Representational image. AFP
New Delhi: In a deal announced on Monday, Canada will spend billions to purchase 88 F-35 fighter jets from US-based Lockheed Martin Corp., the government announced, as it seeks to upgrade the country’s ageing fleet.
The first four planes should arrive in 2026, and the fleet should reach its maximum operational capacity between 2032 and 2034.
Addressing a press conference on Monday, Defence Minister Anita Anand said the $14.2 billion ($19bn Canadian) deal marked the largest investment in the Royal Canadian Air Force in 30 years.
“As our world grows darker, 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,” Aljazeera quoted Anand as saying.
The announcement came hours before Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was set to US President Joe Biden and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador at a “Three Amigos” summit in Mexico City.
Canada, which has a tight defence alliance with the US, has been attempting to replace its fleet of deteriorating Boeing CF-18 fighters — some of which are almost 40 years old — for more than a decade now.
The project’s $14.2bn ($19bn Canadian) budget includes the cost of infrastructure setup, weapons and other related expenses in addition to the price of planes, which are estimated at about $85m ($114m Canadian) each.
The full life cycle of the programme is expected to cost $52bn ($70bn Canadian).
Before becoming prime minister, Trudeau had said Canada wouldn’t buy the F-35. A former Conservative Canadian government had announced the purchase of the F-35 in 2010 but Trudeau’s Liberal government delayed that purchase and opened up the bidding to competition.
Asked about the Liberals change in position, Anand said: “The aircraft has matured. And we see now that many of our allies, eight countries in particular, are using the F-35.”
Lockheed Martin in a statement said a total of nine nations are currently operating F-35s, with more than 890 jets in service today.
With inputs from agencies
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