Canada excludes Boeing from fighter jet competition

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Canada has officially narrowed its decade-long hunt for a new fighter jet to two choices as the federal government confirmed U.S. aerospace giant Boeing’s Super Hornet is out of the running to replace the military’s aging CF-18s.

The announcement on Wednesday from Public Services and Procurement Canada came nearly a week after Boeing had reportedly been told its bid for the $19-billion contract did not meet Ottawa’s requirements.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government refused to comment publicly at that time, and there was uncertainty around whether the U.S. aerospace giant had been dropped from the competition to provide Canada with 88 new fighter jets.

But the federal procurement department confirmed in a statement Wednesday that Lockheed Martin’s F-35 stealth fighter and the Swedish Saab Gripen are the only two aircraft still in contention.

While the statement did not say why Boeing’s offer did not make the cut, the fact that one of the two U.S. companies competing for the contract failed to make the final shortlist represents a major turn of events.

Following the government’s announcement, Boeing issued its own statement saying it was “disappointed and deeply concerned” that its Super Hornet had not made it to the next phase of the competition.

“We are working with the U.S. and Canadian governments to better understand the decision and looking for the earliest date to request a debrief to then determine our path forward,″ the company said.

Many observers had seen the Super Hornet and F-35 as the only real competition because of Canada’s close relationship with the United States, which includes using fighter jets together to defend North American air space on a daily basis.

Those perceptions were only amplified after two other...