Florida-based L3Harris Technologies, which has a long-standing relationship supplying surveillance technology to the Canadian military, announced November 27 that it will sell its commercial aviation business to a New York private-equity firm. Contingent on regulatory approval, it would enable the company to focus more on national security and technology while paying down debt. [node:read-more:link]
A year into efforts to boost production of 155mm artillery rounds for Ukraine, the U.S. and EU states are seeing radically different results. U.S. output has increased faster than forecast while European output has been slowed by the consensus-focused nature of NATO and the EU. [node:read-more:link]
Iran’s deputy defence minister, Mehdi Farahi, said today that his country has finalised negotiations for delivery of Russian Su-35 fighters, Yak-130 jet trainers and Mi-28 attack helicopters. [node:read-more:link]
A planned $5-billion RCAF procurement of General Atomics MQ-9B Reaper armed drones for Arctic deployment has been delayed until at least 2028. DND cites a need for “significant development work” on links to aerial and orbital communications as well as training [node:read-more:link]
A coronavirus outbreak aboard HMCS Harry DeWolf has forced the Navy to cut short its publicity tour of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway and return it to its Halifax homeport. [node:read-more:link]
The Bill of Rights guarantee that accused persons must be tried within a reasonable time frame resulted in a civilian judge recent termination of two trials of military personnel. In each case, the judge said the Department of National Defence had been unreasonably slow in cooperating but Colonel Vanessa Hanrahan, the Deputy Canadian Forces Provost Marshal has disputed the observation. [node:read-more:link]
Irish Defence Minister Micheál Martin, who doubles as deputy prime minister, has told his parliament that he wants to reform his country’s “triple lock” neutrality policy on deploying troops abroad. Any such proposals require explicit consent from his government, the parliament and the UN Security Council. [node:read-more:link]
The federal government has postponed the unveiling of a $7.5-million Victims of Communism monument in Ottawa after it was pointed out that it did not include, among other things, a key Korean War battle involving Canadian troops. [node:read-more:link]
Defence Minister Bill Blair is “absolutely committed” to ensuring that government spending cuts will not affect his uniformed personnel, pointing out that despite recruitment shortfalls, they are being tasked to do more at home and abroad. “This support doesn't come without a cost,” he pointed out to a parliamentary committee November 23. [node:read-more:link]
The U.S. State Department has approved a potential $2.4-billion sale to Japan of 400 RTX Tomahawk cruise missiles and associated systems and training. The department said today that Tomahawks, which can strike targets at a published 1,600 kilometres, have “significant standoff range that can neutralize growing threats.” [node:read-more:link]
Three U.S. House of Representatives committees have been asked to review draft legislation which would require the Defense Department to collaborate more closely with Canada, Australia, Britain and New Zealand on artificial intelligence. The proposal (H.R. 6425) is sponsored by Wisconsin Republican Mike Gallagher, chair of the Armed Services subcommittee on cybersecurity and information technology, and its ranking Democrat, California member Ro Khana. [node:read-more:link]
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says the alliance is considering an increase in the number of troops it deploys to the Western Balkans to keep tensions under control. Hundreds of British and Romanian troops were deployed after a recent dispute in Kosovo,which declared independence from Serbia in 2008 after a guerrilla uprising and a 1999 NATO intervention that included some 1,300 Canadian Armed Forces personnel. [node:read-more:link]
Canada has completed delivery of 15 Leopard 2A4M tanks to Latvia as part of a proposed a combat-ready NATO brigade in Eastern Europe. DND said they are accompanied by some support equipment and personnel but the rest of the full complement of 130 are not expected until the spring. [node:read-more:link]
Ahead of today’s Economic Update by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, Defence Minister Bill Blair acknowledged that as his department works on a promised policy update, pursestrings will be tightened. “The current fiscal environment that the country faces itself does require that defence policy update […] recognize) fiscal challenges,” he said November 19. “It'll be part of […] future budget processes.” [node:read-more:link]
With recruitment slumping, the U.S. Army is inviting personnel forced out for refusing coronavirus vaccinations to rejoin. “Former soldiers who were involuntarily separated […] may request a correction of their military records,” says Brigadier-General Hope Rampy, Army Director of Personnel Management. [node:read-more:link]
