An executive vice president at Lockheed Martin said this week that he is ‘confident’ that Canada will decided to purchase F-35 aircraft to replace its aging fleet of CF-18 Hornets. There had been some suggestions that the Canadian government was considering F/A-18 Super Hornets instead of the F-35.

Jeff Babione, executive vice president and general manager of the F-35 program for manufacturer Lockheed Martin said he hopes the F-35A aerial demo at the Paris Air Show, which highlighted the aircraft’s ability to maneuver with ease, had made an impact on Canadian officials.

“I had the privilege of meeting with the Canadian contingent here at the Paris Air Show, and I’m actually very encouraged about our conversation,” he said. “We were talking about how the F-35 can be part of their future fighter competition. Clearly, they were able to see the capabilities of the airplane here with the demonstration and, previously, a significant amount of information about the F-35, its amazing capabilities, its sensor fusion and 5th-generation capabilities, as well as the capabilities they saw here.” – DoDBuzz

Canada is actually one of eight international country partners in the F-35 program and they have been paying annual dues to remain in the partnership.

Featured image of US servicemen gathering next to a F-35 Lightning II at Paris Air Show, on the eve of its opening, in Le Bourget, east of Paris, France, Sunday, June 18, 2017 by Michel Euler/AP