Canada: Liberals launch negotiations to buy F-35 fighter jets

Source: CBC News

Liberals launch negotiations to buy F-35 fighter jets

Canada is planning to buy 88 new fighter jets to replace its aging CF-18s

Murray Brewster · CBC News · Posted: Mar 28, 2022 12:35 PM ET | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

The Canadian government has chosen the F-35 as its preferred replacement for the air force's four-decade-old CF-18 fighters and will open negotiations with the stealth jet's manufacturer, Lockheed Martin.

Public Services and Procurement Minister Filomena Tassi and Defence Minister Anita Anand made the announcement Monday.

The decision to open negotiations is the latest step in a process that has been underway for more than a dozen years. It also represents a major reversal for the Liberal government — which pledged in 2015 to never buy the F-35.

"This announcement marks another important milestone in Canada's competitive process to purchase modern fighter jets for the Royal Canadian Air Force," Tassi said in a media statement.

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Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/f-35-negotiations-1.6399978