Canada receives first two CF-35 stealth fighters from U.S. as remaining 72 F-35s still face procurement review.

The Royal Canadian Air Force accepted its first two Lockheed Martin CF-35A Lightning II stealth fighters at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, initiating deliveries for Canada's planned 88-aircraft fleet to replace its aging CF-18 Hornets. The initial F-35s will remain in the United States to support pilot conversion, instructor qualification, and maintenance certification ahead of expected Canadian-based deliveries in 2028. However, Prime Minister Mark Carney's ongoing procurement review leaves 72 of the planned 88 fighters under evaluation, while acquisition estimates have risen to C$27.7 billion and Sweden's Saab Gripen E remains under consideration.

The CF-35A, Canada's designation for the F-35A, includes a drag chute for short or icy runways, the planned Sidekick modification to carry six AIM-120 missiles, and the integration of the Joint Strike Missile. (Picture source: RCAF)

On October 22, 2026, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) accepted its first two CF-35A Lightning II stealth fighters at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, beginning the first deliveries under Canada's planned acquisition of 88 F-35As to replace its CF-18 Hornets. The first Canadian fighter, designated AR-1, completed a 90-minute maiden flight from Fort Worth, Texas, on September 23, accompanied by an F-35C chase plane before entering the acceptance process. The two fighters represent 2.3% of the intended fleet, with eight more scheduled for U.S.-based training by 2027, the first Canadian-based deliveries expected in 2028, and full operational capability targeted for 2034.

However, Prime Minister Mark Carney's March 2025 procurement review has left only 16 fighters under firm commitments, while the government has yet to determine whether it will purchase the remaining 72 F-35s, as Sweden's Saab Gripen E remains under consideration. The acquisition estimate has meanwhile increased from C$19 billion to C$27.7 billion, excluding at least C$5.5 billion in additional requirements, bringing identified expenditure to C$33.2 billion before the final fleet composition has been settled. The first Canadian F-35As will remain at Luke Air Force Base to support the RCAF's initial training, while Canadian maintenance personnel will also undergo instruction at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.

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Eight F-35s are allocated to the initial U.S.-based training phase, leaving the first Canadian-based deliveries in 2028 at 4 Wing Cold Lake, Alberta, followed by the development of operational capability at 3 Wing Bagotville, Quebec. Canada's schedule calls for initial operational capability by the end of 2030 and full operational capability by December 2034, but the October 22 acceptance does not establish a combat-ready Canadian F-35 squadron, since aircraft deliveries must be followed by pilot conversion, instructor qualification, maintenance certification, weapons integration, and operational evaluation. The RCAF had not confirmed a start date for Canadian pilot flying training when the first fighters were accepted, as Canada must also maintain its CF-18 fleet during this period, requiring two generations of fighters to operate simultaneously while competing for qualified personnel, maintenance capacity, and infrastructure funding. 

The F-35A, officially designated as CF-35A in Canada, uses a Pratt & Whitney F135-PW-100 turbofan engine producing 43,000 lbf of afterburning thrust, allowing a maximum speed of Mach 1.6, a ceiling of 50,000 ft, and a +9 g structural limit. Its published range exceeds 2,200 km, while its combat radius exceeds 1,000 km under specified mission conditions, making aerial refueling and forward deployment particularly relevant to Arctic operations, as its boom-refueling system requires compatible tanker support rather than the probe-and-drogue arrangement used by CF-18s. The F-35 also combines the AN/APG-81 AESA radar, AN/AAQ-37 infrared sensors, and AN/AAQ-40 targeting system to feed the pilot's helmet-mounted display and correlate both radar and infrared tracks. Internal weapons carriage normally includes four AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles, potentially increasing to six with the Sidekick modification, while total weapons capacity reaches 8,160 kg.

Canada's F-35A configuration includes a drag chute for improved landing performance on wet or icy runways and the internally carried Joint Strike Missile (JSM), selected in July 2026, with a published range exceeding 350 km, to add a maritime and land-strike capability beyond the CF-35A's primary air defense responsibilities. Canada's F-35 acquisition review began on March 14, 2025, when Prime Minister Mark Carney directed a reassessment of the 88-aircraft purchase finalized in January 2023, including operational requirements, industrial benefits, and alternative fighters. By March 31, 2025, Canada had committed C$935 million to the U.S. government for four fighters and long-lead components for eight more, including C$197 million already paid, while another C$516 million had been spent on project activities, including C$270 million for infrastructure design and site preparation.

Additional advance payments in February 2026 concerned components associated with 14 aircraft, preserving manufacturing opportunities without necessarily establishing binding orders for those aircraft. Alternatives considered in 2026 included a mixed fleet of 30 F-35As and 60 Gripen Es, representing a 90-aircraft fleet, or a mix of 72 F-35As and 40 Gripen Es, totaling 112. The first option reduces F-35 purchases by 65.9%, while the second increases the total fighter inventory by 27.3%; neither has received final approval, and both would require a revised acquisition budget, separate support arrangements, and a new assessment of whether their delivery schedules could replace the CF-18s before retirement. The financial consequences extend beyond aircraft procurement. The 2024 C$27.7 billion acquisition estimate represents a 45.8% increase over the original 2022 C$19 billion budget, with at least C$5.5 billion in additional infrastructure and weapons requirements raising identified expenditure to C$33.2 billion.

Dividing this amount, driven partly by exchange-rate fluctuations, inflation, and construction costs, by 88 produces C$377.3 million per fighter in allocated program expenditure, not an aircraft unit price. Permanent squadron facilities at Cold Lake and Bagotville are not expected to be completed until 2031, more than three years behind their original schedule, requiring interim operating arrangements as the first Canadian F-35 deliveries are expected in 2028. Personnel requirements create another constraint, with more than 500 additional core positions needed, including pilots, technicians, and civilian specialists, most of them by 2028-2029. Engineering personnel must also support both the CF-18 and CF-35A during the transition, increasing the burden on maintenance organizations already facing shortages of qualified staff. 

The most immediate operational issue is the replacement of the CF-188A/B Hornets, which entered service in 1982, as the C$1.3 billion Hornet Extension Project is intended to sustain the fleet into the early 2030s, including combat-capability upgrades for 36 of them. Canada originally acquired 138 CF-18s, subsequently supplemented by former Australian F/A-18A/B aircraft, and their operations are concentrated at Cold Lake and Bagotville, with northern forward operating locations including Inuvik, Yellowknife, Iqaluit, and Rankin Inlet supporting NORAD deployments. If Canada purchases only 16 F-35As, retaining eight for U.S.-based training would leave eight domestically; at a hypothetical 70% mission-capable rate, that represents 5.6 available fighters before allocating aircraft to specific duties.

Maintaining two aircraft on alert at both Cold Lake and Bagotville would require four fighters, excluding maintenance replacements, training, and northern deployments. By comparison, 88 aircraft at the same illustrative readiness rate would provide 61.6 mission-capable fighters before training and other allocations, demonstrating the operational importance of the unresolved 72-aircraft purchase. Industrial considerations add another dimension to Ottawa's decision because Canada joined the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program in 1997 and the country became a Level 3 partner in 2002; by April 2026, more than 110 Canadian companies had received F-35-related contracts worth over C$5.2 billion, although only 37 companies held active contracts at that point.

Canadian-manufactured components, worth an estimated C$3.6 million, are incorporated into each F-35 produced internationally as of March 2025, while Lockheed Martin projects over C$15.5 billion in Canadian industrial activity through 2058 under the full acquisition. Saab's alternative would establish a Gripen E assembly in Canada, conditional on an order of at least 40 aircraft, with 10 major partners and 250 suppliers envisaged. Agreements with CAE in July 2025 and GE Aerospace and Magellan Aerospace in July 2026 concern training software and potential F414 engine maintenance. Saab's projected 6,000 to 12,600 related jobs logically depend on Canadian orders and export production, whereas existing F-35 contracts already connect Canadian manufacturers to an international fleet. 

A mixed fleet would offer Ottawa a different distribution of aircraft capabilities but would also create two separate maintenance, training, and sustainment requirements. The Gripen E uses General Electric's F414-GE-39E engine, Leonardo's Raven ES-05 AESA radar, the Skyward-G infrared search-and-track sensor, and a ten-station weapons arrangement, with the ability to carry Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles. A 30 F-35A and 60 Gripen E arrangement could assign conventional interception and air-policing missions to Gripens and missions requiring low observability to CF-35As, most relevant to missions against defended airspace. Gripen acquisition would not eliminate U.S. dependencies because its engine remains subject to American export controls, while F-35 upgrades remain coordinated through U.S. leadership.

Canada's separate consideration of five to six Saab GlobalEye surveillance aircraft, based on the Canadian Bombardier Global 6500 business jet, could improve NORAD airborne detection and interception coordination, but Washington continues to press Ottawa to purchase Boeing E-7 Wedgetails instead, as part of bilateral tariff negotiations. For northern NORAD missions, the central decision is therefore not simply whether 88 F-35As cost more than a mixed fleet, but whether the balance between range and endurance, as Cold Lake is more than 1,800 km from Inuvik by direct air distance, making forward deployment and aerial refueling central considerations for sustained Arctic coverage.

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Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, South Korea, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.