Fighter jets and U.S. tanks promised to Ukraine won’t be ready for a spring counteroffensive against Russia, says General Mark Milley, Chair of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff. While training on M1 Abrams tanks has just begun, training on allies’ F-16s is still being negotiated and Milley’s French counterpart says upgrading Ukraine’s capabilities is a mid-to-long-term goal [node:read-more:link]
Using both indoor and outdoor booths at CANSEC, Rheinmetall is showcasing its latest and most innovative advancements including water treatment, new fabrics, satellite communications. land Vehicle crew training, strategic fires and effects information, night vision system modernization and heavy equipment replacement. [node:read-more:link]
As Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine hits the 15-month mark, Canada and its allies continue to support Ukrainian forces with additional training and weaponry ahead of an anticipated spring counteroffensive against the invaders. [node:read-more:link]
A formation of six Royal Canadian Air Force tactical helicopters will be transiting through western and central Canada between Monday, May 22 and Friday, May 26. [node:read-more:link]
Defence Minister Anita Anand announced today that Canadian and Latvian personnel will begin training Ukrainian soldiers in Latvia this month tghrough Operational Unifier. She also said that she and her vising Latvian counterpart, Artis Pabriks, discussed plans to surge a CAF-led battle group to NATO brigade status. [node:read-more:link]
The 21st biennial Northern Edge wargames this month in the Gulf of Alaska, which brings different U.S. commands, is facing criticism from commercial fishers, environmental activists and coastal communities. They say the timing and location of the exercise, which includes live ammunition, is detrimental to local and migratory marine life. [node:read-more:link]
“Dangerous operation of a motor vehicle was a factor” in the drownings of four Royal Military College cadets when their vehicle plunged into the St. Lawrence River abutting the Kingston campus in April 2022. The Office of the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal said today that this was the finding of the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service. [node:read-more:link]
Brigadier-General Krista Brodie, who heads Canadian Armed Forces recruitment and training, continues to wrestle with a 16,000-member shortfall in the Regular and Reserve forces. She also says the CAF faces a relevancy problem because general public awareness of their role has diminished. Vacancies in urgent need of filling include medical officers, naval operators, aviation specialists, communications, and technical tradespeople. [node:read-more:link]
Eight Norwegian leopard main battle tanks have arrived in Ukraine and now await European Union-supervised crew training to finish in Poland. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg lauded Norway’s economic and military support for Ukraine, reiterating March 24 that the alliance “must continue to provide Ukraine with what they need to prevail, for as long as it takes.” [node:read-more:link]
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.” [node:read-more:link]
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. [node:read-more:link]
Military prosecutors have dropped their case against a soldier charged with negligence after the May 2021 shooting of an Army reservist during live-fire training at CFB Wainwright in Alberta. A court martial had been scheduled March 5 but no reasons were given for the prosecution’s decision. [node:read-more:link]
The first rotation of battalion combined-arms training for more than 600 Ukrainian troops, focusing on the M2 Bradley fighting vehicle, has finished at the U.S. Army Grafenwoehr training area in Bavaria. A second is under way with nearly 900 Ukrainians in artillery and Stryker infantry carrier battalions. [node:read-more:link]
James Heappey, the British Minister for Armed Forces, said a recent announcement that the U.K. will begin training Ukrainian pilots is focused on the long term rather than on immediate requirements. “But, of course, you’ve always got an eye on what the next gear change might need to be if the war continues to develop,” he said. [node:read-more:link]
Even though the U.K. and some allies have so far declined to supply Ukraine with fighter jets, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has committed to training pilots, according to a statement ahead of today’s visit to London by Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Sunak also offered to bolster other training and support initiatives. [node:read-more:link]
