MAS and Lockheed Martin Announce F-35 Sustainment Partnership in Quebec

Press Release + Noah Note

MIRABEL, Quebec, April 21, 2026 — MAS, an L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) company, and Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) have announced a new framework for collaboration and information sharing to establish an F-35 Air Vehicle Depot in Canada.

The agreement builds on Canada’s selection of MAS as a strategic CF-35 sustainment partner, creating a joint executive steering committee to define depot capabilities, workforce training programs and sustainment solutions. This collaboration will support Canada’s ability to exercise greater in-country control over aircraft upkeep while creating high-skilled jobs.

“Depot-level sustainment means Canada’s aerospace workforce will perform the same advanced maintenance currently done in only a handful of locations worldwide,” said Jason Lambert, President, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, L3Harris. “Our 40-year fighter sustainment heritage, combined with Lockheed Martin’s 5th Generation expertise, makes this the right partnership at the right time.”

The depot is expected to anchor an industrial framework of approximately 30 Canadian suppliers contributing $3.2 million per jet, across the global fleet of more than 1,325 F-35s.

“This collaboration delivers on Canada’s requirement to develop in-country sustainment capability and to operate and maintain the Canadian F-35 fleet independently,” said Chauncey McIntosh, Vice President and General Manager, F‑35 Program, Lockheed Martin. “With Lockheed Martin’s experience establishing sustainment capabilities around the world, our joint effort with MAS is expected to deliver fleet readiness, air superiority and increased economic benefits.”

The F-35 serves as the backbone of allied air power, with 20 nations committed to purchase more than 3,500 aircraft. L3Harris, one of Canada’s largest defence and security companies, has supported the nation’s aerospace and defence sectors for more than six decades.

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About L3Harris Technologies

L3Harris is the Trusted Disruptor in defense tech. With customers’ mission-critical needs always in mind, our employees deliver end-to-end technology solutions connecting the space, air, land, sea and cyber domains in the interest of national security.

Visit L3Harris.com for more information.

About Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin is a global defense technology company driving innovation and advancing scientific discovery. Our all-domain mission solutions and 21st Century Security® vision accelerate the delivery of transformative technologies to ensure those we serve always stay ahead of ready.

More information at lockheedmartin.com.

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Noah Note: L3 MAS has been one of the major supporters of Lockheed during the F35 review process. The company was selected back in November 2024 as Canada’s strategic partner to provide future maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrade services for the CF35 fleet.

L3 is the RCAFs ISS Champion. I don't think many would actively deny that. The Companies depot in Mirabel has provided thr RCAF with In-Service Support for nearly forty years, including for the CF188 Hornet, CC150 Polaris, CP140 Aurora, CH148 Cyclone, CH147F Chinook, CT114 Tutor and now (officially) the CC330 Husky fleet. That is on top of the F35.

For L3 the acquisition of the CF35 provided a unique opportunity to leverage constraints in American sustainment capacity at Ogden and Cherry Point to create a proper multinational facility that will not just serve the RCAF but potentially also the USAF and USN.

For L3 the future depot isn't hoping to fill this role, they're quite banking on it. The company makes no attempts to hide that the facilities long-term viability is tied to acting as a major hub for both Canada and the United States. The company is working hard to upgrade it's sevurity architecture to ensure it gets the proper approval to service American F35. The facilities are at a scale to have the excess capacity to servixe bith Canada and expected American demand.

For L3 the estimate is that 1,500 direct and 3,500 indirect jobs will be tied to this future facility, as well as billions of dollars over the liftetime of the F35 in In-Service-Support for both countries. For that reason L3 has been extremely active in attempting to draw thr Federal government to supporting the full 88 CF35.

Of course as of now there is an acceptance that ~32 F35 are likely to be part of the final decision at minimum. I have said it before, but I reiterate. There is zero timeline where 16 was going to be the final number, save none at all.

Always remember that when determining how many aircraft one needs to operate a single squadron, the number of aircraft includes more than just your standard combat-coded fighters, but also inventory for training, testing, backup, and attrition. That alone can represent upwards of a 50-60% increase in airframes compared to merely focusing on combat-coded fighters.

We have contracted the Long-Lead items for 14 more F35. However for companies like L3, the concern is that a major shift, even if only a moderate cut, severly hampers efforts to sevure American support for the Mirabel depot. So the ample action is to lock down and start making the case.

That is what we see here. This isn't new info. Im shocked how many outlets are acting like this is a surprising. We've known the plans forever. However, locking down the agreement, to start setting the stage shows that there is value and economic benefits on the table. For both L3 and Lockheed, who has been heabily criticizing by some in Ottawa for not taking the review seriously, the presentation of such a facility to the public aims to axt as an economic anchor that can be pointed to in the conversation.

Of course it's still American, so people still won't like this idea lol. A good chunk of the average public aint gonna be sold supporting American F35. However they aint the ones that need to be convinced, something many commentators forget in these discussions.