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QUADRILATERAL Joint Statement on Canada becoming an Observer to GCAP - Canada.ca

Official announcement today that Canada is joining GCAP as an Observer, currently doesn't mean much but we shall see if something comes from this.

Funnily enough, La Presse put out a story on the same day GCAP was announced showcasing Bombardier disinterest in a potential Gripen partnership with Saab.

La Presse à Farnborough | Bombardier n’a pas d’intérêt à assembler des chasseurs suédois

The Swedish company Saab may have speculated that its business partner Bombardier could assemble its Gripen fighters in Canada if the federal government gave it the mandate to renew part or all of its CF-18 fleet. But Bombardier would gain absolutely nothing, quite the contrary. "We already have our hands full," agrees its CEO, Éric Martel.

Bombardier has left the door open to its partner Saab, with whom it has very successfully developed the Global Eye mission aircraft, but Éric Martel confirms that Bombardier would gain nothing by simply assembling aircraft for Saab, without any other added value.

Rather than planning the assembly of a few dozen Gripen fighters, Bombardier is planning to open a new plant where it will do the electronic wrapping of the Global Eye and the installation of radars, which is normally done by its partner Saab in Sweden.

Bombardier must also not alienate the United States, which remains its main market. If the Saint-Laurent company starts assembling fighters and takes the contract away from Lockheed Martin, Donald Trump could very naturally decide to impose juicy punitive tariffs on the business jets that the company sells in the United States.