US warns Canada of consequences as F-35 fighter jet deal faces review

Ottawa: Amidst ongoing tensions between the US and Canada, the US ambassador in Ottawa has warned the Mark Carney government. US Ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, said that if the Carney government backs out of the decision to buy 88 F-35 fighter jets, the US could alter the decades-old North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) agreement with Canada. The US ambassador warned that if the fighter jet deal changes, the US would have to send its F-35 jets inside Canadian borders.

Hoekstra said that if Canada buys fewer fighter jets, the US will compensate for those shortcomings due to security concerns. This could mean that the US would have to buy more F-35 fighter jets itself and use them to intervene in Canadian airspace.

What is NORAD?

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is a decades-old partnership between Canada and the US that monitors incoming threats and, if necessary, intercepts them by deploying armed jets. Under its current terms, the US and Canada can work together to track or intercept threats in each other's airspace. However, Hoekstra indicated that if the fighter jet deal changes, US intervention could increase further, requiring new terms in the agreement.

Canada Backing Out of F-35 Deal

In 2022, Canada agreed to purchase 88 F-35A advanced fighter jets from Lockheed Martin of the US, but the program has begun to face challenges. An initial audit of the deal in 2025 found that the program's cost had ballooned from $19 billion to $27.7 billion. Amid rising tensions between Canada and the United States due to threats from President Donald Trump, the Canadian government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it was reviewing the deal.

Now, according to reports, Canadian officials are looking at other countries for fighter jet supplies. This includes the Swedish company Saab, which manufactures the JAS 39 Gripen E fighter jet. Saab has even offered to manufacture the jets in Canada, which would create 12,600 jobs.

US angered by potential deal with Sweden

Hoekstra expressed concern about Canada considering buying Swedish jets and said that if the Trudeau government orders Gripen jets, NORAD would have to be reconsidered. He said, "If they decide that they're going to take an inferior product that is not as interchangeable, not as interoperable as the F-35, then that changes our defense capabilities. And we're going to have to figure out how we're going to adjust to that."

Vincent Rigby, a Canadian defense analyst and former National Security Advisor (NSA) to the previous Justin Trudeau government, called Hoekstra's statement another ill-considered remark. Rigby said, "It can't be ignored, but it shouldn't be taken as gospel from the Trump administration or the Pentagon."

Canada's fear, like Denmark's

One country is regretting its purchase of American F-35 fighters and has openly expressed it. Rasmus Jarlov, head of the Danish Parliament's defense committee, has called for a reconsideration of the F-35 order. He said, "They (the F-35s) are in for repairs more than half the time. So the Americans have the power to completely cripple our air force simply by cutting off (parts) supplies." Denmark's concerns are essentially a message to Canada to choose a different fighter jet. A Canadian survey conducted in December showed that 72 percent of respondents favored replacing the F-35 with Sweden's Gripen in the fighter fleet.