America’s F/A-18 Super Hornet share a common lineage, the fact remains that the CF-188 is the older (and smaller) variant. Canada’s CF-188 Hornet is a tailored take on the classic U.S. Hornet. The CF-188 Hornet was first introduced to the Royal Canadian Air Force in the 1980s and is essentially a slightly modified variant of the F/A-18A/B Hornet. This relatively compact, twin-engine multirole fighter has a takeoff weight of around 51,900 pounds.

The CF-188 Hornet Specs

Two General Electric F404 engines power this craft. The CF-188 can reach Mach 1.8 (about 1,390 miles per hour) with a combat radius of around 400 nautical miles (460 miles). The CF-188’s armaments package includes a 20mm M61 Vulcan cannon for close engagements during a dogfight as well as a mix of air-to-air missiles (such as the AIM-9 Sidewinder and AIM-120 AMRAAM) and air-to-ground weapons. All of these armaments, by the way, are U.S. weapons sold to Canada. This variegated ordnance set allows for the CF-188 to easily switch between conducting air defense operations of the Canadian homeland and fulfilling its NATO mission set abroad—at least on paper.

But in reality, Canada’s contribution to NATO has been weak. Canada has consistently underspent on defense—devoting merely 1.29 percent of its GDP to its military budget in 2023, well below NATO’s two percent requirement—and the Canadian Armed Forces are in such disarray that they likely would be unable to defend their airspace effectively against a significant threat.

Beginning in the 1970s, Canada’s military started looking for a replacement of its antiquated fleet of CF-104 Starfighters, CF-101 Voodoos. The New Fighter Aircraft (NFA) program was initiated to find a jet that could handle multiple roles, such as air defense, ground attack, and tactical support.

After a competitive evaluation process, the Royal Canadian Air Force selected McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. Canada’s government subsequently ordered 138 aircraft, with the deliveries beginning in 1982 and the first squadron of CF-188’s becoming operational in 1984. Canada’s military also installed specialized enhancements that were unique to the Royal Canadian Air Force. A spotlight was placed on the fuselage for night identification and a more rugged landing gear system was installed to ensure safe landings on remote and rugged northern airfields.

The Hornet’s multirole capability allowed for Canada to consolidate its fighter fleet into a single platform. But Canada’s leaders might now regret such a decision, since this gave past Canadian leaders the excuse to drastically downsize their air force, leading partly to the predicament Canada finds itself in.

An Impressive Early Combat History Lain to Waste

The CF-188 does have an impressive early combat history. For instance, these warplanes flew 2,700 sorties during Desert Storm, primarily in air-to-ground attack roles, striking Iraqi targets with lethal precision-guided munitions. Indeed, these missions in 1991 were the first combat operations of the Canadian Royal Air Force since the Korean War.

The birds again were once again deployed in a NATO capacity during the Kosovo War, enforcing the alliance’s no-fly zone. They served as part of the effort to defeat ISIS in Syria, too. Yet by the early 2000s, these birds were already showing their age. As a result, Canada launched the Incremental Modernization Project (IMP) in two phases between 2001 and 2010. Canada upgraded the avionics, weapons systems, and structural components to extend the CF-188’s lifespan into the 2020s.

A Broken Air Force