As Canada moves towards F-35 fighter jet deal, here’s what you need to know

The Canadian government is starting final talks with Lockheed Martin to buy F-35 fighter jets. But questions remain about cost and what the jet brings to the table for Canada.

After more than two decades of debate, the Canadian government appears to finally be moving toward procuring Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighter jets for the country’s aging air force fleet.

The contracts are not yet signed, and Procurement Minister Filomena Tassi warned on Monday there is no guarantee that Lockheed Martin will be the one signing the contract expected later this year.

But the U.S. aerospace firm is now in finalization talks with the government — meaning that unless those talks fall apart, it is more likely than not that the Royal Canadian Air Force will fly F-35s in the near future.

Although the process of choosing a new fighter jet has been long, questions remain on what the F-35 brings to the table, how it compares to Canada’s current fighters, and what the selection indicates about the role the Canadian Forces will play in multilateral operations going forward.

Here’s what you need to know.

The F-35 fighter jet is the product of what’s known as the Joint Strike Fighter program run by Lockheed Martin, an American aerospace firm, in collaboration with the U.S. government.

The program is an initiative by the U.S. Department of Defense to build and replace the fighter jets used in both the American military as well as those in allied countries that operate closely with the U.S.

Through the program, Canada and seven other allied countries have been contributing to the development of the F-35 fighter jet, with all participants paying into the program to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars since the 1990s.