The government says Canadian companies have secured $812 million (U.S.) in contracts since Canada’s first F-35 payment in 1997. OTTAWA—Canada has so far forked over more than $311 million to develop the F-35 — without any guarantee it will actually buy the multibillion-dollar stealth fighter. The contribution keeps Canada at the table as one of the nine partners in the project for the next year. “New skills and technologies gained through access to the program have helped position Canadian industry to take advantage of other advanced aerospace and defence projects,” Owens added in an email. Those potential industrial benefits are a big part of the reason why Canada continues to pay into the program, said Jordan Owens, a spokeswoman for Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan.

Source: thestar July 26, 2016 22:41 UTC