Canada plans to buy 18 Boeing-built (NYSE: BA) F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft from the U.S. government on a temporary basis for an undisclosed amount in an effort to support the country’s existing fleet of CF-18 fighter jets, National Post reported Tuesday.
David Pugliese writes Canada’s liberal government announced the plan as it works to launch a competition to find a permanent replacement for CF-18s.
“Once we enter into discussions, then we will get all the costs necessary and, until then, we want to make sure we go through the right process to be able to get the right costing for it, †said Harjit Sajjan, the country’s defense minister, according to the report.
Federal cabinet ministers said the interim procurement of Super Hornets is part of the Canadian government’s effort to help the country’s air force meet training and mission commitments to NATO and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, according to a report by Bruce Campion-Smith for the Toronto Star.
Canada would take five years to conduct the search for a new replacement aircraft, the ministers said at a news conference in Ottawa, Campion-Smith reports.
“We have a sense of what the cost will be, but we have to enter into negotiations with Boeing, â€Â Judy Foote, minister of public services and procurement, told reporters Tuesday.
Foote added that Canada plans to hold an “open†competition in which F-35 aircraft manufacturer Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) would be permitted to submit a proposal.
Foote appeared with Sajjan; Navdeep Bains, minister of innovation, science and economic development; and Gen. Jonathan Vance, chief of defense staff; during the news conference to discuss the government’s search for a new fighter jet, the report added.
