Canada announced Wednesday it will purchase a fleet of Swedish-made military surveillance aircraft over a competing American option, delivering the most direct sign yet that Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government is intentionally shifting military procurement away from the United States.
Speaking at the annual CANSEC defense conference in Ottawa, Carney said Canada will enter negotiations with Sweden’s Saab to buy the GlobalEye airborne early warning aircraft. The selection passed over Boeing’s E-7 Wedgetail, which had been the primary competing bid. The Boeing plane has suffered from delays and cost overruns.
“With a suite of advanced sensors and mission systems, Saab’s GlobalEye will be a key resource for the Canadian Armed Forces to detect and deter threats across the Arctic,” Carney said at the conference.
Military officials had previously said Canada was seeking to buy six of the early warning aircraft. Carney did not disclose the size of the fleet or a final price, but earlier estimates placed potential contracts in the multi-billion dollar range.
The GlobalEye is built on a Bombardier Global 6500 platform, a Canadian-made business jet. Saab said in a statement it plans to invest in research and development work in Canada as part of any deal, a factor that likely influenced Ottawa’s decision.
Philippe Lagasse, associate director of international affairs at Carleton University in Ottawa, called the outcome a direct signal of Canada’s direction under Carney.
“An important test case for the Carney government’s policy of pivoting away from American military capability,” Lagasse said in a statement.
Canada deepened its ties with Nordic nations on Arctic defense earlier this month, following a period of deteriorating relations with Washington. The U.S. previously suspended planned biannual defense talks with Canada, a sign of broader friction between the two longtime allies.
Carney pledged in March that Canada would take full responsibility for protecting its Arctic territory, after decades of relying on a joint defense partnership with the United States through NORAD. Canada hit NATO’s 2-percent-of-GDP defense spending threshold last year after years of pressure from Washington and other alliance members to meet the target.
The Saab deal is not the only American defense contract under review. Canada has an existing agreement to purchase 88 F-35 fighter jets from Lockheed-Martin, but Carney directed the military last year to probe whether that order could be reduced and partially replaced with non-U.S. aircraft. Carney declined to give a timeline on a final decision about the fighter fleet.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristerson welcomed the announcement.
“GlobalEye is already creating jobs in Canada, and working with the Canadian supply chain. This decision ties our two nations even closer together,” Kristerson wrote on social media.
Saab is also competing to sell Canada its Gripen fighter jet, which would be a direct competitor to the F-35 if Ottawa moves to scale back its Lockheed-Martin contract.
