Canada to buy 18 Boeing-made fighters

The Liberal Canadian government announced Tuesday that it will buy 18 new Boeing-made Super Hornet jets.

"We will enter into discussions immediately with Boeing on the acquisition of 18 Super Hornets to address the capability gap," Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan told a news conference in Ottawa Tuesday.

"The government will launch, in its current mandate, a wide-open and transparent competition to replace the CF-18 fleet," Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan told a news conference Tuesday.

Sajjan promised an "open and transparent competition" to replace the aging fighters purchased in the 1980s, and he said the decision must be guided by the country's defence needs.

Currently, Canada's military jet fleet is now more than 30 years old and is down from 138 aircraft to 77.

Sajjan said the military will implement a range of new measures including recruitment and training in order to extend the range of service of the existing CF-18 fleet.

The announcement marks what will surely be another controversial turning point in the long, protracted effort to replace the Canada's air force's workhorse CF-18s, which are long past due for replacement.

During last year's election campaign, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised not to purchase Lockheed Martin's F-35 stealth fighter, long the preferred option of the previous Conservative government. Endit