The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday, Oct. 28, edition that Saab has chosen IMP Aerospace & Defence to run a Canadian final-assembly line in Halifax if Ottawa chooses its Gripen E fighter jet. The Globe's Gavin John writes that Saab announced a teaming agreement with IMP for the final assembly, in-service support and training of Canadian-made Gripens. Saab also announced a memorandum of understanding with Magellan Aerospace to manufacture airframe and composite structures, and a training agreement with CAE, after an earlier memorandum of understanding. Saab chief executive officer Micael Johansson said, "Canada's fighter capability is a long-term national investment." Saab describes the three companies as its "principal partners" and describes the agreement as the first step toward a national industrial program. IMP president David Gossen said the Gripen contract positions "Canadian industry as an enduring part of the global Gripen program." The agreements depend on Ottawa buying the Gripens instead of its current order for Lockheed Martin's F-35 stealth jets. The Royal Canadian Air Force announced last Friday that it has received its first pair of F-35 jets.