Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said this week the nation has extended an approximate $445 million maintenance contract for its fleet of CF-18 fighter jets with a division of L-3 Communications [LLL].
The Mirabel, Quebec-based L-3 MAS will service the country’s fighter aircraft until at least 2017, with the option of extending the contract for three additional one-year periods for a total value of about $82 million.
“The CF-18 will remain in service as Canada’s front-line tactical fighter aircraft until at least the 2017 timeframe, when Canada’s next generation fighter capability, the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, becomes operational,” Harper’s office said in a statement.
The CF-18s are due to reach the end of their working lives in about 2020. Ottawa announced last month plans to replace them with 65 new F-35 jets from Lockheed Martin Corp [LMT]for about $8.5 billion.