Canada Planning To Buy Super Hornet Fighter Jets Before Making A Final Decision On F-35s

US F-18 fighter jets © Mike Blake / Reuters

The Drive: Report Says Canada Will Buy Super Hornets As An Interim Fighter Solution

Is logic finally prevailing with Ottawa's fighter ambitions?

Over the past decade, Canada has lived through its own unique F-35 saga. It even crept into this TV spot where little kids compare their fighter jets. The conservative government of Stephen Harper had a fixation on buying just 65 examples of the stealth jet to replace the country's overextended fleet of 80 CF-18A+ Hornets. When liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took power early last winter, he made it clear that the F-35 deal was not going to happen. Now Trudeau’s cabinet has reportedly decided to order a batch of F/A-18 Super Hornets as an interim fighter solution, pushing off a potential legal backlash from rejecting the F-35 outright.

The Super Hornet has long been the right choice to fulfil Canada’s strategic needs while also sticking to its budgetary limitations (make sure to read all about why here). Even buying a relatively small batch of say 24 Super Hornets would be a great solution for taking the pressure off of the RCAF’s aging and over-worked “legacy” CF-18 Hornet fleet.

Such a move still leaves the door open for Canada to buy F-35s, or more Super Hornets for that matter, in the future. In essence, by procuring a batch of Super Hornets now, Canada not only buys itself time and lowers its financial risk, but it also allows its air arm to better identify what they truly need in a future fighter by buying and flying the F-35’s most logical alternative.

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WNU Editor: This tells me ta lot on where this procurement process is going .... Liberals miss membership payment to stay in F-35 consortium (CBC).

More News On Canada Planning To Buy Super Hornet Fighter Jets Before Making A Final Decision On F-35s

Liberals planning to buy Super Hornet fighter jets before making final decision on F-35s, sources say -- Ottawa Citizen
Canada Targets Super Hornet Buy, For Now -- Defense News
No Decision Yet on Canada’s Fighter-Jet Order, Official Says -- Bloomberg
As F-35 Debate Rages On, Canada May Be Forced to Buy Temporary Jet Fleet -- Sputnik
By sole-sourcing Super Hornets, Liberals now look identical to Tories on fighter-jets file -- John Ivison, National Post