Always on Target
Bombardier and Saab: could the first Gripen E built outside Sweden offer a preview of how Saab intends to expand aerospace production with local partners—including Canada? Two developments this week make that question more concrete. In Brazil, the first Saab Gripen E manufactured by Embraer completed its maiden flight on October 6, 2026. Meanwhile, reporting
Canada GlobalEye negotiations now have a six-aircraft framework—but will Ottawa convert it into a binding contract with substantial Canadian work? Saab announced on September 25, 2026, that it had signed a non-binding term-sheet agreement with Canada’s Defence Investment Agency (DIA). The document establishes the scope for detailed negotiations over a GlobalEye airborne early warning and
Could A3-001 become Bombardier’s next military-aircraft opportunity? Saab fighter drone: According to The Aviationist’s report, Saab unveiled A3-001, a full-scale model of a low-observable autonomous combat aircraft, to media on August 21, 2026. Then Saab placed the concept on public display at Malmen Air Base in Linköping, Sweden, on August 22. No Canadian company is
Can Éric Martel turn a Canadian business-jet leader into a larger military integrator as allied governments open their treasuries? Bombardier defence expansion: On July 30, 2026, Éric Martel, Bombardier Inc.’s president and chief executive officer (CEO) linked acquisitions, aircraft maintenance, and a Canadian military-modification site during the company’s post-results media cycle. Crucially, the immediate development
Canada GlobalEye talks now put Saab, Bombardier and Canada’s Arctic surveillance ambitions on the same flight path, but did Ottawa just make a procurement choice or a sovereignty statement? On Wednesday, May 27, 2026, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced at CANSEC 2026, inside the Cohere Centre, formerly the EY Centre, in Ottawa, that Canada had
NATO GlobalEye could make Bombardier’s Canadian-built Global aircraft the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) next airborne surveillance backbone, but what still separates procurement momentum from a signed contract? NATO GlobalEye: Public reports from La Lettre, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Defence News, and AeroTime say the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) has moved toward Saab and Bombardier
Mirabel defence hub: is one Quebec site quietly becoming the industrial hinge between Canada’s fighter review and its airborne-surveillance competition? On April 21, 2026, MAS, an L3Harris company, and Lockheed Martin announced a new framework to pursue an F-35 Air Vehicle Depot in Canada. Yet a February 2026 L3Harris paper had already placed the same
Canada F-35 review: is Lockheed Martin coming to Quebec, Canada, to make threats? Canada F-35 review: According to Montreal daily La Presse on April 20, 2026, representatives of Lockheed Martin are due at L3Harris beside Montréal–Mirabel International Airport (YMX/CYMX) in Mirabel, Quebec, Canada, for a public move tied to the proposed F-35 maintenance-centre project. Moreover,
Gripen deal Canada: does an “85%” rumour mean Ottawa is ready to sign—or just ready to signal? Earlier, on November 14, 2025, Reuters reported that Saab was in talks with the Canadian government and Bombardier about building the Saab JAS 39 Gripen under licence in Canada, with talk of roughly 10,000 jobs and Bombardier confirming
UPDATE #2: Bombardier Gripen Canada: what changed after our November 10, 2025 report asked whether Canada might actually build the Saab Gripen at home? New information has also raised the stakes Notably, on November 10, we published our first look at the Bombardier–Saab idea (to read first). At the time, the concept still lived somewhere
