Will the request for bids for new Canadian fighter jets be released next month?

DAVID PUGLIESE

Federal officials are hoping to get out the request for proposals on the Canada's future fighter jet procurement project by mid-July.

That will mean that any changes have to be done and the process signed off in the coming weeks.

At the same time a federal election is expected by October and should take place on or before October 21.

Can federal bureaucrats make the mid-July deadline?

“There's always risk to it,” said Pat Finn, Assistant Deputy Minister for Materiel at the Department of National Defence. “We recognize the closer we get to a writ period the more there is an issue there. So we're just making sure we're driving hard to get it out by mid-July.”

At this point four aircraft are expected to be considered: two U.S.-built aircraft, the F-35, and the Super Hornet, and two European planes, the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Gripen.

The winning bidder will build 88 jets for Canada, and the first delivery is expected in the mid-2020s with the full capability available in the early 2030s, according to documents produced by the Department of National Defence.

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