By David Ljunggren
OTTAWA, May 27 (Reuters) - Canada, which says it wants to reduce reliance on U.S. defense firms, on Wednesday announced plans to buy a fleet of early warning planes from Sweden's Saab rather than a competing option from Boeing.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada would opt for Saab's GlobalEye, which is based on Bombardier's Global 6500 jet. Boeing's E-7 Wedgetail plane - which has suffered from delays and cost overruns - had also been in contention.
"(This move) builds Canadian
strategic autonomy, creates Canadian jobs, and reinforces Canada's position as a global leader. And it is the product of choice for many of Canada's partners, including France, Sweden, and the UAE," Carney told a defense conference in Ottawa.
Carney's Liberal government last year announced plans to ramp up defense spending. The United States and other allies had complained for years Canada was not meeting long-standing NATO targets on military expenditure.
In a statement, Saab said it planned to invest in research and development work in Canada as part of any deal.
Although Carney did not give details of the fleet size or the cost of a potential contract, military officials had earlier said they were looking to buy six early warning aircraft.
As part of the effort to buy less U.S. weaponry, Canada is looking to increase ties to the European defense sector.
"GlobalEye is already creating jobs in Canada, and working with the Canadian supply chain. This decision ties our two nations even closer together," Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristerson said in a social media post.
Saab is also in the running to sell Canada some of its Gripen fighters.
Canada has a deal to buy 88 F-35 jets from Lockheed-Martin but last year, after the United States slapped tariffs on key Canadian imports, Carney asked the military to probe whether it could cut back the order and buy some planes from another manufacturer.
Carney later told reporters Ottawa would make a decision on the fighter fleet in due course and declined to comment when asked whether the military would be operating two jets.
Last week a Pentagon official, speaking after Washington suspended planned biannual defense talks with Canada, said the delay in making a decision on the F-35s showed how Ottawa was prioritizing politics over defense issues.
(Additional reporting by Promit Mukherjee and Maria Cheng;Editing by Nick Zieminski)
