 "Canada considering ditching F-35 jet contract with Lockheed Martin amid tensions with Trump administration")
Amid tensions with Washington DC, Canada Defence Minister Bill Blair has announced Ottawa is looking to ditch a contract to buy F-35 stealth fighters from the US and is initiating talks with competitors from other nations. The announcement came Friday (March 14), hours after Blair was reappointed to the role in the new cabinet of PM Mark Carney.
Canada had entered into a contract with US defence giant Lockheed Martin in June 2023 to purchase 88 F-35 jets after several delays under a $19 billion deal.
“It was the fighter jet identified by our air force as the platform that they required, but we are also examining other alternatives—whether we need all of those fighter jets to be F-35s,” Blair was quoted as saying by CBC.
According to reports, Canada has already paid for the first 16 warplanes, and their delivery is due to start next year. Blair hinted that those jets might be accepted but Ottawa may ditch the rest of the order for similar products from European manufacturers.
Swedish-built Saab Gripen is among the top alternatives that the Canadian government is looking at.
His remarks followed Portugal’s announcement that it might cancel its purchase of the advanced warplane.
Canada is re-evaluating its stance as it faces a heated political clash with the Trump administration over tariffs and the US president’s threats to exert economic pressure, even hinting at annexation.
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More Shorts“The prime minister has asked me to go and examine those things and have discussions with other sources, particularly where there may be opportunities to assemble those fighter jets in Canada,” Blair said.
In a statement, Lockheed Martin said it valued its partnership with the Royal Canadian Air Force and that it was looking forward to deepening cooperation.
“Lockheed Martin values our strong partnership and history with the Royal Canadian Air Force and looks forward to continuing that partnership into the future,” said Rebecca Miller, Lockheed Martin’s director of global media relations.
“Foreign military sales are government-to-government transactions, so anything further will be best addressed by the US or respective customer governments,” Miller added.
(With inputs from agencies)
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