Good show, Wizard of Oz
Or, just a little bit of propaganda?
Some Wizard of Oz in the PR machinery at DND thought it would be wonderful entertainment, and more, to arrange a fly-by of US and Canadian fighter jets over the US ambassador’s residence in Ottawa to mark July 4.
I am all for entertainment and I confess to be a lover of air shows. I saw two F-16s from the USAF Viper demonstration team perform at the CNE air show a few years back, buzzing Toronto’s downtown condoscape. [1] They were loud, fast and looked extremely manoeuvrable. I thought, yeah, the Ukrainian air force could use those.
Various European countries have donated F-16s from their fleets to Ukraine, and the Ukrainian air force now has some 36-39 of the planes. [2] The main contributors, to date, have been the Netherlands and Denmark, with promises of more from Belgium and Norway. [3] Being able to deploy them has depended on many factors, including pilot and ground crew training, airfield readiness, maintenance and spare parts, and weapons supplies.
Reuters reported in March 2026 that the Ukrainian F-16 fleet was starved of its own missiles, especially Sidewinders, to shoot down Russian drones and missiles for a three-week period in late 2025, as Russian air assaults ramped up. [4] Canada has tried to fill the gap with donations of US-made AIM-9M-8 missiles from RCAF stocks. [5]
The US no longer supplies weaponry to Ukraine directly. Instead, US weapons system must be purchased by Ukraine’s NATO backers and then provided to Ukraine, through a system called PURL “Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List.” According to a NATO release, as of December 2025, the PURL system had delivered to Ukraine $4 billion in weapons. [6]
The Russian air assault continues, far from the skies over Ottawa.
Over those skies, two CF-18s, joined by two USAF F-35s, certainly put on a show on July 4. It was loud and very low-level, especially by the F-35s. Nothing normally flies that low over the Ottawa river except the occasional, quiet prop plane from the Rocklands airport. The CF-18s came from the Bagotville airbase in Quebec. Nice to see those 1980s jets still flying (fun fact—their top speed exceeds that of the F-35, Mach 1.8 vs. Mach 1.6).
The F-35s came from farther away, all the way from the Andrews airbase, south-east of Washington , D.C. (home of the new Trump Air Force One, donated by the Qataris).
The US embassy expressed its appreciation. The message on Instagram read, “We couldn’t be prouder to celebrate 250 years of independence with our Canadian friends.”
Nice if the ambassador could stay on that message for a while.
The Canadian Department of National Defence told the media that “the fly-past was meant to demonstrate the way the two countries work together in the air as part of NORAD, the binational continental defence command.” [8]
The F-35s all the way from DC? Icing on the cake. Maybe just a little nudge from the DND Wizard of Oz that Canada should really buy those planes? For NORAD? A little push back against the view of the NORAD commander, expressed in testimony, to the U.S. Senate Armed Services committee in March:
“Frankly we don’t need fifth [generation fighter planes like the F-35] to defend our borders.”
USAF General Gregorey M. Guillot told Senators that planes like the F-35 had a role to play in offensive war operations abroad. “Those capabilities,” he said, “are better used overseas where their stealth, air to ground weapons and penetration capabilities are needed.” [9]
Let the show go on, but please, let us have a proper debate about what strategic missions we are contemplating for the future RCAF, where NORAD air defence requirements fit in RCAF procurement plans, what aircraft or mix of aircraft we are buying and why, and at what cost and benefit.
Forget the Wizard of Oz stuff.
[1] The USAF Vipers demonstration are making a return visit to the Toronto air show in September 2026, along with the Canadian Snowbirds, on one of their last shows before they are retired and a new Italian aircraft obtained. https://www.cias.org/performers/
[2] News Ukraine, “Promises vs reality: who holds back F-16s for Ukraine,” April 12, 2026, https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/promises-vs-reality-who-holds-back-f-16s-1776025224.html
[3] Ibid
[4] Reuters, “Ukraine’s F-16 jets were starved of US-made missiles for weeks,” March 5, 2026, https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/ukraines-f-16-jets-were-starved-us-made-missiles-weeks-2026-03-05/
[5] Ibid
[7]
[8] City News, “Canadian, American Air Forces conduct joint flypast in Ottawa for Fourth of July,” July 4, 2026, https://ottawa.citynews.ca/2026/07/04/canadian-american-air-forces-to-conduct-joint-flypast-in-ottawa-for-fourth-of-july/
[9] David Pugliese, “NORAD Commander says F-35-type aircraft not needed to defend North America,” March 30, 2026, https://ottawacitizen.com/public-service/defence-watch/norad-f-35-figher-jet-north-america
Thank you for your comments, I thought in similar fashion but perhaps I would go one step further. The flyby over the worst contemporary US ambassador to Canada is frankly - sorry - a crock of shit.
'USAF General Gregorey M. Guillot told Senators that planes like the F-35 had a role to play in offensive war operations abroad. “Those capabilities,” he said, “are better used overseas where their stealth, air to ground weapons and penetration capabilities are needed.”'
As a member of NATO isn't Canada required to have the offensive capabilities the F-35 provides? When the Russians come for our troops in Latvia we should be able to protect them and not have to rely on the Poles, French, Germans etc. who will no doubt prioritize their own force protection.