Breaking news
New Canadian Government to cancel F-35 participation and bolster its Navy.
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World Defense & Security News - Canada
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| New Canadian Government to cancel F-35 participation and bolster its Navy | |||
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The newly elected Liberal Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, is planning to cancel the procurement of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The funds of this programme will be directed to bolstering the country’s Navy. According to his statements the past days, Canada does not need a stealth aircraft, which is also too expensive, while investments in the Royal Canadian Navy will be a top priority.
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 A RCAF CF-188 Hornet fighter aircraft(Credit: RCAF) |
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Canada became part of the JSF programme in February 2002 by paying USD150 million, with a plan to acquire 65 jets, starting from 2017. The new aircraft would replace the ageing CF-188. If Justin Trudeau finally moves on with his promise a number of suppliers will be affected on both sides. On the one hand, the Canadian suppliers taking part in the programme will lose their share and on the other hand, Lockheed Martin, Pratt & Whitney, Northrop Grumman and others will lose an important client.
Furthermore, there will be many contenders for the new fighter aircraft, namely Saab with the Gripen NG, Dassault with the Rafale, Eurofighter and Boeing with the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. The competition would be strong but Boeing could be considered to better positioned given that the Royal Canadian Air Force already operates the Hornet. Justin Trudeau has also stated that Canada will pull out of the air coalition against the Islamic State. However, the country will continue to support the war against IS by sending more soldiers who will train the Iraqi troops and by increasing the humanitarian aid. Despite this change in the Canadian foreign and defence policy, the Pentagon stated that the US looks forward to continuing the strong bilateral relationships. |
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