Canada now sees the US as such an unreliable partner that it is starting to switch its military aviation procurement away from US manufacturers.

Saab GlobalEye defeats U.S. Boeing Wedgetail for C$5 billion Canada Air Force AWACS contract.

https://www.armyrecognition.com/news/aerospace-news/2026/saab-globaleye-defeats-boeing-wedgetail-canada-aewc-contract

Canada considers cancelling part of U.S. F-35 order to buy 60 Swedish Gripen fighters.

https://www.armyrecognition.com/news/aerospace-news/2026/canada-f35-saab-gripen-fighter-jet-order

As the second report points out:

Canada is considering a major overhaul of its fighter modernization plan, according to a May 30, 2026, report by La Presse.

[...]

This potential shift to a Canada mixed fighter fleet aims to reduce reliance on US defense supply chains and political leverage ...

More winning for the US aviation industry, courtesy of Donald Trump.

10 hours ago, GroveHillWanderer said:

Canada now sees the US as such an unreliable partner that it is starting to switch its military aviation procurement away from US manufacturers.

Saab GlobalEye defeats U.S. Boeing Wedgetail for C$5 billion Canada Air Force AWACS contract.

https://www.armyrecognition.com/news/aerospace-news/2026/saab-globaleye-defeats-boeing-wedgetail-canada-aewc-contract

Canada considers cancelling part of U.S. F-35 order to buy 60 Swedish Gripen fighters.

https://www.armyrecognition.com/news/aerospace-news/2026/canada-f35-saab-gripen-fighter-jet-order

As the second report points out:

More winning for the US aviation industry, courtesy of Donald Trump.

More losing for Canada

People are saying that Greenland wants to be the 11th province...

11 hours ago, GroveHillWanderer said:

Canada considers cancelling part of U.S. F-35 order to buy 60 Swedish Gripen fighters.

Let's be real. Canada can't afford the F-35.

3 minutes ago, TedG said:

Let's be real. Canada can't afford the F-35.

Neither can American tax payers struggling to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads.

3 minutes ago, TedG said:

Let's be real. Canada can't afford the F-35.

We finally agree on something. I thought it would never happen.

Maintenance costs for the f-35 are prohibitive. Only a fool or somebody trying to kiss Trump's ass would buy them. Same reason I won't buy an american car. Planned obsolescence wihh high maintenance costs.

---

Saab’s Gripen generally has significantly lower maintenance and per-flight-hour costs than the Lockheed Martin F-35. However, the F-35 requires extensive, highly specialized maintenance, whereas the Gripen is designed for austere, rapid turnarounds that keep its operational expenses down. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Cost Per Flight Hour (CPFH)

• Gripen (E/F): Ranges between \(\$12,200\) and \(\$36,200\) per flight hour, depending on the specific cost-accounting models used by different defense departments.

• F-35A: Ranges between \(\$34,000\) and \(\$48,000\) per flight hour based on data compiled by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and defense agencies.

Maintenance & Lifecycle Breakdown

• F-35A: The F-35 requires heavy depot-level maintenance and highly specialized coatings and facilities. It has a lower overall availability rate (often hovering around 50%), which drives up the cost of maintaining a ready fleet.

• Gripen E/F: The Gripen is renowned for its very low maintenance man-hour-per-flight-hour ratio (roughly 10:1). It can be rearmed and refueled by a small crew in just a few minutes, even on remote, unpaved highways or commercial runways.

Total Cost of Ownership

• Gripen E/F: The 37-year estimated lifecycle cost per aircraft is approximately \(\$240\) million.

• F-35A: The estimated 37-year lifecycle cost comes in much higher at around \(\$453\) million per aircraft.

While the F-35 provides superior stealth and sensor networking, the Gripen relies on its cheaper, highly agile turnaround capabilities to remain a cost-effective alternative for many allied nations.

6 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Neither can American tax payers struggling to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads.

Yeah, you must see that every day from your home in the heartland

Mark Carney has been absolutely brilliant in response to Disaster Don's tariffs, and he is finding a lot of alternative markets for their products, in addition to doing a great job of sourcing products elsewhere.

America brought this on themselves and they deserve the repercussions.

43 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Neither can American tax payers struggling to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads.

Tell me about your experiences living in the USA.

<sarcasm>

Good! Murikkka doesn't need their business anyway.

. . . oh, wait a minute . . .

</sarcasm>

People are saying that Greenland wants to be the 11th province...

Will that offset the loss of Alberta? Doubt it.

I think the main reason Canada had purchased some F-35s in the first place, and was considering further purchases as optional, was due to its shared commitment to NORAD. It made sense to have the same type of jet fighter/interceptor that the larger US partner was flying. As long as it haas filled that commitment, there's no reason buy dozens more of the same make/model. Diversifying Canada's air force makes sense. Also, there's been news in recent months that the F-35's 'skin' is having trouble and the planes have a high maintenance requirement - meaning many are in the shop a bit too often.

9 minutes ago, impulse said:

Will that offset the loss of Alberta? Doubt it.

Dream on. The separation vote will resoundingly be in favor of remain. Lots of noise from Red Deer, one of thd smaller cities but Calgary and Edmonton will override that easily.

A pathetic childish reaction from Carney. What you would expect from his disaster at the Bank of England. Canada and the USA should be in step on everything.

44 minutes ago, henryford1958 said:

A pathetic childish reaction from Carney. What you would expect from his disaster at the Bank of England. Canada and the USA should be in step on everything.

Canada and the USA have always been good partners , until Dementia Don ,started saying that Canada

should be the 51st state, maybe they canceled the plane order because they found out that they had a

kill switch,and America could no longer be trusted ,with a megalomaniac in charge.maybe one day they

can be friends again,

regards Worgeordie

3 hours ago, Yagoda said:

Yeah, you must see that every day from your home in the heartland

Are you disputing millions of Americans are struggling to put food on the table and a roof over their heads?

Or is it simply you don’t like to be reminded of the fact?

https://www.npr.org/2026/05/27/nx-s1-5836441/food-insecurity-economy-new-york-fed

Edited June 3Jun 3 by Chomper Higgot

3 hours ago, Yagoda said:

More losing for Canada

Not really. The Boeing updated AWACS design has been delayed several times. They have had plenty of time to get their act together, and the demand for a new planes has been there for a while.

Now the Swedes are taking advantage of that opening, and its not just the Canadians who are opting for their version.

2 hours ago, TedG said:

Tell me about your experiences living in the USA.

Nah, not your neighborhood and I don’t want to trigger your envy thing.

Meanwhile, same question to you:

Are you disputing millions of Americans are struggling to put food on the table and a roof over their heads?

Edited June 3Jun 3 by Chomper Higgot

1 hour ago, henryford1958 said:

A pathetic childish reaction from Carney. What you would expect from his disaster at the Bank of England. Canada and the USA should be in step on everything.

Disaster at the Bank of England??

As its Governor, he stick-handled the large G7 economy through the disasterous Brexit period to limit the damage to the economy and the currency as best he could. As Bank of Canada Governor, his strategies (and Canada's chatered banking system) protected the country's banks against fallout from the disaterous sub-prime fiasco south of the border.

1 hour ago, worgeordie said:

Canada and the USA have always been good partners , until Dementia Don ,started saying that Canada

should be the 51st state, maybe they canceled the plane order because they found out that they had a

kill switch,and America could no longer be trusted ,with a megalomaniac in charge.maybe one day they

can be friends again,

regards Worgeordie

The US doesn't need a kill switch since all maintenance, expensive and time consuming, will be under their control.

I read, no idea about veracity, that in mock fights the gripen yets outclassed the F-35 due to their agility.

2 hours ago, henryford1958 said:

A pathetic childish reaction from Carney. What you would expect from his disaster at the Bank of England. Canada and the USA should be in step on everything.

So why was he a disaster at the bank of England?

4 hours ago, TedG said:

Let's be real. Canada can't afford the F-35.

Buddy, can you spare a dime? How about $40,000,000,000,000?

This is before the drunkard asked for another $500,000,000,000 to fund his boss' Forever War.

Edited June 3Jun 3 by Wingate

Remember when Rumsfeld held a news conference at the Pentagon the day before 9/11?

He said the Defense Department couldn't account for $2 Trillion in expeditures. Just imagine how much it could account for?

The next day 'a highjicked jet' flew into the second floor window at the Pentagon - the same offices that were investigating the two-trillion losses.

So, Canada chooses Swedes over Turnips.

7 hours ago, henryford1958 said:

A pathetic childish reaction from Carney. What you would expect from his disaster at the Bank of England. Canada and the USA should be in step on everything.

What utter tosh

More losing for Canada

Not really. The Boeing updated AWACS design has been delayed several times.

That's a legitimate reason for choosing another option. But that shoots the Trump narrative in the butt. That (and other Boeing problems) have been going on since the reverse takeover by McDouglas.

For fighters, the odds that Canada will ever need 5th generation performance and features makes choosing a cheaper option look pretty appealing. Wise decision. But again, not much to do with Trump.

Canada knows that the US has their back. It's in the Monroe Doctrine. The Donald's just asking them (and NATO and the EU) to pay their fair share of the umbrella they've been enjoying for 80+ years. At the end of the day, the US and Canada will still be best buds, though the Canucks may be picking up more tabs than they have historically.

Edited June 3Jun 3 by impulse

9 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Are you disputing millions of Americans are struggling to put food on the table and a roof over their heads?

Yes.

8 hours ago, Wingate said:

Buddy, can you spare a dime? How about $40,000,000,000,000?

This is before the drunkard asked for another $500,000,000,000 to fund his boss' Forever War.

Bet you never complained before.

Spending is only bad when Repubs do it. Maybe we should defund ICE and the Pentagon and send more aid to Somalia and fund health care for illegal immigrants

2 hours ago, impulse said:

At the end of the day, the US and Canada will still be best buds, though the Canucks may be picking up more tabs than they have historically

Canada will be nothing more than Ontario by then

12 hours ago, TedG said:

Tell me about your experiences living in the USA.

None. Couldnt afford it.