Royal Canadian Air Force F-35A Ordered

Canada finalised an agreement to acquire 88 F-35A Lightning II fighters for the Royal Canadian Air Force, closing a competition that had run for more than a decade and committing about 19 billion Canadian dollars, the largest investment in the air force in some thirty years. The aircraft replace the CF-18 Hornet fleet, which had been extended well beyond its planned service life and supplemented with second-hand Australian airframes. Deliveries were scheduled to begin in 2026 and the full fleet to be in service by the early 2030s, flying from the fighter bases at Cold Lake and Bagotville.