Canadian military attends U.S. F-35 ceremony despite trade tensions

The Canadian Armed Forces will take part in a Lockheed Martin ceremony in Texas to mark the assembly milestone for Canada's first F-35; Ottawa is still reviewing its CF-18 replacement program and has not announced how many U.S.-made fighters it will ultimately buy.

The Canadian Armed Forces will join a ceremony in Fort Worth, Texas, to mark a production milestone for the first aircraft ordered for Canada. The event comes while Ottawa is still reviewing the CF-18 replacement program and has not finalized how many F-35s it will purchase. The review has taken on added weight because of recent trade and political tensions with the United States, including reported U.S. threats of tariffs. Training for Canadian F-35 pilots has already begun and infrastructure work is underway for the initial fleet. Key facts: - Canada has a contract for 16 F-35s and the government has not announced what it will do with a remaining order of 72 fighters. - The ceremony will include an RCAF commander signing a fuselage bulkhead for the first Canadian F-35, which is in final assembly at Lockheed Martin's Fort Worth line and is due to be delivered later this year. - The federal review of the program was launched after the U.S. presidential transition and remains unresolved; Prime Minister Mark Carney has not yet made a decision on the $27-billion program. - Officials and experts have expressed both operational and sovereignty concerns: Lockheed Martin denies allegations of a remote "kill switch," while some experts warn the U.S. could influence software updates or spare parts access; Saab's Gripen has been promoted publicly as an alternative. - Political figures have framed the debate in terms of Canada’s reliance on American-made defence equipment and the potential diplomatic signal a reduced F-35 order could send. Summary: The ceremony highlights a production milestone for the aircraft while Ottawa continues its review of the CF-18 replacement amid Canada–U.S. trade and political tensions. Undetermined at this time.