**🚨 JUST IN: Toronto Advances NATO GlobalEye Project — Bombardier Expansion Expected to Create 2,000 Jobs ✈️**

Toronto / Ottawa / Stockholm – February 17, 2026

Canada has taken a decisive step toward deepening its role in NATO’s airborne early-warning and control (AEW&C) capability by advancing the GlobalEye programme at Bombardier’s Toronto facilities. The announcement, made jointly this morning by Prime Minister Mark Carney, Defence Minister Bill Blair and Saab CEO Micael Johansson, confirms that final assembly, systems integration and heavy maintenance of the GlobalEye platform will be established in Toronto — a move expected to create at least 2,000 direct high-skilled jobs over the next five years and position Canada as a key European-North American defence-industrial node.

GlobalEye — Saab’s flagship AEW&C platform built on the Bombardier Global 6000/6500 business-jet airframe — combines the Erieye Extended Range radar with a comprehensive suite of maritime and ground-surveillance sensors. The aircraft is already in service with the United Arab Emirates (5 aircraft), Sweden (2, with 2 more on order), and Norway (3 ordered). NATO itself has shown strong interest in acquiring a pooled fleet to replace or supplement the ageing E-3 Sentry AWACS, with discussions ongoing since late 2024.

Today’s agreement unlocks CAD 1.9 billion in initial Government of Canada funding for:

– Construction of a dedicated GlobalEye final-assembly line at Bombardier’s Downsview site in Toronto
– Expansion of the existing Toronto Service Centre into a heavy-maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) hub certified for NATO-standard military modifications
– Establishment of a joint Saab-Bombardier training academy for pilots, mission-systems operators and technicians
– Local production of selected mission-system components (radar back-end processing, electronic-warfare suites, and mission consoles)

Prime Minister Carney described the decision as “a clear signal of Canada’s commitment to NATO at a time when collective defence requires both burden-sharing and industrial resilience.” He added:

“We are not merely buying an aircraft. We are building sovereign capability, high-value jobs, and a long-term partnership with European industry. Toronto will become one of only three global centres capable of sustaining the GlobalEye fleet — alongside Linköping and Abu Dhabi. That is a significant vote of confidence in Canadian aerospace expertise.”

Saab estimates the Toronto facility will handle final assembly for up to 12 GlobalEye aircraft over the next decade — including potential orders from NATO, Sweden’s additional requirement, and export customers. The company has already signed letters of intent with three unnamed NATO members for a combined 8–10 aircraft, with Canada expected to contribute 2–4 airframes to a future NATO pooled fleet.

Bombardier Aerospace President Jean-Paul Boutin confirmed that the expansion will create at least 2,000 direct jobs (engineers, technicians, assemblers, logistics specialists) by 2030, with a further 3,500–4,000 indirect jobs in the Greater Toronto supply chain. “This is the largest defence-related investment in Ontario since the CF-18 programme,” Boutin said. “It secures thousands of high-paying, highly skilled positions for decades.”

The announcement drew immediate attention in Washington. The Pentagon issued a cautious statement noting that “Canada’s choice of platform is a sovereign decision” but reiterating concerns about “long-term interoperability” with the F-35-centric NATO air fleet. Behind closed doors, U.S. officials are said to be “frustrated but not surprised.” One defence source told Reuters: “Ottawa has been quietly building the case for GlobalEye since the F-35 lifecycle-cost numbers became impossible to defend. The UK’s £4.2 billion co-investment last week was the final green light.”

Former President Donald Trump reacted on Truth Social at 11:03 a.m. ET:

“Canada just chose Swedish planes over our beautiful F-35! Weak! Globalist! They’re laughing at us! We protect them, we pay for NATO, and now they’re building with the Brits and Swedes? Time to make them PAY — 50% tariffs on EVERYTHING until they come back to America!!!”

The post has been viewed more than 94 million times but has triggered sharp pushback from U.S. defence-industry executives and congressional Republicans from Lockheed-heavy districts. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) called the move “a serious blow to American jobs and alliance unity,” while Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) urged the Pentagon to “immediately reassess technology-sharing restrictions” that may have pushed Canada and the UK toward alternative platforms.

The UK’s recent £4.2 billion commitment to Canada’s Northern Sovereignty Resilience Fund — announced last week — now appears even more strategic. British funding will support joint development of cold-weather avionics and sensors compatible with both Gripen/GlobalEye and Typhoon fleets, effectively creating a transatlantic European-North American defence-industrial axis that reduces vulnerability to U.S. policy volatility.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has called an emergency North Atlantic Council meeting for tomorrow to discuss “the implications of diverging fighter and AEW&C fleets.” Eastern European members — Poland, Romania, the Baltics — are reportedly “alarmed” by the signal that two core NATO partners are accelerating alternative supply chains.

For Mark Carney — the former central banker who became Canadian prime minister in late 2025 — the Toronto GlobalEye decision is a major diplomatic and industrial win. By securing both Saab and UK commitments, Ottawa has positioned Canada as a key player in European defence diversification while insulating its aerospace sector from U.S. tariff threats.

For Donald Trump — who continues to wield enormous influence despite no longer holding executive authority — the development is another reminder that his policy preferences still move headlines — but no longer move allies.

As emergency consultations begin in Washington, Ottawa, London and Brussels, the world is watching to see whether this is a temporary fracture or the beginning of a permanent realignment in transatlantic defence-industrial cooperation.

The next 72 hours will show whether diplomacy can contain the damage — or whether a single aircraft-selection decision in Toronto becomes the catalyst for a much larger strategic unraveling.