The federal government is entering into contract negotiations with Saab to buy a fleet of surveillance aircraft for the Royal Canadian Air Force, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday.
Ottawa has previously stated it’s in the market for six advanced early warning radar aircraft.
Saab produces the surveillance planes in a joint partnership with Bombardier, based on Bombardier’s Global 6500 business jet.
“The GlobalEye’s airborne surveillance capability can track objects and signals up to 650 kilometres away, and they’ll share in real time that information with the Canadian Forces and our allies,” Carney said during a speech at the Cansec defence expo in Ottawa.
Carney noted he is the first prime minister to attend the annual Cansec arms show, a nod to his push to build up the military and the domestic defence sector.
Philippe Lagassé, a defence procurement expert and professor at Carleton University, said this is Carney’s first step in demonstrating what diversification beyond the American defence industry looks like.
“The government’s propensity or desire to pivot away from American military capability and built-in partnerships with Europe made the GlobalEye the easy choice for them,” Lagassé told The Canadian Press.
The prime minister also pointed out that the Global 6500 includes 20 per cent U.S. content.