The RCAF has been making structural improvements to its existing CF-18s and will provide them with systems allowing them to operate with allied air forces

As the showdown between Bombardier and Boeing threatens to scuttle any deal for Canada’s purchase of Super Hornet jets, the Canadian military expects to finalize by next year the details on how it will upgrade its existing fleet of fighters.

The modernization plan for the CF-18s will become even more critical as the Liberal government now tries to figure out its next steps. It had hoped to buy 18 Super Hornets from Boeing to augment the aging fleet of CF-18s but on Tuesday the U.S. Department of Commerce slapped a 219-per-cent duty on the sale of Bombardier aircraft in the U.S., siding with Boeing, which had complained that improper government subsidies allows the Quebec-based aerospace firm to sell its C-Series passenger planes at below-market prices.

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That, in turn, prompted the Liberal government to pull out of the purchase of Super Hornets from Boeing, a situation that is not expected to change in the near term, particularly with Tuesday’s ruling.

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The Canadian military had already planned to modernize its existing fleet of CF-18s and has been doing ongoing structural improvements to maintain the fleet.

But the RCAF will also begin a modernization of the aircraft, providing them with systems that will allow them to operate with allied air forces as well as meet new rules to fly in domestic and international airspace. There could also be upgrades to weapons systems.

“The CF-18 Project is currently finishing options analysis with definition expected to commence in early 2018,” Capt. Trevor Reid, a spokesman with the Royal Canadian Air Force, said in an email. “Initial contracts are expected to be awarded in 2019.”

The modernization will allow the CF-18 fleet to continue operating until at least 2025, the RCAF says.

The DND estimates the cost of the modernization at between $250 million and $499 million, depending on the options chosen and what the government accepts, say defence sources.

In its defence policy review the Liberal government committed to eventually purchasing 88 new fighter jets. That program will cost between $15 billion and $19 billion, although that price does not include long-term maintenance.

Boeing had wanted to bid on that program, but its complaint against Bombardier could undermine those efforts.

But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has had harsh words for Boeing, which he accused of trying to eliminate tens of thousands of Canadian aerospace jobs through its attack on Bombardier.

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Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan has insisted the government has interim options other than the Super Hornets, the defence department having for example examined the second-hand purchase of jets from the Australian military.

Marc Allen, Boeing’s president of international business, has said the company took its action to ensure a level playing field in the aerospace industry. He said Boeing believes that global trade only works if everyone plays by the same rule, which, he alleged, Bombardier wasn’t. However, Allen and other Boeing officials have argued that the Super Hornet deal should not be connected to a commercial trade dispute.

Trudeau’s tough stance is potentially good news for Lockheed Martin, which is offering Canada the F-35 stealth fighter. It has told Canadian officials the jets could fill both the role of interim fighter aircraft but as well as a replacement for the CF-18 fleet.

But buying F-35 jets for the interim fighter aircraft program would potentially be embarrassing for the Liberals. During the 2015 election campaign, Trudeau vowed his government would never buy the F-35. As prime minister, Trudeau later claimed the F-35 “does not work.”

Lockheed Martin says its F-35 fighter aircraft fleet recently exceeded 100,000 flight hours.