Key Points – Canada can proceed with its F-35 fighter jet acquisition, but only if Prime Minister Mark Carney secures crucial terms from the US Trump administration to ensure greater Canadian operational sovereignty.
-While the F-35 offers unmatched stealth and networked capabilities vital for Canada’s Arctic and international commitments, its current reliance on US-controlled parts, software, and inspections poses significant risks.
Canada F-35. Image Credit: Ideogram.
-To make the deal viable, Canada must gain authority for software customization with Canadian systems, clearance for Canadian personnel to conduct inspections, and guarantees against the termination of Canadian F-35 production contracts. Without these safeguards, Canada should pursue alternative aircraft.
Canada and the F-35
During the 2025 election campaign, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney pledged to re-examine Canada’s acquisition of the F-35. Alternative aircraft would be considered in an effort to reduce the reliance on American defense platforms, given U.S. President Donald Trump’s rhetoric about making Canada the 51st U.S. state.
Having won the election, the prime minister must immediately address the F-35 project.
The fifth-generation F-35 fighter jet incorporates cutting-edge technologies and software – blending sensors and real-time data networks – with stealth capabilities crucial for modern air warfare. With its electronic-warfare capabilities and ability to fire beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles, the F-35 is considered unmatched in evading enemy detection in contested airspace, and extraordinary in delivering strikes against heavily defended targets.
Drawbacks of the F-35 for Canada
However, the F-35 has drawbacks that Ottawa must consider. First, it is a system of systems, requiring its users have extensive access to critical parts, software, and sensors essential to its radar jamming, cloud-based networks, and electronic-warfare capabilities. Washington controls all of this.
While worries emerged over a rumored “kill switch” in the F-35 – this does not likely exist – the real threat comes from President Trump having the authority to end 110 Canadian contracts at any time and return production to U.S. companies. He has reportedly expressed a desire to do this, should these contracts come up for renewal.
Add in the strict controls requiring U.S. citizens to perform aircraft inspections, and there exists a repair-and-replenishment problem with Canada’s F-35s that could complicate defense efforts in any conflict with a peer adversary – and let’s be frank, in such a conflict Canada should expect to lose aircraft.
Canada’s F-35 Commitment
Having committed $19 billion to purchase 88 fighters, Canada has already paid for 16 F-35s. These are due to be delivered early next year. Should Carney remain committed to the remaining F-35s? Yes, but he must also demand greater safeguards.
There is no doubt that the F-35 is a capable platform that can amplify Canada’s lethality and mobility in the air domain. Canada must possess modern fighters to protect its vital interests in the Arctic and abroad, as well as being able to confront potential adversaries with compelling force.
If Ottawa were to renege on purchasing the remaining F-35s – most likely resulting in a hefty cancellation fee – the Canadian Armed Forces would need to solicit new bids and platform proposals to find a replacement aircraft, a process that could take a decade. In the meantime, the existing gap would persist between the Royal Canadian Air Force’s commitments and its capabilities.
Canada Needs to Make the F-35 more Canadian
To see the F-35 deal through, Carney and his team must work with the Trump administration to get high-level agreements to diminish the repair-and-replenishment problem and the control and inspection barriers facing Canada’s F-35s.
First, Carney must get a transfer of authority that permits the Canadian Armed Forces to customize the F-35’s software and instruments with Canadian-based systems to enhance Canada’s operational flexibility and technological independence. Second, Canada must get U.S. security clearance for qualified Canadian military personnel to initiate aircraft inspections, amplifying Canada’s oversight controls. Lastly, Carney must secure an agreement that prohibits the termination of Canadian contracts at any time during the acquisition and sustainment phases of the F-35 program. If these aircraft are for Canada, then they must have Canadian inputs.
If there is no breakthrough, Canada must pursue new fighter jets from other partners – aircraft such as Sweden’s Saab JAS 39 Gripen E/F, France’s Rafale, or South Korea’s KF-21.
Canada’s Future Fighter Fleet Will Need to be Larger
In the decades to come, Canada will need a fleet of 120 or more fighters. It is naive at best to believe that 88 F-35s are enough to deliver the Royal Canadian Air Force’s strategic vision for air power. Should Canada not be content with the F-35 partnership, Ottawa will need to move towards a mixed fleet of fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft.
Although defense experts and officials see a mixed fleet as a logistical headache and an expensive undertaking, the first priority for Canada’s fleet, whether it features one fighter model or multiple, is that it serves Ottawa’s interests to competently fulfill mission objectives that protect and project Canada’s defensive interests. This is true regardless of cost or complexity.
While the F-35 grants Canada advanced capabilities, these cannot come at the expense of Ottawa’s sovereign ability to control and operate its air domain.
About the Author: Andrew Erskine
Andrew Erskine is a research fellow at the Institute for Peace & Diplomacy, a 2025 Emerging Leader with Arctic Frontiers, and a 2025 Young Leader with the Pacific Forum.
