{"id":137722,"date":"2026-07-21T08:33:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T08:33:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/137722\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T08:33:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T08:33:07","slug":"canada-poised-to-join-next-gen-jet-fighter-program-as-an-observer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/137722\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada poised to join next-gen jet fighter program as an observer"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> A 1\/10 model of a next-generation combat jet is on display at a booth for the Global Combat Air Program at the Japan International Aerospace Exhibition in Tokyo on Oct. 16, 2024. (AP Photo\/Mari Yamaguchi) – The Canadian Press <\/p>\n

OTTAWA \u2014 While the federal government has yet to sort out what it’s doing with its order for a full fleet of fifth-generation F-35 fighter jets, it’s already looking to the next big thing. <\/p>\n

Ottawa is widely expected to announce Tuesday it will join a sixth-generation fighter jet program run by the U.K., Japan and Italy \u2014 not as a participant but as an observer with access to internal information. <\/p>\n

Defence Minister David McGuinty, currently in the U.K. for a major international air show, has said the government is interested in learning more about the Global Combat Air Program. <\/p>\n

The three countries launched the Global Combat Air Program to replace Japan’s F-2 jets and the Eurofighter Typhoons used by the U.K. and Italy. <\/p>\n

It’s still very early days and it’s not clear yet whether Canada has a viable path to participating in the fighter jet program in a way that gets domestic industry involved. <\/p>\n

“It’s still very conceptual,” said Philippe Lagass\u00e9, a professor at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs. <\/p>\n

“Research has begun on it. The viability is not yet clear. The importance of it is not yet clear. You’ll have a lot of critics who will argue we should be abandoning traditional fighters altogether. There’s a lot of things to iron out and some uncertainty … but this is normal for a project like this.” <\/p>\n

David Perry, president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, said there are a lot of unanswered questions about how Canada could get involved and whether there’s an entry fee. <\/p>\n

But gaining observer status could help crystallize the federal government’s thinking on future involvement in the program, he said. <\/p>\n

“I think it makes sense for us, at a minimum, to go kick the tires and then see whether or not if it looks like it’s a good initiative to be a part of more seriously,” he said. <\/p>\n

Boeing in the U.S. is manufacturing the F-47, a next-generation twin-engined fighter to replace the U.S. air force’s F-22 Raptor. Those have an estimated cost of about US$300 million per aircraft \u2014 much more expensive than the F-35s. <\/p>\n

Daniel Norton, senior management systems analyst at the RAND Corporation think tank, said the U.S. might not want to export the technology and it could be “cost-prohibitive for smaller air forces like the RCAF.” <\/p>\n

The Global Combat Air Program, he said, “may be less expensive and offer a greater chance for Canadian firms to become involved in development and production.” <\/p>\n

“At the very least, the threat of participation could provide some leverage in negotiations with other contractors,” he added. <\/p>\n

Canada’s plan to purchase a fleet of fifth-generation F-35 fighter jets has been under a federal review for more than a year. <\/p>\n

Prime Minister Mark Carney put the full order of 88 jets under review in March 2025 in response to the ongoing trade war started by U.S. President Donald Trump. <\/p>\n

Richard Shimooka, a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, said the Global Combat Air Program has suffered internal tensions and it’s not clear where the program will be a few years down the road. <\/p>\n

The U.K. had dragged its heels for nearly a year on committing to financing, while Japan has pushed for a faster pace. <\/p>\n

Shimooka pointed out there’s another option for Canada: joining the U.S. navy’s sixth-generation project, the F\/A-XX. <\/p>\n

Canada could still seek to join that once the political dynamics change between Ottawa and Washington, he said. <\/p>\n

“Canadian industries are very effectively aligned with U.S. industry,” he said. <\/p>\n

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 21, 2026. <\/p>\n

Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A 1\/10 model of a next-generation combat jet is on display at a booth for the Global Combat…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":137723,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[17,11818,45226,384,45695,989,4512],"class_list":["post-137722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-canada","tag-fighter-jets","tag-global-combat-air-program","tag-japan","tag-norman-paterson-school-of-international-affairs","tag-the-canadian-press","tag-the-federal-government"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=137722"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137722\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/137723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=137722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=137722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}