Trump Threatens Canadian Jets At The Center Of Army Aerial Surveillance Plans

By Joseph Trevithick

Published Sep 8, 2026 2:29 PM EDT

The first Bombardier Global 6500 business jet delivered for conversion into an ME-11B surveillance plane for the US Army. Bombardier

President Donald Trump has threatened to pursue a ban on U.S. sales of aircraft from Canadian firm Bombardier unless they move production south of the border. American officials have not elaborated on how such a total prohibition on domestic sales could take shape, but there are potential ramifications for the U.S. military, as well as commercial operators in the United States. The U.S. Army, in particular, has made Bombardier Global Express 6500-based ME-11B aircraft a cornerstone of its future aerial intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) plans . For the moment, the U.S. Air Force flies its own fleet of E-11A Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) communications jets based on the Global Express family.

“NO MORE SELLING BOMBARDIER IN THE UNITED STATES!” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social social media platform yesterday. “If they want our Market [sic], they must build here, and stop treating America like a ‘piggyback.’ BUY AMERICAN.”

One of the US Air Force’s Bombardier Global Express-based E-11A BACN aircraft. USAF

The post, which was subsequently reshared by U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra, also reiterated Trump’s accusations that the Canadian government has been deliberately slow-rolling certification of certain jets from rival U.S. planemaker Gulfstream. Back in January, the President also said he would “decertify” Bombardier aircraft in the United States over this issue, which would prevent them from operating in the United States, but this threat has yet to materialize into reality. Aviation authorities in Canada did certify five specific Gulfstream business jets in March, but do not look to have issued broader type certifications since then. Canada’s demand for more fuel system icing testing , at least on G700 and G800 models, has been cited as a factor in the length of the certification process. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) previously granted Gulfstream a conditional certification for these types that required demonstration of full compliance with domestic aircraft fuel icing regulations no later than the end of this year.

A stock picture of a Gulfstream G700 business jet. Gulfstream

Bombardier and Gulfstream actively compete globally in the large and super midsize business jet categories. A number of airlines in the United States also continue to operate CRJ-series small airliners, which were Bombardier products until 2020, when the line was sold to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) in Japan . Today, the Canadian planemaker has a substantial U.S. presence, centered primarily in Wichita, Kansas, but does not build complete aircraft in the United States. We will come back to this later on.

Trump has specifically targeted Bombardier several times across both of his terms amid larger trade disputes with Canada. During Trump’s first administration, the U.S. government notably injected itself into a spat between the Canadian firm and Boeing that ultimately upended a proposed order for F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighters for the Royal Canadian Air Force.

How the Trump administration might now seek to block sales of Bombardier jets in the United States is unclear. If there is no legal mechanism for instituting an outright sales ban, U.S. authorities could try to decertify jets from the Canadian firm or implement prohibitive tariffs or other economic measures. In addition to retaliatory certification actions, Trump has also threatened to levy tariffs on Canadian aviation firms in the past. Any of these courses of action could draw legal action or other retaliation from the Canadian government.

All of this raises questions about potential impacts on the U.S. military. As mentioned, the U.S. Army is in the process of acquiring a fleet of Global Express 6500-based ISR planes, designated ME-11Bs, under its High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) program. The Army has already divested all of its older turboprop-powered ISR aircraft as part of the transition to HADES. The service has also been utilizing several contractor-operated ISR planes based on different Bombardier business jets in the interim.

A Bombardier Global Express 6500-based Army Theater Level High-Altitude Expeditionary Next-Generation A-ISR (ATHENA) jet the Army has been utilizing as part of the transition to its new ME-11B HADES fleet. US Army

There is also the aforementioned Air Force fleet of E-11As. However, this may increasingly be something of a moot point, as these aircraft are now set to be retired in the 2028 Fiscal Year and supplanted with new space-based communications capabilities. There is still a possibility that Congress could block that plan , at least for a time.

TWZ has reached out to the Army and the Air Force in light of Trump’s latest remarks.

It is important to note that the U.S. certification process for military and civilian aircraft is separate, and that the Trump administration could exempt the former from any new action against Bombardier. After Trump’s decertification threat in January, the White House had told multiple outlets that in-service aircraft would be exempted from any such actions, but would not clarify whether further exemptions would be made for future U.S. military acquisitions.

Upending Bombardier’s business in the United States might have additional downstream effects, including on supply chains that support commercial and military fleets. Disruptions could also negatively impact any future sales opportunities to the U.S. military. When it comes to the latter point, since Trump started his second term, there has been a broader push to recapitalize U.S. government executive aircraft fleets . This has already included the purchase of new Gulfstream G700-based C-39A executive jets for the U.S. Coast Guard.

One of the U.S. Coast Guard’s new C-39A executive jets. Lemon Popp

The Air Force is also working to acquire a successor to its existing Gulfstream-based C-37 executive jets , tentatively designated the C-37C. Multiple branches of the U.S. military operate a host of other Gulfstream-based aircraft , including special mission types like the Air Force’s EA-37B Compass Call electronic warfare jets .

All this being said, there is no guarantee that Trump’s latest threats against Bombardier will materialize, whether or not they might impact U.S. military fleets. The President has already faced public pushback, including from at least one member of his own party, citing the Canadian firm’s existing economic contributions to the U.S. economy through its aforementioned American subsidiary.

“The presence of Bombardier in Wichita supports a local workforce of more than a thousand employees, who contribute their talent and expertise to our nation’s defense and aerospace capabilities,” Senator Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican, wrote in a post on X yesterday. “This afternoon, I reached out to the Trump administration to make certain the President is aware of the significant contributions of Bombardier to Kansas and the importance of its presence in Wichita to many Kansas workers at Bombardier and in the Bombardier supply chain.”

“I will continue working to see that Bombardier’s manufacturing operations not only remain in Kansas but continue to grow and create American jobs,” Moran added. “Kansas is home to a hardworking, skilled workforce, and I will continue welcoming leaders in aircraft and defense manufacturing to do business here in the Air Capital of the World.”

“Bombardier’s American workers are based all around the United States with sites in Kansas, Texas, Arizona, Florida, Connecticut, Illinois, Delaware, California, Washington D.C. and New Jersey, as well as overall direct employment presence in more than 20 states,” Bombardier said in its own statement response to Trump’s comments, per NBC News . “Bombardier has also announced extensive plans to grow its defense activities as well as its service network and will, later this year, inaugurate a new facility in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

The threat alone of U.S. government action could still have negative impacts for Bombardier broadly. The company’s stock price fell by some seven percent after Trump’s post yesterday, though it has rebounded somewhat as of the time of writing.

Trump’s trade war with Canada more broadly is still escalating after a new round of talks collapsed last month . The President and other U.S. officials also continue to make remarks about the country becoming the United States’ 51st state .

Many questions remain to be answered about Trump’s new threats against Bombardier and how they could be implemented, if at all. The President has certainly created new uncertainty regarding the Canadian planemaker’s access to the American market without yet definitively clarifying when the U.S. military could be exempted.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

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作者：约瑟夫·特雷维西克

发布于美国东部时间2026年9月8日下午2:29

首架庞巴迪环球6500公务机交付美国，将改装为美军的ME-11B侦察机。庞巴迪

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普威胁称，除非加拿大庞巴迪公司将生产转移到美国，否则他将禁止向美国出售该公司的飞机。美国官员尚未详细说明这种全面禁止国内销售的措施将如何实施，但这可能会对美国军方以及美国的商业运营商产生影响。特别是美国陆军，已将基于庞巴迪环球快车6500的ME-11B飞机作为其未来空中情报、监视和侦察（ISR）计划的基石。目前，美国空军也装备了基于环球快车系列的E-11A战场空中通信节点（BACN）通信机队。

“禁止在美国销售庞巴迪产品！”特朗普昨天在他的“真相社交”社交媒体平台上发帖写道。“如果他们想要我们的市场，就必须在这里建厂，别再把美国当成‘搭便车’。购买美国货！”

美国空军一架基于庞巴迪环球快车平台的E-11A BACN飞机。

这篇帖子随后被美国驻加拿大大使皮特·霍克斯特拉转发，帖子中重申了特朗普的指控，即加拿大政府故意拖延对美国竞争对手湾流公司某些机型的认证。早在今年1月，特朗普总统就曾表示，他将因此问题“取消”庞巴迪飞机在美国的认证，这将阻止它们在美国运营，但这一威胁至今尚未成为现实。加拿大航空当局在3月份确实认证了五款特定的湾流公务机，但此后似乎没有颁发更广泛的机型认证。加拿大要求对至少G700和G800机型进行更多燃油系统结冰测试，这被认为是认证过程耗时过长的一个因素。美国联邦航空管理局（FAA）此前已向湾流公司授予了这些机型的有条件认证，要求其最迟在今年年底前证明完全符合美国国内的飞机燃油结冰法规。

一张湾流G700公务机的库存照片。湾流

庞巴迪和湾流在全球大型和超中型公务机领域展开激烈竞争。美国多家航空公司仍在运营CRJ系列小型客机，该系列飞机在2020年之前均为庞巴迪产品，之后被出售给日本三菱重工（MHI）。如今，这家加拿大飞机制造商在美国拥有相当规模的业务，主要集中在堪萨斯州威奇托市，但并不在美国本土生产整机。我们稍后会详细讨论这一点。

在与加拿大存在重大贸易争端的两届任期内，特朗普都曾多次将矛头指向庞巴迪公司。尤其是在特朗普第一任期内，美国政府曾介入庞巴迪与波音公司之间的争端，最终导致加拿大皇家空军订购F/A-18E/F“超级大黄蜂”战斗机的计划被取消。

特朗普政府目前将如何阻止庞巴迪飞机在美国的销售尚不明朗。如果缺乏直接禁止销售的法律机制，美国当局可能会尝试取消这家加拿大公司的飞机认证，或实施高额关税或其他经济措施。除了采取报复性的认证措施外，特朗普过去也曾威胁要对加拿大航空企业征收关税。任何此类行动都可能招致加拿大政府的法律诉讼或其他报复措施。

所有这些都引发了人们对美军潜在影响的担忧。如前所述，美国陆军正在根据其高精度探测与利用系统（HADES）计划，采购一批基于庞巴迪环球快车6500的ISR飞机，型号为ME-11B。作为向HADES过渡的一部分，陆军已经淘汰了所有老旧的涡轮螺旋桨ISR飞机。在此期间，陆军还使用了多架由承包商运营的、基于不同庞巴迪公务机的ISR飞机。

美国陆军正在使用一架基于庞巴迪环球快车6500平台的战区级高空远征下一代反情报、监视与侦察（ATHENA）喷气式飞机，作为其向新型ME-11B“冥王星”（HADES）机队过渡的一部分。

此外，还有前文提到的空军E-11A机队。然而，这一点可能越来越无关紧要，因为这些飞机计划在2028财年退役，并由新型天基通信能力取而代之。国会仍有可能至少在一段时间内阻止该计划的实施。

鉴于特朗普的最新言论，TWZ已与陆军和空军联系。

值得注意的是，美国军用和民用飞机的认证流程是分开的，特朗普政府可能会豁免军用飞机免受针对庞巴迪公司的任何新行动的影响。在特朗普1月份发出取消认证的威胁后，白宫曾向多家媒体表示，现役飞机将免受此类行动的影响，但并未明确未来的美国军方采购是否会获得进一步的豁免。

庞巴迪在美国的业务中断可能会产生更多下游影响，包括对支持商用和军用机队的供应链造成冲击。业务中断也可能对未来向美国军方的销售机会产生负面影响。就后者而言，自特朗普第二个任期开始以来，美国政府一直在大力推进行政飞机机队的更新换代。这其中就包括为美国海岸警卫队采购基于湾流G700的新型C-39A行政飞机。

美国海岸警卫队新购置的C-39A公务机之一。莱蒙·波普

美国空军也在努力采购其现有湾流C-37公务机的后继机型，暂定名为C-37C。美国军方多个部门运营着许多其他湾流飞机，包括空军EA-37B“罗盘呼叫”电子战飞机等特种任务机型。

尽管如此，特朗普对庞巴迪公司的最新威胁是否会付诸实施，以及这些威胁是否会影响美国军方舰队，都无法保证。总统已经遭到公众的反对，其中至少有一位来自他自己党派的成员，他们指出这家加拿大公司通过其前文提到的美国子公司，已经为美国经济做出了贡献。

“庞巴迪公司在威奇托的存在，为当地一千多名员工提供了支持，他们贡献自己的才能和专业知识，助力我们国家的国防和航空航天能力建设，”堪萨斯州共和党参议员杰里·莫兰昨天在X网站上发帖写道。“今天下午，我联系了特朗普政府，确保总统了解庞巴迪公司对堪萨斯州的重大贡献，以及该公司在威奇托的存在对庞巴迪公司及其供应链中众多堪萨斯州员工的重要性。”

莫兰补充道：“我将继续努力，确保庞巴迪的生产业务不仅留在堪萨斯州，而且持续发展壮大，为美国创造就业机会。堪萨斯州拥有勤劳且技术精湛的劳动力，我将继续欢迎航空和国防制造业的领军企业来世界航空之都开展业务。”

据NBC新闻报道，庞巴迪公司在一份回应特朗普言论的声明中表示：“庞巴迪的美国员工遍布美国各地，在堪萨斯州、德克萨斯州、亚利桑那州、佛罗里达州、康涅狄格州、伊利诺伊州、特拉华州、加利福尼亚州、华盛顿特区和新泽西州均设有分支机构，并在超过20个州拥有直接雇佣员工。”声明还指出：“庞巴迪已宣布了扩大其国防业务和服务网络的宏伟计划，并将于今年晚些时候在印第安纳州韦恩堡启用一家新工厂。”

单凭美国政府采取行动的威胁就可能对庞巴迪公司造成广泛的负面影响。在特朗普昨日发表声明后，该公司股价下跌了约7%，不过截至发稿时已有所回升。

特朗普与加拿大之间的贸易战仍在持续升级，此前新一轮谈判于上月破裂。总统和其他美国官员也继续发表有关加拿大成为美国第51个州的言论。

关于特朗普对庞巴迪公司的新威胁及其执行方式（如果有的话），仍有许多问题亟待解答。总统无疑给这家加拿大飞机制造商进入美国市场带来了新的不确定性，但他尚未明确说明美国军方何时可以获得豁免。

联系作者：joe@twz.com

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