Canadian heads of engineering for the Command module and Lunar lander were hired by NASA's Bob Gilruth after our CF-105 jet fighter program was abandoned.
This illustrates one of your main problems. Lack of historical knowledge. By the time the CF-105 was developed it was already obsolete. It was designed to intercept Soviet Bear and Bison bombers, just like the US Century Series. Not much use in the ICBM Age, and at a clear disadvantage in a dogfight. The US found this out the hard way in Vietnam.
On behalf of some other Canadians with a different perspective, please let me apologize for King's blather on this subject. There is a distinct and quite common type of Canadian, usually residing in Ontario or points east, and often of the liberal persuasion, who have an abiding inferiority complex about their country and themselves. And, as a result, they spend an inordinate amount of time and energy touting our accomplishments on the world stage, real and imagined.
They are unwilling to acknowledge that we are a small to middling country (population and economic might, not geography) with the corresponding level of success on the international stage. Constantly trying to compete with the US, a nation of 10 time the population and an economy that ranges between 15 and 20 times larger, they exaggerate the importance our perfectly fine achievements and worse, tout them all the time. Much like an insecure child might.
While I know King has many fine qualities, his perspective of and defense of our national achievements is wildly out of proportion to the actuality of our country.
Liberal Canadians like to tout our diplomatic "soft power" as though we actually count for something in world politics. It would be laughable if it hadn't infected so many Canadians and given them delusions of grandeur and importance for the country that does not exist.
