Saab’s Gripen jet fighter has never looked better for Canada

David Olive, writing in the Toronto Star:

Ottawa is considering Saab AB’s competing Gripen jet fighter as an F-35 alternative.
Canada is contractually obliged to buy the first 16 F-35s, which leaves a balance of 72 planes needed by the RCAF.

In contrast to American hostility, Saab has spent the past year trying to strike a harmonious partnership with Canada that aligns with the Carney government’s agenda of using defence procurement to increase Canada’s industrial capacity.

If Ottawa chooses the Swedish option, Canada could have its first military aerospace industry since the Second World War, when Canadian factories turned out hundreds of Allied warplanes.

[…]

Lockheed didn’t anticipate the impact on its Canadian F-35 sales of a falling-out between Canada and the U.S.

Last spring, Carney declared that “The days of our military sending 70 cents of every dollar to the United States are over.” Canada has since turned increasingly to non-U.S. military suppliers.

David Olive’s opinion piece in the Toronto Star is also archived.