On July 23, the Royal Canadian Air Force detailed the next steps related to the acquisition program of new fighter jets. Industries taking part to the call for bids will have to present a first offer, named bid security, in next fall. The final bid must be presented in spring 2020.

In this competition, four industries take part in this race. The Swedish Saab, the British Airbus, the U.S. Lockheed Martin and Boeing. Dassault withdrew from the competition last November. The Rafale and the French bid did not completely met the conditions established by Canada.

RCAF clears Canada will offer the bidders two opportunities to demonstrate that they can meet requirements for security and interoperability. The bid relative to security wmust be submitted next fall/ The Canadian government will issue some remarks to allow the industries to make evolve their bid to present in spring 2020.

From these offers, Canada should be able to select its new fighter aircraft by 2022. “The delivery of the first aircraft is scheduled by 2025,” reports the RCAF. The total number of fighter jets the Royal Canadian Air Force will acquire is 88. While waiting their entry into service, the CF-18 will be modernized in order to keep run their missions.