March 7, 2023 | Local, Other Defence
March 7, 2023 – Kingston, Ontario – National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces
Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Defence Minister Anita Anand announced that Canada has deployed seven Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Medical Technicians and Medical Assistants from Canadian Forces Health Services units to Poland, where they will train members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the skills needed to save lives effectively in combat situations.
Canadian medical trainers will integrate into the Polish-led training that is centred on advanced tactical medical skills, with a particular focus on combat survivability. With training commencing in early March, each training serial is set to last for approximately one month. The CAF personnel involved in this training come from units across Canada.
Additionally, Canada is extending its ongoing efforts to train Ukrainian sappers in Poland under Operation UNIFIER until October 2023. Through this training, which commenced in fall 2022, approximately 45 CAF members are equipping Ukrainian combat engineers with specialized skills such as engineering reconnaissance, and the use of explosives for demolition and demining.
Since February 2022, Canada has committed over $1 billion in military assistance to Ukraine. This includes eight Leopard 2 main battle tanks, an armoured recovery vehicle, over 200 armoured vehicles, a National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) with associated munitions, 39 armoured combat support vehicles, anti-tank weapons, small arms, M777 howitzers and associated ammunition, high-resolution drone cameras, winter clothing, and more.
“Russia’s attack on Ukraine is an attack on democracy, freedom, and sovereignty. In the face of this unjust and horrific war, Canada’s support for Ukraine is resolute. Through donations of military aid, training of Ukrainian sappers, and now, training of Ukrainians on combat first aid, Canada is equipping the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the skills and equipment that they need to win this war and save lives. We will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”
The Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of National Defence
Canadian Armed Forces members are supporting the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the United Kingdom and Poland under Operation UNIFIER, providing training on a range of military skills. Between 2015 and 2023, Canada has trained more than 35,000 members of Ukraine’s security forces as part of Operation UNIFIER.
The Canadian Armed Forces have been assisting with the delivery of military aid for Ukraine within Europe from Canada and on behalf of our Allies and partners, having transported over seven million pounds of military donations since March 2022.
September 26, 2023 | Local, Land, Security
Minister of National Defence, Bill Blair, and Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, Ginette Petitpas Taylor, issued the following statement
September 25, 2018 | Local, Aerospace
By: Frank Jordans, The Associated Press BERLIN — Germany is looking to sell a secondhand surveillance drone that has cost the country more than 700 million euros ($823 million) to Canada — without many core components it needs to fly. A defense ministry reply to lawmakers from the opposition Left Party states that Germany has decided to "begin concrete negotiations with Canada for the sale of the Euro Hawk aircraft, two ground stations and possibly certain spare parts." The government response, dated Sept. 19 and obtained by The Associated Press, adds that Germany isn't currently in talks with any other country or organization about the sale of the drone. In a statement Monday, Germany's defense ministry confirmed talks with Canada were planned, but declined to comment on a possible sales price or date. Officials at the Canadian Embassy in Berlin weren't immediately able to comment. Germany ordered the Northrop Grumman Global Hawk variant in 2000 to use for long-distance reconnaissance, but later canceled the order because of skyrocketing costs and revelations that the prototype wouldn't be certified to fly in Europe. Then-Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere acknowledged in 2013 that the drone was a write-off, telling lawmakers it was better to have a "horrible end than a horror without end." Last year, the government acknowledged that the development and procurement of the prototype, a signals-intelligence sensor called "ISIS" and spare parts, and the completion of seven test flights had cost about 681 million euros since 2007. A further 24 million euros were spent on preparing for a resumption of temporary test flights. According to the government's latest response to Left Party lawmakers, which hasn't been published yet, the drone has already been "demilitarized." This entailed the removal of American-made radio equipment, the GPS receiver and aerials, as well as all encryption and the flight control system. Rather than laboriously delete individual software components, technicians chose to perform a "hardware uninstallation" — removing all hard drives containing sensitive U.S.-made software. "The question is what a buyer would do with such a gutted aircraft," said Thomas Wiegold, a German journalist who runs the defense website Augen Geradeaus . "Without GPS navigation and in particular without flight control systems, the drone would hardly be able to fly." Andrej Hunko, one of the Left Party lawmakers who submitted questions to the government, said the drone now only has "scrap value." "The sale will therefore recoup at best a small portion of the tax money spent," he said. "I expect the loss will amount to several hundred million euros (dollars)." Hunko, whose party objects to airborne military surveillance, said the drone's ground stations might still fetch a market price. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2018/09/24/germany-looking-to-sell-costly-rarely-used-drone-to-canada
September 12, 2023 | Local, Security
For decades, national security has been an afterthought for federal governments of all stripes. The problem, say the experts, is that Canadians themselves tend not to take their security seriously — and as a result, neither do the people they elect.