Canada to buy 88 F-35s

Canada has agreed to buy a total of 88 F-35 Lightning II fighter jets, the country’s government announced Jan. 9.

The deal is worth approximately $15 billion and aircraft deliveries are expected to begin in 2026, the government’s press release said. Canada’s Lightning II fleet is expected to be fully operational between 2032 and 2034.

"Canada is our friend and a close ally. Their decision to procure almost 90 jets underscores the value of the incredible F-35 Lightning II," F-35 Program Executive Officer Lt. Gen. Mike Schmidt said in a Lockheed Martin press release.

Canada was an early investor in the F-35 program and previously announced plans to purchase the aircraft in 2010. Political opposition scuttled the original planned buy, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at one point saying the country did not need the fighter.

Trudeau’s government subsequently announced a competition to replace the country’s legacy F-18 aircraft in 2016 called the Future Fighter Capability Project, which narrowed the contest to Saab’s JAS 39 Gripen and Lockheed’s F-35 in December 2021. In March 2022, the Canadian government announced the Lightning II’s bid prevailed and that the country would enter into formal contract negotiations with Lockheed.

According to the Canadian government, the aircraft is expected to serve into the 2060s.