The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) has received its first two CF-35A fifth-generation fighter jets at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona.
The RCAF announced the delivery on its official X account.
The first eight aircraft will be based at Luke Air Force Base, where Canadian pilots will receive training to operate the F-35A fighter jets.
The first aircraft are expected to arrive in Canada in 2028, once the Department of National Defence has completed the necessary infrastructure to receive them.
Canada’s F-35A Program
Canada joined the F-35 program in 2002 as a Tier 3 partner. This was the lowest of the three partnership levels in terms of financial contribution during the aircraft’s development and testing phase. Canada committed approximately $150 million to the program.
In return, Canadian companies gained opportunities to manufacture F-35 parts. These include airframe components, horizontal stabilizers, wing sections, landing gear parts, and engine sensors.
According to Canada’s Department of National Defence, 37 Canadian companies currently hold contracts under the F-35 program. Canadian-made components are worth an estimated $2.2 million per aircraft. More than 110 Canadian companies have received contracts related to the program, worth a combined total of over $ 3.6 billion.
However, Canada did not make its final decision to select the F-35A (CF-35A) over its competitor, the Swedish Saab Gripen E, to replace its CF-188 Hornet fighters until 2022. In January 2023, the Canadian government signed an agreement to purchase 88 aircraft.
The situation changed after Donald Trump returned to power and launched a trade war. On March 14, 2025, just days after taking office as prime minister, Mark Carney ordered a review of the decision to purchase 88 F-35A fighters.
In May 2026, Canada’s Department of National Defence said the review was still underway and that a final decision would be announced at a later date. Meanwhile, preparations to receive the F-35s are continuing.
In late September, the first F-35A fighter jet designated for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), locally known as theCF-35A, made its maiden flight.
The aircraft, bearing manufacturer serial number AR-1, took off on September 23, 2026, from Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth in Texas, where Lockheed Martin’s production facility is located.
Source: Militaryni
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