The collaboration between Lockheed Martin and L3Harris Technologies aims to strengthen local maintenance and sustainment capabilities for the Royal Canadian Air Force’s future CF-35s, through the creation of a framework for cooperation and information sharing to establish an F-35 aircraft maintenance center in Canada. This initiative is part of the process of incorporating these fifth-generation fighters and seeks to consolidate industrial capabilities within the country.
The agreement is based on the selection of MAS, an L3Harris company, as a strategic partner for the sustainment of the CF-35s, and includes the creation of a joint executive committee tasked with defining the capabilities of the future maintenance center, workforce training programs, and associated logistical solutions. This scheme will allow Canada to exercise greater control over the maintenance of its aircraft, while also promoting the creation of skilled jobs in the aerospace sector.
In this context, Jason Lambert, President of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance at L3Harris, stated: “Depot-level sustainment means Canada’s aerospace workforce will perform the same advanced maintenance that is currently carried out in only a handful of locations worldwide.” He also added that “our 40 years of fighter sustainment experience, combined with Lockheed Martin’s fifth-generation expertise, make this the right partnership at the right time.”
The future maintenance center is envisioned as a key element within an industrial framework that will involve approximately 30 Canadian suppliers, with an estimated contribution of $3.2 million per aircraft within a global fleet exceeding 1,325 F-35s. This structure seeks to integrate the local industry into the program’s international sustainment chain, expanding its participation throughout the platform’s life cycle.
For his part, Chauncey McIntosh, Vice President and General Manager of the F-35 program at Lockheed Martin, noted: “This collaboration fulfills Canada’s requirement to develop in-country sustainment capability and to operate and maintain the Canadian F-35 fleet independently.” He also indicated that the company’s experience in establishing sustainment capabilities worldwide will help improve fleet readiness, air superiority, and associated economic benefits.
As background, in February 2026 it emerged that the Canadian government was moving forward with the acquisition of new F-35 fighters to modernize its Air Force, with investments aimed at adding 14 additional aircraft to the 16 already previously ordered. According to reports from local media such as Radio-Canada, the decision is linked to the need to secure its position within the program’s international customer chain, considering long production timelines, in a context where the country seeks to gradually replace its CF-18 Hornet fleet and strengthen its air defense capabilities.
*Images for illustrative purposes.
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