OTAWA – The Liberal government is expected to announce today that it will begin final negotiations for the purchase of the F-35 fighter jet.
Government and industry sources told the Canadian press that negotiations with the construction company Lockheed Martin will be announced at a press conference this afternoon.
The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.
While this does not mean that the stealth market deal has been formally concluded, it does mean that Canada is on the verge of finally choosing a replacement for its aging CF-18s.
In the event of a breakdown in negotiations, the government retains the option to start talks with Saab, whose Gripen fighter came second after the F-35 in competition.
Canada plans to purchase 88 new fighter jets to replace its CF-18s, with the government having a budget of up to $ 19 billion for the purchase.
Government officials told a parliamentary committee last week that they hoped a final contract for the purchase of Canada’s next fighter jet would be completed by the end of the year, with the delivery of the first aircraft scheduled for 2025 and the last around 2032.
The move to final negotiations on the F-35 brings Canada to the forefront of the search for a new fighter jet and will undoubtedly raise questions about whether Ottawa should have reached its original agreement a decade ago.
The conservative government of Stephen Harper pledged to buy 65 F-35s without competition in 2010, before concerns about the cost and capabilities of the fighting stealth forced it to return to the plan.
The Liberals promised in 2015 not to buy the F-35, but to start an open tender to replace the CF-18.  They later planned to buy 18 Super Hornets without a tender as an “intermediate” measure to ensure that Canada would have enough aircraft until permanent replacements arrived.
Some at the time challenged this plan, implying that the Liberals were trying to find a way to lock Canada in the Super Hornet without opening up to a legal challenge from Lockheed Martin or any other jet maker.
But the government canceled the plan after Boeing launched a commercial dispute with Montreal Bombardier’s C-Series planes over the latter.  Ottawa started the current bidding process in July 2019, when both the Super Hornet and the F-35 had the opportunity to compete.
Meanwhile, the government was forced to invest hundreds of millions of extra dollars in the CF-18 fleet to continue flying until a replacement was delivered.  By 2032, CF-18s will be around for 50 years.
The F-35 is considered the first since the official competition started.
Canada has contributed $ 613 million to the development of the F-35 since 1997, with another multimillion-dollar payment expected in the coming weeks.  Fighting stealth is used by the US and many other allies.
Many observers have seen the Boeing Super Hornet and the F-35 as the only real competition because of Canada’s close relationship with the United States, which involves the use of fighter jets together to defend North American airspace on a daily basis.
These perceptions were only reinforced when two other European companies withdrew from the competition before it even started, complaining that the government’s demands had been stacked in favor of their US rivals.
In particular, both Airbus and Dassault had complained about the costly demands they considered related to adapting their aircraft – the Eurofighter and Rafale respectively – to meet Canada’s demands for an exchange of information.
These requirements included ensuring that their aircraft could be integrated into the top-secret Canada-US intelligence network known as the Two Eyes, which is used to defend North America.
Sweden is not a member of NATO or Norad, the joint Canadian-US defense administration responsible for protecting the continent from foreign threats.  This had raised questions about the Gripen’s compatibility with US aircraft.
Airbus, which withdrew in August 2019, also expressed frustration with the government’s decision to change a long-standing policy that requires bidders in military contracts to legally commit to investing in Canada.
The change followed US allegations that the previous policy violated a deal signed by Canada in 2006 to become one of the nine F-35 partner countries.  The agreement says companies in partner countries will compete for jobs.
As a result, many were surprised when Boeing was eliminated from the competition in December, paving the way for a final air battle between the F-35 and the Gripen.