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January 16, 2023 | Local, Aerospace

Purchase of new planes to replace 50-year Twin Otter military aircraft now on hold

A project to replace the 50-year-old Canadian military aircraft used in the Arctic is on hold despite the Liberal government’s claim it is committed to…

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/purchase-of-new-planes-to-replace-50-year-twin-otter-military-aircraft-now-on-hold

On the same subject

  • Gen. Eyre: Liberals provided more money to military, so it’s time to push a more positive message

    June 23, 2024 | Local, Land

    Gen. Eyre: Liberals provided more money to military, so it’s time to push a more positive message

    Wayne Eyre tells officers a new PR strategy should push positive message about Canadian Forces because of a funding boost from government.

  • Canada's WWII-era pistols dangerously unreliable — but the quest to find a replacement drags on

    December 10, 2018 | Local, Land

    Canada's WWII-era pistols dangerously unreliable — but the quest to find a replacement drags on

    Tristin Hopper The Canadian Army brought 20 pistols to an Arkansas shooting competition. Before events had even officially kicked off, 15 of those pistols had jammed so badly during the warmup they couldn't be used. “It was so bad, the guys coming off (the range) were handing over their (remaining five) pistols to the next team because they couldn't trust the others,” said Ken Pole, who wrote about the incident for a feature in Canadian Army Today. On average, Pole found that the Canadians' handguns has jammed once every 62 shots. Their British competitors, by contrast, squeezed off 5,620 rounds without a hitch. This is all pretty standard for the Browning Hi-Power, the 74-year-old pistol still carried as the primary sidearm of the Canadian Armed Forces. Unlike most pistols carried by G7 militaries, Brownings have a tendency to rattle and soldiers have been advised not to fully load the pistol because it will wear out the springs. When a Canadian soldier is deployed to a war zone such as Afghanistan or Mali, they're issued with whatever Browning Hi-Power is deemed to be least likely to give out. That's why some have joked that if they're ever forced to use their sidearm in combat, they'd be better off throwing it than shooting it. “If you give me a choice of a sharp stick or a Browning, I'll ... sadly take the Browning but will look fondly at the stick,” Bob Kinch, a former competitive marksman with the Canadian Armed Forces, wrote in a September Quora post. Like many times when the Canadian military tries to buy something, however, the quest to replace the Browning is now held up in a years-long procurement limbo. A 2016 statement by the Department of National Defence estimated that soldiers wouldn't be able to get their hands on new pistols until at least 2026. Canada's Hi-Powers are so desperately obsolete, however, that the army has been forced to greenlight a stopgap program to buy up some working pistols in the meantime. Known as the “Army Interim Pistol Program,” it will buy about 7,000 sidearms to immediate plug what the army is calling its “current pistol capability gaps.” Full article: https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadas-wwii-era-pistols-dangerously-unreliable-but-the-quest-to-find-a-replacement-drags-on

  • Analysis: With $30 billion in new deals, Canada hopes to send U.S. a message on defence

    December 24, 2023 | Local, Aerospace

    Analysis: With $30 billion in new deals, Canada hopes to send U.S. a message on defence

    The American government has put intense pressure on Canada to spend significantly more on its military.

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