Canadian Defence Department Gets Green Signal to spend $7 billion on 16 Units Of F-35 Fighter Jets .

• The funding approval came after months of negotiations with the U.S. government and Lockheed Martin.
• F-35 beat out Sweden’s Saab Gripen in a competition earlier this year.
• While the federal government has said it plans to buy 88 new fighter jets to replace its aging CF-18s between 2026 and 2032.
• Canada will be purchasing F-35s in blocks over the next few years.

On 15th of December, Germany made a deal for 35 units of  F-35A Lightning II jets , and now the Canadian Department of National Defence has received an approval to acquire sixteen F-35 fighter jets and related accessories.

Expected to be a deal of $7 billion , this is going to be the 1st Phase of a bigger Canadian procurement program , that will see 88 new fighter jets to replace its aging CF-18s between 2026 and 2032.

Yet to be made public , the funding approval came after months of negotiations with the U.S. government and Lockheed Martin after the F-35 beat out Sweden's Saab Gripen in a competition earlier this year.

Sources say , Canada needed to place an initial order by the end of the calendar year to ensure its planned delivery schedule remained on track.

In another development , Canada has a proposal to buy between eight and 12 units of P-8 Poseidon aircraft from Boeing , but that is still being examined. And , whether it moves forward to cabinet still has to be decided. 

There are no comments from Lockheed Martin or U.S. Defense Department's F-35 office at this moment. While Gripen manufacturer Saab is surprised by this report , all eyes are on the Canadian Government for an official release.