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

  • BCsven@lemmy.ca
    4·
    2 days ago

    I thought they said the F35s were terriblly expensive to maintain per hour of flying. Things can seem reliable in air if most of their time is on the ground getting replacement parts, and adjustments, but that quickly can lose a war by expenses.

    • Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works
      2·
      12 hours ago

      They are very expensive per flight hour, yes, but that’s not the same thing as being unreliable. It’s a high end weapon with a high end price tag.

      • BCsven@lemmy.ca
        1·
        10 hours ago

        Yes, that’s my point, you can lose a war by expenses if your equipment needs a ton of preventative maintenance to stay reliable.

        • Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works
          1·
          6 hours ago

          I mean, saying that any single factor is why you “lose a war” is completely ignoring how incredibly complex warfare is. No one loses a war because of one piece of equipment.

          But if we were to take that framework as true, it would be just as fair to say that you can lose a war by having inferior equipment.

          There are a lot of factors that go into military procurement decisions. That’s a part (albeit a small one) of why they take so damn long.

          • BCsven@lemmy.ca
            1·
            2 hours ago

            Yep but since Canada isn’t a super power like the USA it would seem prudent to go with the cheaper jet they were reviewing.

    • CanadaPlus@futurology.todayEnglish
      4·
      1 day ago

      Nope, you’re probably thinking of the F-22. The F-35 got it back down to reasonable hanger time and care, at the cost of a long, multi-trillion dollar development period.

      Per the other commenter the Gripen is a bit cheaper yet, but that’s because it’s built like a car from the 70’s or something. All off-the-shelf parts combined in obvious ways with lots of allowances. The cost of that is it shows up to radar like a 70’s car. It’s basically just a very different aircraft for doing different things.