The Financial Post reports in its Friday edition that Canada is ordering up to 16 military surveillance aircraft from Boeing in a contract valued at as much as $6-billion (U.S.). A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post says that the U.S. State Department has already approved the potential sale of the U.S. Navy's top sub-hunting aircraft, a modified Boeing 737 commercial jetliner called the P-8 Poseidon. The U.S. Senate must also sign off on the deal to Canada. The new jets would replace Canada's aging fleet of Lockheed Martin CP-140 Aurora aircraft at a time when Russia and China are showing increased interest in the Arctic region. The P-8 Poseidon faced a late challenge from Montreal-based Bombardier, which called for an open and "fair" procurement process as he tries to jumpstart a new defence business. Over the past few months Bombardier executives touted a militarized version of its Global 6500 business jet as a "made-in-Canada solution" that would showcase Canada's defence innovation. The firm partnered with General Dynamics in May to develop the aircraft's military equipment. However, the proposed model exists only on paper, which adds to the risk of delays or other new-aircraft pitfalls that Bombardier is famous for.