OTTAWA —
The federal government has told Boeing that its bid to replace Canada’s aging CF-18s with a new fleet of the American company’s Super Hornet fighter jets did not meets its requirements.
Three sources from industry and government say the message was delivered Wednesday as the other two companies competing for the $19-billion contract — U.S. defence giant Lockheed Martin and Swedish firm Saab — were told they met the government’s requirements.
The three sources were all granted anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss these matters publicly.
The Department of National Defence and Public Services and Procurement Canada, which is managing the competition on behalf of the federal government, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday.
Companies had been ordered to show their fighter jet was able to meet the military’s requirements for missions at home and abroad, but also that winning the contract would result in substantial economic benefits to Canada.
However, while Boeing’s failure to meet the requirements would appear to disqualify the Super Hornet from the competition, leaving only Lockheed Martin’s F-35 and Saab’s Gripen fighter jet in the running, none of the companies have been told whether they are still in or out.
A Boeing spokesperson said the company would reserve comment pending official notification from the government.
News that one of the two U.S. companies competing for the contract failed to meet one or more of those requirements is the latest twist in what has already been a long and often unpredictable road toward replacing Canada’s CF-18s.
Many observers had seen the Super Hornet and F-35 as the only real competition because of Canada’s close relationship with the United States, which includes using fighter jets together to defend North American aerospace on a daily basis.
Those perceptions were only amplified after two other European companies dropped out of the competition before it even started, complaining the government’s requirements had stacked the deck in favour of their U.S. rivals.
“There was a lot of speculation about whether a non-American fighter could actually be a real contender, given Canada’s requirements for interoperability with the United States,” said defence analyst David Perry of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.
“If they’re still in the mix, Saab has obviously met that mark.”
And while he acknowledged it was a surprise to see Boeing as one of the companies now on the outside looking in, Perry suggested the result could bolster the government’s assertions that it is running a fair and unbiased competition.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 25, 2021.