Canada Chooses Swedish Surveillance Aircraft, Emphasizing Domestic Industrial Growth

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Wednesday that the Royal Canadian Air Force will acquire a fleet of Swedish surveillance aircraft.

Last year, Carney asserted that Canada had become overly reliant on the United States for defence and increased defence spending to an unprecedented level, thereby meeting NATO’s minimum defence expenditure target of 2 % of GDP.

Since assuming office, Carney has repeatedly indicated that future defence procurement will allocate less funding to U.S. defence contractors.

“The era in which the Canadian military expends 70 cents of every dollar on U.S. suppliers has ended,” Carney told Liberal Party supporters in Montreal last month.

The Saab GlobalEye, built on a Canadian‑produced executive jet, was chosen over two U.S. surveillance platforms, one of which was manufactured by Boeing. This acquisition coincides with Canada’s ongoing assessment of whether to procure up to 88 F‑35 fighters from the United States or to adopt the Saab Gripen. In a press briefing following the announcement, Carney emphasized that the two projects are unrelated.

Canada initially purchased sixteen F‑35 aircraft. Nevertheless, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly has called for increased domestic manufacturing. Saab has pledged to eventually assemble its fighter jets in Canada and has suggested that production could extend to other nations.

During a defense‑industry exhibition in Ottawa on Wednesday, Carney disclosed that roughly 3,000 Canadian workers will participate in GlobalEye production, with about one‑third of the fleet to be manufactured domestically. The aircraft is a heavily modified variant of the Bombardier Global 6500 executive jet, produced by Bombardier in Dorval, Quebec.

“This exemplifies Canada’s defence and industrial strategy,” Carney declared in his address. “It strengthens our strategic economy, generates Canadian jobs, and affirms our status as a global leader.”

The government has not disclosed the total number of aircraft to be procured or the precise cost. However, a Department of National Defence document updated in December notes an allocation exceeding five billion Canadian dollars (approximately $3.6 billion) for the programme.

While Carney has pledged to allocate 3.5 % of Canada’s GDP to defence annually by 2035, the Trump administration has expressed continued dissatisfaction. Last week, Elbridge Colby, the U.S. Under Secretary of Defence, announced on social media that the United States has suspended the Permanent Joint Board on Defence, a body established in 1940 that previously convened sporadically to discuss bilateral defence matters.

“Regrettably, Canada has not demonstrated credible progress on its defence obligations,” Colby wrote on social media.

Carney downplayed the suspension, noting that the board has not convened since 2024.

“I would not overstate the significance of this,” Carney told reporters last week. “We maintain numerous facets of close defence cooperation with the United States.”

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