The federal Liberal government says it will ``explore the acquisition'' of 18 new Boeing-made Super Hornet jets on an interim basis until it can decide on a permanent replacement for Canada's aging fleet of fighter planes.
The government says it plans to discuss the issue with the U.S. and Boeing to determine whether Super Hornets can be procured ``at a cost, time, level of capability and economic value that is acceptable to Canada.''
The decision marks what will surely be a controversial turning point in the long, protracted effort to replace the air force's workhorse CF-18s.
This past spring, the government had been eyeing the Super Hornets as a stop-gap option until an outcry from industry and the opposition forced them back to the drawing board.
During last year's election campaign, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised not to purchase the F-35 stealth fighter, long the preferred option of the previous Conservative government.
The government has been struggling with how to fulfil that promise for fear any attempt to exclude the stealth fighter from a competition would result in a multibillion-dollar lawsuit.