Alex McColl

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Alex McColl

Alex McColl

@AlexRMcColl

Loves fast Saabs, hates fast Stroads. I rant about politics, the military, & municipal policy. Opinions are solely my own. UofC MPP GOAT-Thesis.

Calgary Katılım Ocak 2013
891 Takip Edilen2K Takipçiler
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Alex McColl
Alex McColl@AlexRMcColl·
A thread on how Canada can respond to tariffs by cutting the F35A order in half and buying the runner-up F39E to serve as the bulk of Canada's air power over the next 40 years. Using my slides from a previous RCAF Association debate & research from my @policy_school thesis.
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Alex McColl
Alex McColl@AlexRMcColl·
Canadian F-35s will not be impacted because we are not allowed the new radar. All our jets will be delivered with the old radar. If we are allowed to upgrade in the future, then it looks like we'll need to send them back to Texas for modifications.
Valerie Insinna@ValerieInsinna

SCOOP: Marine Corps F-35Bs are set to deliver in Lot 17 without radars due to delays with the APG-85. Starting in Lot 18, all F-35s delivered to the U.S. military will be awaiting a radar. With @michaeldmarrow and @Diana_Stancy : breakingdefense.com/2026/03/exclus…

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Alex McColl
Alex McColl@AlexRMcColl·
@colblake_yqr That’s why Canadians use Carl Gs. Similar explosion, much cheaper round.
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colonelblake
colonelblake@colblake_yqr·
@AlexRMcColl lmao...the movie WTF. you destroyed a toyota pos worth $3000 with a half billion dollar ordinance?
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Alex McColl
Alex McColl@AlexRMcColl·
@ennerut You misunderstood. I’m aware we used our CF-18s. We don’t have F35s yet. I’m arguing for a mixed fleet because using F35s for this kind of mission in the future would be a waste of money.
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Alex McColl
Alex McColl@AlexRMcColl·
@menotyou1941 We’re ramping up spending right now. I think it’s likely, especially since Saab is offering to build Gripens in Canada and our Prime Minister wants to spend more of our growing defence budget on weapons that are made in Canada. Saab already partners with Canada on the GlobalEye.
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Captain Obvious
Captain Obvious@menotyou1941·
@AlexRMcColl What do you think the chances of Canada actually investing enough in its air force to actually get all of those aircraft? I'm a huge fan of mixed fleets, I just don't see the money coming for it any time soon.
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Alex McColl
Alex McColl@AlexRMcColl·
@menotyou1941 Plan is for a mixed fleet. Likely around 44 F35s and 88 Gripens. F35s would be in fighter-bomber squadrons focused on A2G and SEAD missions. Gripens would fly most of our NORAD & NATO Air Policing missions.
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Captain Obvious
Captain Obvious@menotyou1941·
@AlexRMcColl The Gripen is a great choice if you don't plan to fight Gen 5 aircraft or deploy your aircraft into an area with high threat air defenses. If the plan is to just intercept 70 year old Russian TU-95s, then go with the Gripen.
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Alex McColl
Alex McColl@AlexRMcColl·
@Kidar182 Yeah mixed fleets make sense. Canada would be considering a mixed fleet of both F35s and Gripens. It would be a waste of money to use the most expensive jet to fly every mission.
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KidarCDN
KidarCDN@Kidar182·
@AlexRMcColl F16s are being used to deploy HARMS tho f35s are doing the actual heavy loitering work.
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Alex McColl
Alex McColl@AlexRMcColl·
@thedude1010101 @HazelAppleyard They don’t hike it naked. Frostbite and hypothermia would be problems, especially if dropped over the Arctic in winter when it’s -40 the entire way down.
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The Dude
The Dude@thedude1010101·
@AlexRMcColl @HazelAppleyard He said wetsuit, so warm. And worst case scenario is you get a little light headed for a few moments. You would be down to below 14k in seconds and people hike that high all the time
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Bryan Breguet
Bryan Breguet@Prominent_Bryan·
With the new EV rebate, you can get a Tesla model Y for $45,000. This is cheaper than a Rav 4. It's crazy. Hard to find a better overall value out there. Unless you really can't charge at home, this should be a no brainer to everyone
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Alex McColl
Alex McColl@AlexRMcColl·
@Prominent_Bryan Model Ys with an L VIN are made in China. VINs that start with a number are American (or Canadian or Mexican). I’ll just have to check next time I see a new one.
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Bryan Breguet
Bryan Breguet@Prominent_Bryan·
I don't think so as the model y is made in the US but it changes often It's more about the new cheap model Y.. They cut some corners but I still think that for a lot of people, this is incredible value If it can charge at home, you save another 10k+ over 10 years Basically cheaper than a Civic
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Alex McColl
Alex McColl@AlexRMcColl·
@TallyWicke67261 Stealth is a spectrum (aka low observability), not a checkbox. The Gripen-E is significantly less observable than the CF-18. It’s about as stealthy as a Su57. While the F35 is less observable than both, Gripens will remain relevant for a long time.
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TallyMan
TallyMan@TallyWicke67261·
@AlexRMcColl No one reasonable says Gripens aren't good and useful. But stealth is needed if you're going to compete in the future.
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Ben the Black Lab 🇨🇦 🌊🚁🐾
Ben the Black Lab 🇨🇦 🌊🚁🐾@Bentheblacklab·
Weird, I thought stealth was a panacea offering unlimited invulnerability. Guess I was misinformed.
Natasha Bertrand@NatashaBertrand

Breaking from @halbritz @OrenCNN : A US F-35 fighter jet made an emergency landing at US air base in the Middle East after it was struck by what is believed to be Iranian fire, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for US Central Command, said the fifth-generation stealth jet was “flying a combat mission over Iran” when it was forced to make an emergency landing. Hawkins said the aircraft landed safely, and the incident is under investigation “The aircraft landed safely, and the pilot is in stable condition,” Hawkins added. The incident would be the first time Iran has hit a US aircraft in the war started in late February. Both the US and Israel are flying F-35s in the conflict; the aircraft costs upwards of $100 million.

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Alex McColl
Alex McColl@AlexRMcColl·
@HopliteBetrayed @JohnBouras3230 @Bentheblacklab Nonsense. Neither pilot was killed. You are grasping for malice where none exists.
Alex McColl@AlexRMcColl

@Bentheblacklab Could have been a number of things, even just a technical issue. It could also have been a lucky shot from good old fashioned AAA or an IR missile. It will be interesting to find out exactly what happened and it’s great to hear the pilot made it back to base safe.

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Alex McColl
Alex McColl@AlexRMcColl·
@CoopTory Alberta could have absolutely been Norway if we wanted to make the same key decisions as Norway: fund spending with taxation (income taxes & sales taxes) while SAVING the vast majority of oil revenues.
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Co-op Tory 🍁
Co-op Tory 🍁@CoopTory·
We will never be Norway when we allow the lions share our resource profits to flow to foreign shareholders. We need innovation and state capacity deployed toward the public good. Extraction alone cannot make us happy. You ignore the formula of the happiest countries.
Gurv@GurvSC

Crazy, we went from basically being Norway to being a complete disaster after only one government, Yet are we still voting for the same people…… The Canadian population is so propagandized it’s unreal. If we only track age under 25, we are basically a third world country.

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Alex McColl
Alex McColl@AlexRMcColl·
@HustleBitch_ Mini made the perfect key in 2009: Small, easy to use buttons, backup physical key inside the fob, and the key dock inside the car recharged the battery in the fob as you drove.
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HustleBitch
HustleBitch@HustleBitch_·
🚨 TOYOTA JUST MADE A CAR KEY SO CONFUSING… DEALERSHIPS HAVE TO TRAIN PEOPLE HOW TO UNLOCK THEIR DOOR A full-grown adult has to explain how to unlock a car door using the new Toyota card key. The key card literally has instructions printed on it. Angle the card. Find the “right spot.” Try again. Like you’re diffusing a bomb. Even he can’t get it on the first try: “Not working… not working right.” Now people will be standing outside their own car… waving a card around hoping it works. How did Toyota just make a car key WORSE?
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Alex McColl
Alex McColl@AlexRMcColl·
@EricDLombardi Fees tied to the actual cost of delivering services and Land Value Tax reform would solve this.
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Eric Lombardi (EricForOLP.ca) 🇨🇦🚀
Eric Lombardi (EricForOLP.ca) 🇨🇦🚀@EricDLombardi·
Municipalities will charge 2x the median income in just taxes for new housing. Development charges have simply become out of control. It’s time for a new contract between municipalities and the province for long term infrastructure financing.
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Alex McColl
Alex McColl@AlexRMcColl·
@JohnBouras3230 Getting Provinces to agree to cede all regulatory powers to Brussels makes full EU membership highly unlikely. But I would support an expanded CETA for more free trade & more unified regulations (small elevators, European car headlights, etc.). Also, yes to Eurovision!
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Alex McColl
Alex McColl@AlexRMcColl·
@Albertaardvark @StephenPunwasi All of our peers fly mixed fleets. South Korea has Six different fighter jets. Canada can easily afford to expand our fighter fleet and pull our weight. The best way to do that is with a mixed fleet.
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Albertaardvark
Albertaardvark@Albertaardvark·
@AlexRMcColl @StephenPunwasi True, except for the training, parts and logistics needed to run a mixed fleet make this idea, to put it in a nice way, next level stupid.
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Stephen Punwasi 🏚️📉🐈☃️
Stephen Punwasi 🏚️📉🐈☃️@StephenPunwasi·
🇨🇦 scrambled two CF-18 fighters + a KC-135R to escort a plane due to… Aeroplan points fraud? 🤔 4 households went to work & paid taxes for a year to cover just the fuel costs. Gotta spend 5% of our GDP—about 2x current deficit—for NATO, amirite? 🤷‍♂️ journaldequebec.com/2026/03/19/vol…
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Keşfet

@colblake_yqr @ennerut @menotyou1941 @Kidar182 @thedude1010101 @HazelAppleyard @Prominent_Bryan @elonmusk