Canada receives first F-35 jets from US as full order still under review – National

Canada has received its first new F-35 fighter jet, and Ottawa is still considering how many American planes it will buy.

The Royal Canadian Air Force announced the receipt of two Lockheed Martin jets Friday on social media with a photo from Phoenix showing one plane with a round maple leaf.

The air force could not immediately say when it would start training pilots on the new plane, which US Ambassador Pete Hoekstra recently hailed as “the best fighter in the world.”

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Prime Minister Mark Carney has halted plans to go ahead with a planned order of 88 of the stealth fighter jets, and may instead have a mixed fleet that includes Saab’s Gripen jets.

Carney launched a review of the purchases amid repeated trade and annexation threats by US President Donald Trump, and the review was supposed to be completed a year ago.

Last year, Trump considered providing limited-capability jets to his allies to maintain American supremacy, and former secretary of state Lloyd Axworthy warned in a blog post on Saturday that Washington controls the software used by the F-35 jets.