Pictured: City of Mariupol © CNN
On Tuesday, Jan. 10, Minister of National Defence Anita Anand announced that Canada would be donating a $400 million air defence system to Ukraine.
The National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) that Canada will provide to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, is a state-of-the-art medium-range ground-based air-defence system that provides tactical protection against the threat of drones, missiles and aircraft.
For those closely following the war in Ukraine, it will be readily apparent that a weapon system such as these NASAMS will prove a vital asset to Ukraine’s combat troops.
In blunting the Russian invasion and the subsequent battles of attrition, it has become evident that the drone is the new master of the battlefield.
Denying the Russian foe the use of their drones through NASAMS will give Ukraine a decided advantage in combat.
It is also true that the vast majority of Canadians agree with Anand’s statement that “Canada stands in solidarity with Ukrainians as they fight heroically against Russia’s illegal and unjustified invasion.”
You might ask: So what is the problem? Afterall, Canada is giving Ukraine the means to defend itself against a foreign invader.
The problem is that the Canadian Armed Forces do not have NASAMS.
The donated systems are being purchased directly from the U.S. government, to be shipped to Ukraine.
In fact, for the past decade, the Canadian military has possessed absolutely zero tactical air defence capability.
During the Cold War, the Royal Canadian Artillery had air defence units equipped with 40mm cannons forward deployed at airforce bases in Germany.
In 1989, Canada purchased a small number of sophisticated weapons known as the Air-Defence Anti-Tank System (ADATS). However, after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, these ADATS were eventually mothballed.
Post 9-11, the Canadian government briefly used a handful of ADATS to protect the G-8 Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta in 2002. By 2012 the last of Canada’s tactical air defence assets were retired from service.
This was not a problem during Canada’s decade long military deployment to Afghanistan, as the Afghan insurgents possessed no airborne assets.
However, once armed unrest erupted in eastern Ukraine in 2014, the threat of Russian escalation became imminent.
Canada deployed combat trainers to Ukraine in 2015 and the nucleus of a forward based NATO battle group in Latvia in 2016.
Russia is not the Taliban, and following the Feb. 24, 2022 invasion of Ukraine it became clear that airborne threats on the modern battlefield are all too real.
Knowing they were deficient in tactical air defence, the Canadian Army have been trying to acquire new systems since 2017.
The kind of protection the Canadian Army was looking for was from drones, missiles and aircraft – in other words exactly what the NASAMS will be providing to the Ukrainians.
The fact that a $400 million purchase could be made so quickly and expeditiously by the Canadian government to outfit a foreign military, while Canada’s military still does without this same capability, must be a blow to our Army’s morale.
To date, Canada has provided nearly $1 billion worth of military aid to Ukraine. The majority of these vehicles, weapons and munitions sent were drawn from the existing stocks held by the Canadian military.
In the case of the 39 armoured vehicles shipped to Ukraine, these were assembled by General Dynamics Land Systems in London, Ontario.
This means that the donation to Ukraine could be offset financially by creating direct employment for Canadians.
While not all of the other gear and munitions shipped were made in Canada, the Canadian military procurement system is based on securing industrial offsets against the purchase price. This means that, while assisting Ukraine, Canada was not simply forking over cash to a foreign country.
The $400 million spent on the NASAMS will not benefit the Canadian economy.
Now I get the fact that those NASAMS will be very useful on the battlefield, but surely some other nation could pick up the tab?
Canada is rich in numerous resources and Ukraine is desperately in need of far more than just more munitions.
As for the Canadian Army getting a tactical air defence capability any time soon, the Defence Minister’s office issued this statement, “We continue to work towards the procurement of Ground-Based Air Defence Equipment for the Canadian Armed Forces – and Minister Anand is committed to getting this done, as outlined in our defence policy.”
She is just not as committed as she was to making sure the Armed Forces of Ukraine get them first.
