F-35 Beat European Fighters Overwhelmingly in Canadian Tender: Fifth Generation Capabilities Provide Vast Superiority

New internal Canadian Defence Ministry reports recently obtained by Radio Canada has provided new insight into the selection process made under the Future Fighter Capability Project tender, which saw multiple Western fighter types evaluated in 2021. The tender saw the Lockheed Martin F-35A selected to replace the F-18 Hornet in the Royal Canadian Air Force’s fighter fleet, with the French Rafale and pan-European Eurofighter disqualified at early stages, followed by the Boeing F-18E/F Super Hornet, leaving only the Swedish Gripen E/F an the F-35 in the final evaluation. Recent tensions between Canada and the United States have renewed calls for the Defence Ministry to reduce F-35 procurements, and consider fielding a high-low combination of F-35s and Gripens, although the results of the evaluation of the two fighters indicate that an all F-35 fleet is likely to continue to be favoured. 

According to the documents viewed by Radio-Canada, the F-35 scored 57.1 out of 60 points, a 95 percent score, in the tender, while the Gripen E/F achieved just 19.8 points, a 33 percent score, with their performances diverging particularly sharply once rated operational criteria were applied. Such results are far from unexpected, with the F-35 having been favoured by similarly overwhelming margins in recent tenders in Belgium, Finland and Switzerland, and having consistently won every tender in which it has completed against European aircraft and the F-18. The fighter’s stealth capabilities, advanced combination of active and passive sensors, data sharing capabilities, and highly potent electronic warfare suite, have provided it with a distinct edge over fourth generation fighters at a comparable cost. 

The F-35’s vast superiority over European fighter types has reflected the significant discrepancies in the broader defence sectors of the United States and European countries, as well as the far greater scale on which the U.S. conducts research and development, which is surpassed only by that of China. As a result, closely coinciding with the Canadian tender, Finland’s tender saw the F-18E/F emerge in a distinct second place behind the F-35, with the Eurofighter and Rafale falling far behind. Due the very significant discrepancy in capabilities, not only have European fighters failed to gain sales to markets where the F-35 is available, but European states producing these aircraft have themselves also increasingly been inclined to reduce procurements to invest in the F-35. This provides a significantly greater combat capability for the same investment, despite the sacrifices this has entailed for local industry. 

The United Kingdom’s decision to end Eurofighter procurements was first reported in November 2024, with plans to procure the F-35A were first confirmed in June 2025, while the German Defence Ministry placed its first order for F-35As in 2022 despite persistent lobbying efforts from local industry. Germany has since expanded Eurofighter procurement plans. France has remained the only major European Air Force not to have considered ordering the F-35, although this could change as prospects for it bringing a similarly capable fighter into service before the 2050s, if ever, appear increasingly dim. For countries such as Canada which do not have stakes in sustaining less competitive European fighter industries, there has remained little incentive to consider procuring European fighter aircraft, particularly as Russia continues to significantly modernise its forces in the Arctic and will begin to operate fifth generation fighters in significant numbers from the early 2030s, and may begin to receive long range stealth bombers later that decade.