As of March 2026, the Royal Canadian Air Force’s (RCAF) path to modernization has encountered a significant strategic hurdle. While the first batch of F-35 Lightning II fighters is currently in production, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government is re-evaluating the scale of the 88-jet procurement.

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  • While 16 F-35 fighters remain contractually committed for delivery starting this year, the full 88-jet procurement is stalled amidst trade friction with the Trump administration.

  • Rising program costs—now estimated at $30 billion—have reopened the door for Saab’s JAS 39 Gripen E.

  • The Gripen offers superior industrial benefits, including 12,600 domestic jobs and Arctic-optimized maintenance.

  • Ottawa must now balance the F-35’s unmatched NORAD interoperability against the Gripen’s economic sovereignty as the aging CF-18 Hornet fleet reaches its structur

  • StinkyFingerItchyBum@lemmy.caEnglish
    2·
    3 hours ago

    That’s all it has ever needed.

    I appreciate the truth of your comment, but respectfully disagree.

    1. You don’t build a defense force and strategy for the conflict you hope happens.

    2. Our needs include all of NATO’s needs, and to a far far smaller degree, any UN peacekeeking or similar function.

    A 5th gen stealth fighter presents desirable attributes for specific purposes, but to your point they aren’t the bulk of the work to be done.

    The cost saving of a single fleet of F-35 also inject various fragilities of their own. Not the least of which is the catastrophic losses from a single plane going down from anything ranging from enemy action to training accident to supply chains fuckery.

    I won’t shed a single tear for the F-35 if we cancel the whole lot. But having some 5th gen makes sense. We should be going with the Brit or French led consortiums of middle powers, not US, Russia or China.