Canada Eyes Fighter Drone Fleet to Support F-35 Jets

The Canadian Department of Defence is planning to acquire a fleet of tactical unmanned aerial systems (UAS) to complement the armed forces’ incoming F-35 combat aircraft.

Ottawa is now laying the groundwork to adopt systems in line with the military’s requirements, according to unclassified papers obtained by The Canadian Press.

The program could be worth up to 16 billion Canadian dollars ($11.6 billion) and require hundreds of personnel, with the platforms expected to serve as a force multiplier and enhance interoperability with allied forces.

“The broad thrust of the idea of having an unpiloted vehicle that would be able to operate with a piloted vehicle is that you provide additional numbers in a way that could potentially help provide enough quantity to overwhelm opposition forces,” David Perry, president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, commented.

Fielding in 2030

Daniel Norton, senior management systems analyst at California-based think tank RAND Corporation, predicted that Canada would aim for a combat UAS with smaller dimensions compared to a fighter plane.

He added that Ottawa might acquire the fleet in bulk at a fraction of the cost of conventional manned aircraft.

On the battlefield, these drones could carry payloads such as jammers, weapons, and sensors while flying alongside crewed jets, with the platforms also capable of serving as decoys.

Considering these insights into Canada’s potential tactical drone, Norton said such platforms are unlikely to reach operational combat deployment by any nation before 2030.

“I’d be surprised if it happened sooner,” he said.

International Combat UAS Programs

Canada’s neighbor the US is currently working on its own program, dubbed the “Loyal Wingman,” to enhance aerial combat capabilities of its existing fleet of fighter aircraft.

Japan, Australia, Turkey, and India are each in different stages of developing similar concepts, aiming to field tactical UAS in the coming years.

In December 2024, the Chinese government introduced a drone to rival the American Loyal Wingman, the Feihong FH-97A, which is projected to fly alongside Beijing’s existing warplanes, such as the J-20.