Canada will hold a fighter jet competition to potentially avoid buying the F-35
Courtesy of Lockheed Martin
Canada said on Tuesday it would launch an open competition to replace its aging fleet of fighter jets and consider buying 18 Boeing Corp Super Hornets as an interim measure.
The fighter jet decision is among one of the most contentious facing the one-year old Liberal government.
The previous Conservative government said in 2010 that it would buy Lockheed Martin's F-35s, but during last year's successful election campaign the Liberals promised not to buy the planes on the grounds that they were too expensive.
The government said on Tuesday that, with the current fleet of CF-18 jets more than 30 years old, the country is facing a capability gap. In addition to the competition, the government will immediately explore the acquisition of the Super Hornets.
"As we promised, our government will be conducting an open and transparent competition to replace the long-serving CF-18 jets," said Public Services and Procurement Minister Judy Foote.
Canada is one of the nine original partner countries that helped fund development of the F-35.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren and Leah Schnurr; Editing by Jonathan Oatis, Bernard Orr)