CANADA OFFICIALLY BUYING F-35 FIGHTER JETS FOR $19B TO REPLACING AGING CF-18s
Jan 09, 2023
By Bob Komsic
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Ottawa has an agreement to buy 88 F-35 fighter planes from Lockheed Martin for about $19-billion.
The first four are to be delivered in 2026, though officials say they’ll be located in the U.S. where Canadian pilots and technicians will train at bases there as the Canadian military prepares the necessary facilities.
The F-35s are scheduled to actually arrive in this country no earlier than 2029.
Defence Minister Anita Anand says the ”advanced fighter aircraft fleet” will ensure the long-term ability to defend the second-largest airspace in the world, while meeting Canada’s NORAD and NATO commitments.
”With Russia’s illegal and unjustifiable invasion of Ukraine and China’s increasingly assertive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific, this project has taken on heightened significance, especially given the importance of interoperability with our allies,” says Anand.
The Harper government first committed to buying 65 F-35s in 2010, before concerns about the plane’s cost and capabilities forced the Conservatives back to the drawing board.