Canada is actively considering potential alternatives to the stealthy fighter F-35 built in the United States and will hold conversations with rival airplanes, said Defense Minister Bill Blair on Friday night, just a few hours after being re-elected to charge as part of the new cabinet of Prime Minister Mark Carney.
The comments occurred one day after Portugal said he was planning to get rid of his acquisition of the high -tech combat plane.
The reexamen in this country is being carried out in the midst of the political struggle with the Trump administration on the tariffs and threats of the US President to the Annex of Canada by the economic force.
There has been a support land among Canadians to kill the purchase of $ 19 billion and find planes that are not manufactured and maintained in the United States.
After years of delay, the liberal government signed a contract with the American defense giant Lockheed Martin in June 2023 to buy 88 F-35 aircraft.
The conversation about Canada that leaves the agreement is currently being carried out with the military, Blair said to CBC’s Power and politics.
“It was the combat plane identified by our Air Force as the platform they required, but we are also examining other alternatives, whether we need all those combat planes to be F-35,” Blair said.
Canada has already left its money for the first 16 combat planes, which will be delivered at the beginning of next year.
Blair suggests that the first F-35 could be accepted and the rest of the fleet would be composed of European suppliers aircraft, such as Saab Injan, built in Swedish, which ended second in the competition.
“The prime minister has asked me to go and examine those things and have conversations with other sources, particularly where there may be opportunities to gather those combat planes in Canada,” Blair said.
That was an indirect reference to the Swedish proposal, which promised that the Assembly would be carried out in Canada and there would be an intellectual property transfer, which would allow the aircraft to remain in this country.
The main maintenance, review and software updates in the F-35 occur in the United States.
The notion of Canada that flies a mixed fleet of combat aircraft is something that the Air Force has resisted for a long time, although it did until the 1980s, when the current CF-18 were bought. It would mean two different training regimes, hagars and separate infrastructure and a different supply chain, all of which defense planners have insisted for decades is too expensive.
Before Blair’s statement, Lockheed Martin was asked about Portugal planned for the program and if he would have an impact on Canada.
“Lockheed Martin values our strong association and history with the Royal Canadian Air Force and hopes to continue that association in the future,” said Rebecca Miller, director of Global Relations of the media of Lockheed Martin, in a statement.
“Foreign military sales are government to government transactions, so anything that client governments or the respective of the respective ones address better.
Miller also approached the wrong online information that suggested that the F-35 have a call “death switch” that could deactivate the airplanes that belong to the allies, or limp their capabilities, if the United States government orders it to order it.
“As part of our government contracts, we deliver all system infrastructure and the data required so that all F-35 customers support the aircraft,” said Miller. “We remain committed to providing affordable and reliable support services to our clients that allow them to complete their missions and return home safely.”
There would be some form of a fine for contract if Canada does not continue with all the purchase. How much would it cost to get out of the contract is still clear.
