Thread by @noclador

This is the North American continent.

It consists of 4× nations:
🇨🇦Canada
🇺🇸United States
🇩🇰Denmark (Greenland)
🇫🇷France (Saint Pierre & Miquelon)

and 6× air forces, the smallest of which is Canada's.
The map shows bases with fighter jets (details in the next tweet).
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Bases with fighter jets:
• Blue: US Air Force
• Dark Blue: US Navy
• Yellow: US Air National Guard
• Green: US Air Force Reserve
• Orange: US Marine Corps
• Red: Royal Canadian Air Force
• Grey: NORAD Forward Operating Locations
• Black: former US fighter jet bases
2/22

Please note:
• Canada abandoned the construction of the NORAD forward operating location at Kuujjuaq once the Cold War ended.
• most US bases house active, national guard and reserve squadrons. The map assigns the colors based on the main unit on site.
3/22

Ranking of the 6× North American air forces by number of fighters (without counting units forward deployed to Asia and Europe):

1) 🇺🇸 US Air Force
2) 🇺🇸 US Navy
3) 🇺🇸 US Air National Guard
4) 🇺🇸 US Marine Corps
5) 🇺🇸 US Air Force Reserve
6) 🇨🇦 Royal Canadian Air Force
4/22

The Royal Canadian Air Force with 92× F-18A/B Hornets (which will be replaced by 88× F-35A) is by far the smallest air force in North America.

In Alaska there are more fighters (some of which can be seen in the photo), than in all of Canada. The US Air Force Reserve Command
5/22

alone fields more than double the fighters Canada fields.

In 1989 Canada fielded 7× tactical fighter squadrons & 1× training squadron with 138× CF-18 Hornet.
(434th Tactical Fighter Squadron with CF-5A Freedom Fighters was disbanded on 17 March 1989; 419th Tactical Fighter
6/22

Squadron provided advanced training with CF-5D Freedom Fighter; so I do not count either).

Already back then Canada's air force was tiny when measured against Canada's population and economy.
And the Canadian Army consisted of barely more than a division, while the Canadian
7/22

Navy fielded just 18× frigates and 3× submarines.
In short: Canada never invested properly in its defence.

In a time when the West must rearm to deter or (if forced to) fight russia, China, and their cohorts, Canada cannot continue to spend bubkes amounts on its defence.
8/22

In 2024 Poland with a population of 38 million and a GDP of $915 billion spent $45 billion on defence.

In 2024 Canada with a population of 41 million and a GDP of $2,215 billion (2.4 times bigger than Poland's) spent just $20 billion on defence (less than half of Poland).
9/22

@realDonaldTrump is justifiedly livid about Canada's (and the UK's, and Denmark's, and Spain's, and Slovenia's, and Italy's, and Belgium's, and the Netherlands', and Portugal's, and Germany's, etc.) refusal to spend even the often promised 2% of GDP on defence.
10/22

South Korea with a population of 52 million and a GDP of $1,869 billion (15% smaller than Canada's) spent (like Poland) $45 billion on defence.

Canada is not only a NATO member, it is also a G7 member and spends by far the least on defence of all G7 members. This results
11/22

in Canada fielding by far the smallest army, the smallest navy, and by far the smallest air force of all G7 members.

If Canada's politicians continue to refuse to spend 2% ($44 billion) on defence as they have repeatedly promised, then Trump will continue to harass and
12/22

threaten Canada.

Canada always relied on the US having to defend Canada's air space and waters to protect the US homeland.
Therefore Canada spent way less of its GDP on the defence, even during the Cold War, than every other NATO member. Canada underspent on defence for
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more than half a century.

But Canadians are lucky: they do not need armored divisions or air defence systems. They just need more aircraft and more submarines.

Canada is already building 15× River-class destroyers (speed that up though) and 14× P-8 Poseidon Maritime
14/22

Patrol Aircraft (buy 6× more though), and if Canada would just buy 50× more fighter jets (F-35A or F-15EX) to cover NORAD's northern flank, then the Trump administration would likely be much more mellow.

Add a program to quickly replace Canada's 4× obsolete submarines with
15/22

8× modern submarines for service in the Atlantic; and either finish construction at Kuujjuaq or establish a wing at CFB Goose Bay (which once housed US, German, British and Italian fighters).

(Yep, that is a US fighter coming out of a Luftwaffe hangar at a Canadian base)
16/22

North America's most exposed flank has always been and is the Canadian Arctic, as on the other side of the North Pole lie russian strategic bomber bases and russian attack and ballistic missile submarine bases.

russian strategic bombers would launch their cruise missiles
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at targets from the Arctic.
Therefore Canada must have fighters (and bases) to shoot these bombers down over the Arctic Ocean.
russian (& chinese) submarines would try to enter the Central Atlantic by sailing

Thread about the chinese submarines:

18/22

https://x.com/noclador/status/1884709653130490039

between Greenland & Iceland.
Therefore Canada must have submarines, anti-submarine destroyers and maritime patrol aircraft to close the Greenland-Iceland gap.

Everything the US expects Canada to contribute to North America's defence is within reach of Canada... if Canada
19/22

spends on defence.
Likewise NATO wants Canada to contribute ground and air forces for the defence of Eastern Europe.
That is also within Canada's reach - if Canada would spend 2% on defence then everything Canada's allies expect from Canada could be fulfilled & there would
20/22

be billions left to buy equipment i.e. to strengthen Ukraine.

To continue to spend the bare minimum is, in the times we find ourselves in, totally unacceptable. Canada must do better; especially as Denmark has done nothing to defend the barrier island of Greenland (thread
21/22

about that is coming soon).

After 50 years of relying on the US taxpayer, Canada has to spend more for its defence. This US administration will be relentless about this point.
Canada has no excuse and Trump & Co. know it. Canada needs to become serious about defence now.
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