Sources close to the matter revealed that Canada will scrap its proposed acquisition of 18 Boeing Co Super Hornet fighter jets. The latest development can be attributed to the ongoing dispute between Canada and the U.S. aerospace company.
The Canadian government will as early as next week announce its plans to purchase a used fleet of older Australia F-18 jets, which is similar to the ones the country operates at the moment, the sources added.
This move is justified by the anger of the government with the decision by made Boeing to launch a trade challenge against Canadian planemaker Bombardier Inc., with Boeing accusing Bombardier of dumping airlines on the American market.
The decision will also affect the future of Boeing’s military sales in Canada. According to their website, Boeing stated that their commercial and defense operations in Canada is responsible for over 17,000 jobs.
The U.S, Canada and Mexico have been locked in a rather strenuous negotiations over the NAFTA trade pact, with the U.S President Donald Trump stating that he hasn’t done enough yet to protect U.S jobs.
The Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau back in 2016 stated that he wants the Boeing jets to act as temporary solutions until they could get a permanent fleet that would replace their ageing CF-18 jets.
With relations with Boeing now deteriorating, Ottawa has criticized the company for not playing the role of a trusted partner and has since then turned their attention to Australian jets. The defence ministry of Australia stated that Canada had officially approach them to declare interest in a number of Australia’s F/A-18 Classic Hornets on Sept. 29. In their statement, they said “Defence is continuing to assist Canada in regards to their EOI,” though they declined to disclose other details such as price.
The sources added that some Australian military officials had been in Ottawa late last month for talks. One of the sources added that by purchasing the fleet from Australia, Canada will be saving tons of money and it would also save the cost of training its pilots on a new aircraft.
Canadian officials had previously stated that if the proposed acquisition goes through, then some of the aircraft would be used for spare part functions
