State Department Approves $1.7 Billion Aegis Sale To Canada - Defense Daily

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  June 29, 2023 | Local, Other Defence

  Defence Minister Anita Anand meets with British counterpart and announces NATO naval deployment

  June 29, 2023 – London, United Kingdom – National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces Today, the Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of National Defence, met with the Right Honourable Ben Wallace, the United Kingdom’s Secretary of State for Defence, in London. Minister Anand thanked Secretary Wallace for the United Kingdom’s hosting of Canadian Armed Forces members deployed on Operation UNIFIER to train Ukrainian troops, and for its hosting of the Royal Canadian Air Force detachment in Prestwick, Scotland, which has delivered over ten million pounds of Ukraine-bound military aid. During their meeting, the Ministers discussed priorities for the upcoming North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit in Vilnius, including reinforcing NATO’s Eastern Flank, military assistance for Ukraine, and NATO’s deterrence and defence posture. Minister Anand also announced that on July 3, Canada will deploy His Majesty’s Canadian Ships (HMCS) Shawinigan and Summerside from their home port of Halifax, Nova Scotia to join Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 (SNMCMG1) on Operation REASSURANCE. Both ships have embarked Royal Canadian Navy clearance diving teams from Fleet Diving Unit Atlantic & Pacific, and mine countermeasure search capabilities using autonomous underwater vehicles. The contribution of two Kingston-class Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels (MCDV) to SNMCMG1 demonstrates Canada’s ongoing commitment to NATO’s high readiness continuous at-sea presence, and the Royal Canadian Navy’s leadership in strengthening security throughout European waters. During her visit to the United Kingdom, Minister Anand also delivered remarks to members of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), where she highlighted Canada’s military support to Ukraine, Canadian defence modernization, and challenges and opportunities in the Indo-Pacific. In addition, Minister Anand met with Mr. Charles Woodburn, Chief Executive Officer of BAE Systems; spoke with the Right Honourable David Lammy, Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs; and visited Liphook School where she met with students aged 8-9, who are researching a Canadian training camp that existed in Bramshott during the First World War. Canada and the United Kingdom enjoy a longstanding, close-knit, and collaborative defence relationship forged through our shared values and beliefs. Quotes “The United Kingdom is one of Canada’s closest and most important Allies. I thank Secretary Wallace for his warm welcome during my first official visit to the United Kingdom as Canada’s Minister of National Defence, and for the productive discussions on a range of mutual priorities. Our two countries are leaders in supporting Ukraine, and as dedicated members of the NATO Alliance, we will continue to stand united in the face of new security challenges.” - The Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of National Defence Quick facts The defence and security relationship between Canada and the UK is rooted in history and fostered by the fact that Canada and the UK are Allies in NATO and engage in close cooperation in international organizations, including the United Nations and the Commonwealth, among others. The deep bond between Canada and the UK has been forged in peace and war, notably through the two World Wars, Korea, and in almost every major conflict for more than a century, including Afghanistan and Libya. Since August 2022, Canadian Armed Forces personnel deployed in the UK have trained approximately 2000 Armed Forces of Ukraine recruits, in collaboration with the UK’s Operation INTERFLEX. The Canadian-led courses last several weeks and focus on topics such as weapons handling, battlefield first aid, fieldcraft, patrol tactics, and the Law of Armed Conflict.  Since the beginning of 2022, Canada has committed over $8 billion in aid to Ukraine, including over $1.5 billion in military assistance. This includes 288 AIM-7 missiles, 10,000 rounds of 105mm artillery ammunition, eight Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks and one armoured recovery vehicle, 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. Canada also will join the Leopard 2 Maintenance and Service Centre in Poland and will contribute to multinational efforts to train pilots, and maintain and support Ukraine’s F-16s, leveraging Canadian expertise in these areas. https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/news/2023/06/defence-minister-anita-anand-meets-with-british-counterpart-and-announces-nato-naval-deployment.html

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  May 8, 2019 | Local, Aerospace

  U.S. government again urges Canada to acquire American fighter jets, despite Pentagon threats

  DANIEL LEBLANC The American government is once again urging Canada to acquire U.S.-built fighter jets to replace its fleet of CF-18s, one day after it emerged the Pentagon recently threatened to pull the F-35 out of the $26-billion competition for new aircraft. The contradictory messages from the U.S. government showcase how the Americans are trying to prevent a tendering process that would favour European manufacturers at the expense of either the Lockheed Martin F-35 or the Boeing Super Hornet. The Canadian government is weeks away from launching a competition for 88 new fighter jets, with the two American firms set to enter into a competition against the Swedish Gripen and the Eurofighter Typhoon, which is built by a consortium that includes Airbus. In a statement on Tuesday, the American government called on Canada to make sure its fighter jets can operate alongside U.S. military aircraft around the world. The “crucial” point, according to the American government, is Canada's participation in the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) that controls the Canadian and American airspace. Only U.S.-built fighter jets currently operate in NORAD and European aircraft would face technological hurdles in gaining the ability to fully integrate into the bi-national military alliance. “We continue to believe in the importance of NATO and NORAD interoperability as a crucial component of Canada's acquisition of defence assets,” said Joseph Crook, a spokesman for the U.S. embassy in Ottawa. Mr. Crook added the American government remains “hopeful that U.S. firms are able to participate in open and transparent competition processes that can support Canada's NATO and NORAD obligations, especially when it comes to co-operative engagement capabilities.” On Monday, the Macdonald-Laurier Institute published letters from American officials who warned their Canadian counterparts last year that the F-35 might be pulled from the competition unless Canada's requirements for industrial benefits were modified. The American government is concerned about Canada's Industrial and Technological Benefits (ITB) policy, which requires the winner of the contract to invest the equivalent of the acquisition cost in Canada. Built by Lockheed Martin, the F-35 is a stealth aircraft developed by an international consortium of allied militaries under a program that specifically rejects the application of traditional industrial benefits. Canada has been a member of the program since 2006. In an interview after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said he has sought to reassure the Americans by pointing out that the Canadian government will focus mostly on technical capabilities in deciding which aircraft to purchase. “First of all, the capabilities of the aircraft is the number one priority. Making sure we meet the needs of the Canadian Armed Forces – the Air Force in this particular case – is the number one priority. We will always make sure that will happen,” Mr. Sajjan said. He added that obtaining benefits for the Canadian economy is also important, while suggesting the matter will have less importance in the final weighting of the bids. “This obviously factors into the equation, but the capability requirements for the Canadian Armed Forces is always the number one priority,” he said. In a speech laying out his foreign-affairs policy on Tuesday, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said he will seek to modernize the NORAD alliance if his party forms the next government, including through the purchase of fighter jets that can defend North America alongside the U.S. fleet. “I will act to select a new fighter jet through an open competition and make sure the new jets are interoperable with our American allies,” Mr. Scheer said. Vice-Admiral Mathias Winter of the U.S. Navy said in a letter last December that Canada has received US$1.3-billion in economic benefits from its participation in the F-35 program to this point. “The F-35 supplier team will submit an F-35 offer only if (1) the ITB requirement is waived entirely and (2) there is no future ITB obligation arising from selecting the F-35,” Vice-Adm. Winter said in his letter. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-us-government-urges-canada-to-acquire-american-fighter-jets-in-2/

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  September 24, 2019 | Local, C4ISR, Security

  NORAD asked Canada to review cybersecurity around civilian infrastructure and army bases

  Three years ago the North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad) charged the Canadian army with providing an inventory of all military bases and surrounding infrastructure. The Americans were looking to spot vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure that could be used in a potential cyber attack. The several-year-old request was detailed in a letter sent by former Norad Commander and U.S. Admiral William Gourtney to the Canadian Chief of Defence Staff, Jonathan Vance. In the letter Gourtney requested that Canada “identify and mitigate” potential areas of vulnerability on Canadian bases, specifically those “installations that are critical for accomplishing Norad missions.” The letter was delivered on March 24, 2016. Furthermore, it asked Vance to “advocate developing capabilities to respond to cyber incidents on CAF [infrastructure control systems] and defend CAF if required.” The request also expanded to identifying civilian infrastructure through cooperation with Public Safety Canada and “developing processes for reporting cyber incidents on the identified civilian infrastructure.” According to cyber expert, David Masson, vulnerability arises in “operational technology systems” that run tasks in critical infrastructure. Masson claims that these systems are extremely difficult to secure. “There's lots of them. Look at it as 50, 60, 70 different bespoke communications systems. There's no real standardization because they're so old. Many of them were never expected to be connected to the internet,” said Masson. Despite this, Masson claims that the systems can be reinforced and secured. https://www.thepostmillennial.com/norad-asked-canada-to-review-cybersecurity-around-civilian-infrastructure-and-army-bases/