The draft agreement between the governments of Canada and the United States for Ottawa's purchase of 16 Boeing P-8A Poseidon military aircraft expires today. It is a maritime patrol plane (MMA, Multimission Maritime Aircraft) developed by the American company starting from the architecture of the B-737 civil airplane. An aircraft designed and built for the US Navy.

Canada already announced in March that it was evaluating the purchase of these new aircraft with the aim of replacing the older CP-140 Aurora aircraft, also produced by Lockheed Martin since the 1980s and withdrawn from the market in 2011. By today the draft must be transformed into a concrete commitment by both countries. The agreement includes the training of on-board personnel and the supply of equipment.

The P-8A Poseidon aircraft made its first flight on April 25, 2009 and has been on sale since 2014. It is a 39.47 meter long plane with a wingspan of 35.72 meters. It features two CFM International CFM56-7B engines. The airplane features modifications that allow it to also carry out interdiction, search and rescue, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and target acquisition missions.