President Vladimir Putin says Russia plans to station but control tactical nuclear weapons in neighbouring Belarus this summer, saying it would not violate nuclear non-proliferation agreements. “There is nothing unusual here,” he says. “The United States has […] long deployed their tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of their allied countries.”
Mar 17
(Globe & Mail)
An anonymous veteran federal public servant was identified today as the source for a series of internationally embarrassing disclosures about foreign interference in Canadian affairs and about seeming government indifference or reluctance to act over the years. Acknowledging the prospect of eventual prosecution if identified, the whistleblower explains the reasons for sharing concerns about an evolving threat.
Feb 19
(ALEXANDER LANDRY and CONNOR HUNERFAUTH)
All future activities in the Northwest Passage should be assessed through an Environmental, Social, and Governance lens, advise Hunerfauth and Landry as they provide an overview of key considerations.
Feb 17
(KEN POLE)
It is estimated that Ukraine is firing as many as 5,000 artillery rounds and missiles a day in its counteroffensive against Russian invaders, as much as some of its European allies manufacture in a year. That pales against more than three times as many Russian "fires" on any given day, but as Ukraine needs to ramp up its own stockpiles in preparation for a spring escalation of the conflict, Canada and other allies are having to deal with their ability to meet that need.
Mar 27
(CBC)
Public Services & Procurement Canada confirmed today that the U.S. State Department has been asked to approve the potential purchase of up to 16 Boeing P8-A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft for the RCAF. “The final decision will be based on the capability offered, availability, pricing and benefits to Canadian industry,” PSPC said. In service with Australia, Britain and India as well as the U.S. Navy, it is a militarized version of the 737-800 civilian passenger jet.
Mar 25
(CBC)
Canada plans to invest $7.3 billion to upgrade fighter bases and northern landing strips to accommodate its ordered Lockheed Martin F-35s, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office announced March 24. Also confirmed during President Joe Biden’s visi to Ottawa, the government also said that the first new Over the Horizon Radar base will be in northern Ontario, part of a 20-year upgrade of continental air defences.
Mar 25
(CTV)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Joe Biden used a day of talks in Ottawa March 24 to tackle a range of shared issues, including defence and security, third-country refugees, Haiti, clean energy and trade in what Trudeau said was a demonstration of how their countries’ interests are “interwoven.” Biden, on his first visit to Canada as President, agreed, saying, “I can't think of a challenge we haven’t met together.”
Mar 23
(CBC)
The Department of National Defence is facing pushback against a new program it says will help personnel to deal with housing costs. DND estimates that rationalizing the benefit will mean that some 7,700 personnel who have been receiving a monthly allowance will be cut off. Brigadier-General Virginia Tattersall, head of compensation and benefits, says that more members overall will be supported and while she is “sympathetic” to those who lose the allowance, they either “are able to afford” housing or live in protected base housing.
 Beretta Defense Technologies / Stoeger Canada |
 Logistik Unicorp |
 Cleeve Technology Inc. |
Jan 22 –
Will the issue of heavy armour support for Ukraine unite or divide the allies? Will Germany's post-WW2-guilt overpower its modern leadership role in global stability? Is a willing coalition of European neighbours enough to stiffen the German spine?
Jan 15 –
Canada has announced that the Lockheed Martin F-35 has been chosen to replace the aged CF-18s. New kit as major as this should go a long way to boosting recruitment of pilots, aircrew, and aviation technicians. It's time to quickly capitalize on this new recruitment tool.
Jan 12
Action on the Arbour Report is likely to begin soon, LGen Michel Maisonneuve and Dr Danic Parenteau provide suggestions for consideration by the different committees engaged in these changes. Read on for clarification, and more details, pursuant to comments received after publishing (Oct 2022) their five general recommendations for any review of the Canadian Military Colleges.
Jan 10 –
This procurement has been politically turbulent for both Liberal and Conservative governments over the years, but Canada has finally announced it will begin taking deliveries of its first 16 F-35 Lightning II fighters in 2026 despite protesters who call for vulnerability in the name of peace.
TBD July/Aug 2023
St John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador
24 March 2023
(Al Jazeera)
The UN Human Rights Office said today that its monitors have documented dozens of summary executions of Ukrainian and Russian prisoners of war as well as torture, the use of human shields and other abuses. Its report was based on interviews with hundreds of POWs, half of them Ukrainian troops released by Russia and the other half Russian troops held in Ukraine.
24 March 2023
(Breaking Defense)
In a week when the European Union agreed to an “historic” €2-billion artillery shell deal to meet surging Ukrainian demand, NATO officials also called on the alliance to shore up anti-tank munitions and resupply lines. Ukraine’s call for 350,000 artillery shells a month, shows demand has effectively doubled since last summer.
24 March 2023
(Military.com)
U.S. Army General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned Congress March 23 that not supporting Ukraine now would lead to a massive increase in future defence budgets and global conflict. He said if the “rules-based order […] goes out the window, then be very careful” because “that’ll begin an era of great power conflict.
24 March 2023
(EuroNews)
Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner Group mercenary force and erstwhile ally of Vladimir Putin, is reportedly contradicting some of the Russian president’s justifications for invading Ukraine, notably that it’s a battle against NATO. The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said March 23 that Prigozhin says the fight is “exclusively with Ukrainians” and that he also questions Putin’s claim that the “special military operation” is designed to “denazify” Ukraine.
23 March 2023
(CBC)
The Department of National Defence is facing pushback against a new program it says will help personnel to deal with housing costs. DND estimates that rationalizing the benefit will mean that some 7,700 personnel who have been receiving a monthly allowance will be cut off. Brigadier-General Virginia Tattersall, head of compensation and benefits, says that more members overall will be supported and while she is “sympathetic” to those who lose the allowance, they either “are able to afford” housing or live in protected base housing.
23 March 2023
(AP)
Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president once seen by some in the West as a liberal hope, today resurrected the rising threat of a nuclear war and blasted a German minister for threatening President Vladimir Putin with arrest as a war criminal if he stepped foot in Germany. Now deputy chairman of Russia’s security council, Medvedev said any action by Germany would be tantamount to a declaration of war.
23 March 2023
(Al Jazeera)
On the heels of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s two-day visit to Moscow for talks with Russia President Vladimir Putin U.S. Secretary of State is dismissing the relationship as a “marriage of convenience.” Describing Russia March 22 as “very much the junior partner” in the relationship, Blinken noted that China had so far declined to provide weapons to Moscow for its war in Ukraine.
23 March 2023
(Stars & Stripes)
The U.S. was told by Russia March 22 to stop flying surveillance drones over the Black Sea despite the flights being in international airspace. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said that “the Americans demonstratively, cynically and in outright public form deny the legitimacy” of Russia’s attempts to seal off the airspace. “They are, as the saying goes, ‘asking for’ our countermeasures and we warn them against the attempts to play on nerves and test our patience.”
22 March 2023
(Breaking Defense)
As Ukraine’s needs for more munitions increase, some NATO members’ concerns about their own stockpiles have prompted the U.S. Defense Department to tackle its own issues. It has proposed traditional multi-year procurements but also is examining larger core buys in a bid to reassure suppliers.
22 March 2023
(Stars & Stripes)
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, has been chosen for the U.S. military’s first integrated centre for inter-service and multinational force training. The Air Force says trainees will be able to “blend synthetic and live-fly training while focusing on […] realistic threat scenarios.”
22 March 2023
(Reuters)
The U.S. has offered Slovakia 12 Bell AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters at a two-thirds discount, Defence Minister Jaroslav Nad confirmed today. He said the “hugely advantageous” US$340-million offer, which would include training, spares and munitions, would “significantly” improve his country’s air defences after it donated its retired MiG-29s to Ukraine.
22 March 2023
(Breaking Defense)
Defence spending across NATO rose 2.2 per cent in 2022, topping an estimated US$ $1 trillion but only seven members met the alliance’s target of two per cent of their national gross domestic product. A report today shows that Britain, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and the U.S. met the target with Croatia and France falling just short. Others were further behind.
