The federal government is entering into contract negotiations with Saab to buy a fleet of surveillance aircraft for the Royal Canadian Air Force, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday.
Ottawa has previously stated it’s in the market for six advanced early warning radar aircraft.
Saab produces the surveillance planes in a joint partnership with Bombardier, based on Bombardier’s Global 6500 business jet.
“The GlobalEye’s airborne surveillance capability can track objects and signals up to 650 kilometres away, and they’ll share in real time that information with the Canadian Forces and our allies,” Carney said during a speech at the Cansec defence expo in Ottawa.
Carney noted he is the first prime minister to attend the annual Cansec arms show, a nod to his push to build up the military and the domestic defence sector.
Philippe Lagassé, a defence procurement expert and professor at Carleton University, said this is Carney’s first step in demonstrating what diversification beyond the American defence industry looks like.
“The government’s propensity or desire to pivot away from American military capability and built-in partnerships with Europe made the GlobalEye the easy choice for them,” Lagassé told The Canadian Press.
The prime minister also pointed out that the Global 6500 includes 20 per cent U.S. content.
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Secretary of State for Defence Procurement Stephen Fuhr told reporters at a news conference at Cansec on Wednesday that Bombardier currently makes its jets in the Toronto area. Saab then adds the military components in Sweden.
But now, Saab will add those surveillance component parts within Canada, with an eye to bolstering its export capacity.
“One of the benefits of what we’re doing here is, not only is this going to be a capability for Canada but … we’d like to export from Canada,” he said.
Saab’s CEO Micael Johansson told The Canadian Press on the floor of the trade show that talks are ongoing to establish how quickly Canadian industry could build the planes.
“We will establish a Canadian hub to build planes in Canada. That’s a very important part of this,” he said.
“We need the capacity, from a Saab perspective, and Canada has excellent industries to support this. Of course we will build planes here — that will be important for us to have that capacity on both sides of the Atlantic.”
National Defence also considered two American products: Boeing’s Wedgetail E7A, an advanced version of its radar aircraft, and L3Harris’ AERIS X platform.
“It’s not too much of a surprise,” Lagassé said of the announcement on the Saab jets, adding that the Liberals campaigned in the last election on acquiring a domestic radar aircraft.
“That led to really only two options, Saab’s GlobalEye or working with L3Harris potentially to integrate an (airborne early warning) ability on the Bombardier jet,” he added.
In statements to media, Boeing voiced confidence in its E7 product and said it respects the Carney government’s decision, while L3Harris said it will “continue to engage with the government of Canada on this program.”
The government has yet to make a decision on its planned purchase of fighter jets. The Gripen fighter jet, built by the Swedish aerospace company Saab, is the obvious rival to the American-built F-35 fighter jet in that competition.
Ottawa’s full order of 88 F-35s has been mired in a political review that has lasted for more than a year as U.S. President Donald Trump has pursued his ongoing trade war with Canada.
This decision on the radar planes ultimately may have little bearing on the fighter jets.
“I don’t think we can read anything into it either way, to be honest, just based on this announcement,” Lagassé said.
Fantastic.
Next up: Trump goes nuts on Truth Social calling the purchase a national security threat to U.S.
Questions:
• Guess who recently invested $10B in Sweden’s AI industry?
• Guess whose AI that GlobalEye will probably be using.
Multiple Choice Answers:
a. Brookfield
b. Brookfield
c. All the above.
Buying theses planes from Sweden is fine but I really don’t think we need a new fleet of snowbirds like Time too let them go into museum if need be but Canada can’t afford to buy new ones that r just too fly around at shows like let’s spend it where needed!!!!!
Does, carney have the right to send canada into the poorhouse? We have bigger priorities like housing and food bills.
Global Eyes, seems ease to remember. But if you actually took ten minutes learning about this inferior product you would not be buying it with golden eyes.
Now if carney could just get rid of maga anti Canadian governor smith, Canada could stand united.
Maga –
More ons
Are.
Governoring
Alberta
Canada should buy Saab fighter jets . American military supply chains are to unstable. The trump regime is not trustworthy
Great for Canada, and it’s time for the Canadian military brass to ween themselves from always buying American stuff.
@ Tom Randall.
Not to criticize your post but Volvo’s Auto Division is actually owned by Chinese Auto manufacturer Geely. But the Truck Division is still owned by Sweeds
Saab’s Auto Division is owned by the Chinese as well.
Trust a Tory to obsess over 0.006 % of Canada’s actual export vale, lol.
We are finally replacing the Lockheed CP-140 Aurora – first built in 1980. A 4 engine propeller plane.
So like the A220, a Canadian designed jet. Great to see Canada involved.
Anyone thinks it’s odd that little Sweden has a major aircraft manufacturing for fighter jets, surveillance aircraft. They have Volvo making passenger vehicles, large trucks, and construction equipment used around the world. But Canada’s only made export is maple syrup?
All of Canada should separate from the Federal Government in Ottawa.
Canada needs protection from the rot within. Planes won’t help!
Excellent news !
Now buy the Gripens
Good move. Get bent Hoekstra.