Has Canada purchased the Swedish jets
Executive summary
No — as of the reporting collected, Canada has not purchased Swedish Saab Gripen fighter jets; Ottawa is actively evaluating and entertaining Saab’s offer, but no deal has been signed or announced and the government’s original plan to buy more F‑35s remains under formal review [1] [2] [3].
1. The simple answer: consideration, not a purchase
Public coverage from multiple Canadian and international outlets shows Ottawa is weighing Saab’s Gripen E/F proposal and has held high‑level talks with Swedish officials and Saab executives, but those accounts consistently describe an exploratory phase rather than a closed contract — Canada is “interested” and “exploring an offer,” not buying jets today [4] [5] [2].
2. Where the F‑35 commitment stands
Canada originally committed to a fleet of F‑35A Lightning IIs under its Future Fighter Capability Project but has so far taken delivery commitments only on a small initial tranche (16 purchased overall, with eight training aircraft due for delivery in 2026–27), and Prime Minister Mark Carney ordered a review that has paused advancement of the remaining purchases [1] [6] [7].
3. What Saab is offering and how Ottawa is responding
Saab has actively pitched the Gripen to Ottawa during state visits and business delegations, promising rapid delivery, domestic assembly and technology/IP transfer — including proposals to build Gripen fighters and GlobalEye surveillance planes in Canada and estimates of thousands of Canadian jobs — and Ottawa officials have said they need “more details” as they analyze industrial benefits [8] [6] [5] [2].
4. The domestic debate and pushback
The prospect of swapping or truncating Canada’s F‑35 order has provoked organized opposition from retired senior air force officers and other F‑35 proponents who warned government decision‑makers against reducing the F‑35 program, while business and industry voices highlight industrialization and jobs tied to a Gripen assembly plan — making the file intensely political and contested [3] [9] [10].
5. Media reporting and political context matter
Coverage frames Saab’s campaign as a forceful sales push coinciding with a Swedish state visit and rising trade and geopolitical tensions with the U.S.; outlets emphasize that Saab seeks manufacturing ties and that Ottawa’s review was prompted in part by concerns about over‑dependence on U.S. suppliers, but none of the reporting identifies any signed procurement contract for Gripens [8] [11] [7].
6. Timing, capability and practical constraints
Saab has said Canada could receive Gripen‑E fighters within three to five years if Ottawa decides to buy them and that assembly in Canada is feasible, but those time frames and industrial estimates are contingent on a purchase decision and negotiated terms; meanwhile the first F‑35 aircraft Canada ordered remain scheduled for near‑term delivery for training, underscoring that two parallel pathways remain possible until Ottawa makes a final choice [2] [1] [6].
7. Bottom line — definitive status and limits of available reporting
The available sources uniformly report active proposals, lobbying and a formal government review, but there is no source in the set that documents a finalized purchase or signed contract for Swedish Gripen jets by Canada; therefore the authoritative answer based on these reports is that Canada has not purchased the Swedish jets, only considered and discussed the offer [4] [5] [2]. These accounts also reflect competing agendas — Saab’s industrial pitch, domestic job framing, and military veterans’ defence‑capability concerns — which explain why the issue remains unresolved in public reporting [6] [3] [8].