Ottawa quietly froze a 16-helicopter Black Hawk buy for special forces as U.S. trade talks loomed, sources say

OTTAWA — The federal government put a hold on a planned purchase of 16 U.S.-built UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters for Canada's special forces shortly before trade negotiations with the Trump administration got under way last summer, CBC News and Radio-Canada reported Wednesday, citing several government and defence-industry sources.

The helicopters are built by Sikorsky, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin. According to two confidential sources cited by CBC, the deal had already been approved by the U.S. State Department office that handles foreign military sales and was on its way to Congress for review when Ottawa ordered the halt ahead of a meeting of trade negotiators in Washington.

Under the U.S. Foreign Military Sales process, a buyer such as Canada must request permission, and once officials sign off, American lawmakers get 15 days to object before the sale becomes official. The Canadian request never reached that final stage.

Sources told CBC the pause was partly tied to the trade talks, which ultimately failed, and partly to a broader effort inside government to take stock of everything the Canadian Armed Forces planned to buy from the United States. With Ottawa trying to reduce its military reliance on Washington, officials concluded it was the wrong moment to buy American helicopters without a competition, the sources said.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has made domestic defence production his first priority for military procurement, followed by partnerships with foreign firms operating in Canada, with buying directly from abroad only as a last resort. Sofiya Sapeha, a spokesperson for Stephen Fuhr, the parliamentary secretary responsible for military procurement, told CBC the government "continues to evaluate options to meet the needs of the special operations forces" and remains in contact with partners.

The Black Hawks were meant to replace the CH-146 Griffon, which 427 Special Operations Aviation Squadron has flown since special forces became a separate unit in the early 1990s. Retired major-general Denis Thompson, a former commander of Canada's special operations forces, told CBC the Black Hawk is a purpose-built military helicopter that is more robust and better suited to long-range Arctic missions, while the smaller Griffon is better suited to temperate climates and urban work.

Thompson cautioned against letting short-term politics drive the decision. Military equipment is kept for 20 to 30 years, not for the time remaining in a U.S. president's term, he said, and the Black Hawk was chosen because the military judged it the most suitable aircraft for the job.

Public opinion has leaned the other way. CBC cited a Policy Magazine poll in which 62 per cent of respondents disagreed with buying military equipment from the United States, and an April 2025 Abacus Data survey that found 64 per cent support for an immediate halt to U.S. military purchases.

The helicopter pause sits alongside the government's continuing review of the F-35 fighter program, also a Lockheed Martin product. Canada has committed to 16 of the jets and ordered parts for more than a dozen more, but has not decided whether to buy all 88 originally planned. CBC also reported that some other contracts with U.S. firms have not been publicly announced, a point UA.NEWS also highlighted in its English-language summary.

Lockheed Martin did not comment on the status of the Canadian file but said it stands ready to support international customers seeking the UH-60M through the Foreign Military Sales program. No timeline has been given for a decision on what will replace the Griffon in the special forces role.

Sources: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/black-hawks-us-military-canada-helicopter-deal-9.7378775; https://ua.news/en/world/kanada-prizupinila-zakupivliu-16-black-hawk-dlia-spetspriznachentsiv-cbc; https://abacusdata.ca/64-percent-of-canadians-support-an-immediate-stop-to-buying-military-equipment-from-the-u-s/