TORONTO — Canada will buy early warning radar planes built by Sweden\u2019s Saab and Canada\u2019s Bombardier over two American options, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Wednesday. <\/p>\n
Carney said his government has entered negotiations to procure Saab\u2019s Airborne Early Warning & Control Aircraft, which is built on the Canadian-manufactured Bombardier Global 6500 aircraft and will support domestic production. <\/p>\n
Carney also noted it is made with 20% U.S. content. The federal government has previously said it\u2019s in the market for six radar aircraft. <\/p>\n
Carney has made a point of diversifying its military spending away from the United States. <\/p>\n
Equipped with powerful radar, the Saab planes provide situational awareness about aircraft and missile movements for hundreds of miles (kilometers). They can detect hostile activity in the air or from ships are able to direct fighter jets to their targets.<\/p>\n
\u201cSaab\u2019s GlobalEye will be a key resource for the Canadian Armed Forces to detect and deter threats across the Arctic,\u201d Carney said. <\/p>\n
The other options would have been to buy the E-7A Wedgetail surveillance planes built by U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing or the Aeris X by L3Harris. <\/p>\n
NATO is also considering the Saab plane over the American options. <\/p>\n
Carney has previously said that no more will over 70 cents of every dollar of Canadian military capital spending go to the U.S.<\/p>\n