Mr. Speaker, as clearly laid out in Canada’s new defence policy, a modern fighter jet fleet is essential for defending Canada and Canadian sovereignty, including in our northern skies, enabling continental security, and contributing to international peace and stability.
Through the new defence policy, “Strong, Secure, Engaged”, the government has committed to an open, fair, and transparent competition to replace our aging fleet of CF-18 fighter jets with 88 modern airframes.
We have simultaneously engaged governments and our partners in industry to explore the option of procuring an interim fleet of fighter jets to fill the fighter capability gap. Our goal is to ensure that we are able to meet our NORAD and NATO commitments simultaneously, while safeguarding our ability to be responsive to threats domestically.
The Government of Canada is continuing to explore the potential acquisition of 18 interim aircraft to supplement the CF-18 fighter aircraft fleet until the completion of the transition to the permanent replacement aircraft. No decision has been made yet. The government had previously considered the possibility of acquiring 18 Super Hornets. We are also actively looking at other options through discussions with other F-18 users, including Australia. Once all of the information is available, the options will be considered to assess whether they can meet our requirements at a level of capability, cost, schedule, and economic value that is acceptable to Canada.
The operational life span of this interim fleet would start at delivery and not end before the completion of the transition to the CF-18 permanent replacement aircraft.