The Canadians and Americans were known for their strong relationship, which used to be highlighted by many aspects. One example is the North American Free Trade Agreement, which was put in place to establish free trade between the signatory nations, Canada, the United States, and Mexico. This significantly reduced the tariffs on the goods moving across these countries. Besides NAFTA, there is also the NORAD(North American Aerospace Defence Command), a military alliance which aims to defend the two nations in times of war.
Trump, as the head of the most powerful country in the world, is a game-changer with his new aggressive approach to diplomacy. This new approach threatens to change how military supplies and weapons are shared with allied nations.
Canada, England, Germany, and many other countries are concerned about these changes. As controversial decisions are made, they have less trust in the US, especially regarding its military. The concerns have spotlighted the most reputed modern aircraft sold by the US government, the F-35 fighter, supposedly equipped with a kill switch. This feature would ensure the Pentagon’s control over its aircraft to prevent an enemy from using them against the Americans.
Although the alleged kill switch secret is meant to prevent its use by enemies, it raises serious concerns since Trump has worsened his relationship with most of his allies. These nations are now considering their dependence on the US military technology. If tensions rise between the US and foreign countries, they could have a notorious advantage, making the governments’ air forces useless.
The US Department of Defence has denied the rumours about a kill switch inside its aircraft. According to a post on X(Twitter), their jet fighters operate under well-established agreements that ensure the operators have the necessary capabilities to sustain and manage their F-35 effectively.
Despite being wrong to say it has a kill switch, this jet fighter indeed has a Mission Data File called the MDF. It is a program installed on every F-35 worldwide.
While the F-35 software improvement relies on the data collected during combats or missions, and sent to a US government lab, the US Reprogramming Lab, the Israeli Air Force does not comply with this standard.
Tyler Rogoway, a journalist and expert on military subjects, points out that other jets must rely on the US system to maintain the full capabilities of their F-35s
According to Rogoway, there is only one exception among export F-35 operators: “Israel has invested in and made a deal for cutouts regarding these vulnerabilities. Nobody else has this deal or capabilities.” This means that for all other owners of the jet an access to their data by the US army, which could reduce the jet’s capabilities whenever an update is made.
This Data collection, analysis, and update allow pilots to understand the nature of the threat, such as surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) and radars, and how to counter them.
Canada is reconsidering the purchase of the F-35, despite being involved in its conception. While seeking new alternatives, the next contract of a value worth around CA$19 billion (US$13 billion) was put on hold by the Carney administration to favor manufactured and maintained aircraft elsewhere than the US, like France’s fighter jets.“Given the changing environment, we need to do our homework and make sure that the contract in its current form is in the best interests of Canadians and the Canadian Armed Forces.”
