Canada approved the government-to-government agreement in January 2023 after years of debate over replacing its existing combat aircraft. Deliveries are scheduled to begin this year, while the full fleet is expected to achieve operational readiness by the end of 2034.
The flight marks the start of a procurement process shaped by more than a decade of delays and policy reversals. Canada joined the F-35 development program as an international industrial partner but struggled for years to finalize an acquisition plan.
Ottawa selected 65 F-35s through a sole-source process in 2010, with deliveries then expected to begin in 2016. That procurement was suspended in 2011 amid controversy over the program.
The first CF-35A took to the skies for the first time today. pic.twitter.com/SAHsXdKwas
— Lockheed Martin Canada (@LMCanadaNews) September 23, 2026
Canada later considered an interim purchase of a small number of new Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets to preserve fighter capacity. That plan was also canceled following a commercial dispute in the civil aviation sector.
Canada is the seventh and final F-35 industrial partner outside the United States to order production F-35As. The first flight places the country closer to joining the growing group of operators receiving the aircraft.
The F-35 Lightning II is currently operated by 13 countries. Deliveries to permanent bases in Poland and Finland also began this year.
More than 1,355 F-35s have been delivered under the international program. The global fleet has accumulated more than one million flight hours, including time flown during combat missions.
