UPDATE 1-Lockheed welcomes Canada shift toward 'more choices' for fighters

(Adds details on Canadian government fighter jet policy)
RAF FAIRFORD, England, July 7 (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT)
Corp LMT.N on Thursday welcomed comments suggesting that
Canada would open a new competition for replacing its current
fleet of aging CF-18 Hornets, instead of simply buying Boeing (NYSE:BA) Co
BA.N F/A-18E/F Super Hornets to meet its needs.
Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan told the Globe and
Mail newspaper the government would change requirements for the
new fighter jets, announced by the previous government, to allow
for "more choices."
His comments in an interview published on Thursday raised
hopes that Canada could start a fresh competition, including the
F-35.
Canada helped fund development of the F-35 fighter, but the
Liberal government, which took power in late 2015, promised
during its campaign in last year's election that it would not
buy F-35 jets. This led to reports it would buy Super Hornets
and forgo a competition.
Canadian officials have since softened their tone.
On Wednesday, the Canadian government said that over the
summer, its officials will be consulting all interested aircraft
suppliers to help it decide on options for replacing its fighter
jets.
"That information will inform a decision on a procurement
path in the coming months," Sajjan said in a speech.
Asked by reporters on Wednesday if Canada was going ahead
with the competition, Sajjan did not directly answer.
Lockheed told Reuters last month that it was studying
whether to shift work on its multibillion-dollar F-35 fighter
jet away from Canadian companies amid the uncertainty over
Ottawa's plans to buy the jet.
Canadian companies would account for development and
production work on the F-35 program worth about $1 billion by
the end of 2016.
Jeff Babione, Lockheed's F-35 program manager, told
reporters on Thursday he believed that Canada would ultimately
have a new competition that included the F-35.
"We love to tell our story. They probably don't fully
appreciate what the F-35 can do," Babione said.
He said he welcomed the latest comments from the Canadian
government, but said the government had not contacted Lockheed
directly.
Lockheed officials said they expected discussions to occur
in the near future.
Babione said Lockheed had begun looking at which companies
could take over the work now done by Canadian companies, but had
not made any firm decisions. A decision by Canada to buy Super
Hornets would make it difficult to keep Canadian companies
engaged in the program, he said.