US warns they will send fighter jets into Canadian airspace if F-35 deal doesn’t go through
The US ambassador to Canada has warned that the US could change its decades-old North American Aerospace Defense Command agreement with Canada if its government backs out of purchasing 88 Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets.
On the last round trip between the USA and Canada deal is overAmbassador Pete Hoekstra warned that if Canada buys fewer fighter jets, it will “fill the gaps” in U.S. security concerns.
This may mean that the United States must purchase more F-35 fighter jets for its own use and use them for other purposes. Interference in Canadian airspace more often.
Under NORAD’s current terms, the United States and Canada can operate in each other’s airspace to track or intercept threats. However, Hoekstra stated that if the fighter jet agreement changes, US intervention could go further, so new conditions should be introduced to the Cold War era agreement.
Hoekstra “NORAD should have been replaced” he told CBC News.
Under NORAD terms, the US and Canada could fly in each other’s airspace to intercept threats (AFP via Getty Images)
Hoekstra’s comments come months after the incident Canadian government says it is “looking into it” Terms of the fighter jet deal after finding the program was more costly than expected.
Canada has agreed to purchase 88 F-35A advanced fighter jets from Lockheed Martin in 2022, with the country committing to fund 16 deliverable jets initially.
But the program quickly ran into difficulties. Not only is the jets taking longer to produce than expected, but the first audit of the deal in 2025 found that the cost of the program had increased from an initial $19 billion to $27.7 billion.
As tensions between the US and Canada increase due to President Donald Trump’s tariff threats, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called for an investigation.
Now Canadian officials are reportedly looking at other countries to supply fighter jets, including Swedish aerospace and defense company Saab, which created the JAS 39 Gripen E fighter jet. Saab offered to produce the jets in Canada, creating 12,600 jobs.
“The government is interested in all major projects that will not only protect Canada’s security and sovereignty, but also create jobs across the country,” said Mélanie Joly. The Minister of Industry told CBC News.
Hoekstra (pictured to Trump’s left) calls the US’s current defense relationship with Canada ‘great’ (Getty Images)
“We certainly can’t control President Trump, but…we can control our defense investments, who we award contracts to, and ultimately how we create jobs in Canada. So that’s what we’re going to focus on.”
But Hoekstra warned that if Canada chooses to buy Saab’s Gripen E jets, the United States would need to re-evaluate how it works with its northern neighbor on security.
“If they decide to use a lower quality product that is not as interchangeable and interoperable as the F-35, that would change our ability to defend,” Hoekstra said.
“And so we need to figure out how to change that,” the ambassador added.
Hoekstra’s warning is the latest attempt by a U.S. official to pressure another country to comply with the administration’s desires, especially regarding national security. This comes just after Trump threatened to impose tariffs on European allies for not supporting the US deal to buy Greenland.
