A U.S. F-35 fighter jet performs during the Dubai Air Show in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)Fatima Shbair/The Associated Press

This photograph shows a pilot disembarking a Belgium's newly purchased Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter jet for the first time, after arriving at the Florennes military airbase, southern Belgium on October 13, 2025. (Photo by JOHN THYS / AFP) (Photo by JOHN THYS/AFP via Getty Images)JOHN THYS/AFP/Getty Images

Peter Jones is a professor in the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa.

The endless review of which fighter jet to buy presents difficult choices. For proponents of the F-35, which include the RCAF itself, the imperative of continued, seamless interoperability with the United States is the driving factor. For those enamoured of the Swedish Gripen, considerations of developing a degree of defence independence from the U.S. are important.

Emerging from the din is the idea of mixed fleet, which would combine the two aircraft. Proponents of the Gripen accept the logic of a mixed fleet (because Canada is already committed to at least 16 F-35s anyway, and seems to have quietly put money down on key components on an additional 14 planes). The F-35’s champions are largely against it, hoping that the government will stick with plans for an all-F-35 fleet of 88 aircraft.

Opposition........

© The Globe and Mail