OTTAWA—Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan says Canada’s aging fleet of CF-18s fighter jets could leave the air force with a “gap” in its capabilities, suggesting that Ottawa might be in the market for a stop-gap fighter.

The tortured process to procure a new fighter jet appears ready to take another turn, this time under the Liberals, who made an election pledge not to buy the Lockheed Martin F-35.

But now Sajjan suggests there is growing urgency to move on the file before the CF-18s — first purchased three decades ago — stop flying.

“We are looking at a gap — that’s (what) we have to deal with. And these jets should have been replaced a long time ago,” Sajjan told reporters Tuesday.

“We’re in options analysis, looking at the capabilities required. We’re actively looking at replacing the F-18.”

The minister insisted that a gap will exist between the retirement of the CF-18s and the arrival of a new fighter. One solution is for the military to buy a number of F/A-18 Super Hornets, a modernized version of the CF-18, as it continues the drawn-out procurement process to select Canada’s next fighter jet.

Australia has gone that route, purchasing 24 Super Hornets after delays in the F-35 program.

The previous Conservative government had originally announced in 2010 its intention to buy F-35s, but then put that decision on hold in late 2012 after the auditor general flagged concerns about the potential price tag. But during last October’s election campaign, the Liberals declared the F-35 would not be a contender — a pledge the new government has since suggested is not iron-clad.

Still, going with the Super Hornet in the interim would allow the government to delay a decision on long-term fix for Canada’s air force, putting off a controversial choice that could include the F-35.

Yet the head of the Royal Canadian Air Force said in April that the current fleet of 77 CF-18s will last until 2023, perhaps longer, thanks in part to a $2.6-billion project to modernize the aircraft.

Lt.-Gen. Michael Hood said the air force would need replacements coming on line starting in 2025.

“I know that some aircraft will end their useful life before that date, starting perhaps in 2023. Others could last longer,” Hood told the Commons’ defence committee.

“I’m confident that if a decision were taken, certainly in the next five years, we’ll be in a comfortable position changing that aircraft,” Hood said at the time.

In the Commons Tuesday, the Conservatives accused the Liberals of creating an “imaginary capability” gap and warned the government against giving the contract to Boeing, makers of the Super Hornet, without a competitive process.

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“The Liberals have fabricated a false narrative to sole-source the Super Hornet,” said Conservative MP James Bezan.

But Sajjan responded to opposition MPs, insisting that the CF-18s will be unable to fly in 2025. “It is important that we move very quickly in filling this capability gap,” the defence minister said.