Source: Soldatnytt/flickrA National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) donated by Canada has arrived in Ukraine. The system will help defend military sites and civilian infrastructure against Russian drones, missiles, and aircraft. The system, which was purchased from the United States, was newly manufactured by Raytheon in partnership with Kongsberg. The donation is valued at approximately CAD 406 million ($290.6 million) and was supported by a CAD 500 million ($357.9 million) military aid package announced by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in November 2022.
Since February 2022, Ottawa has also provided Ukraine with more than 300 air defense missiles from its existing inventory. Canada has committed CAD 4.5 billion ($3.2 billion) in security assistance to Kyiv, including another CAD 500 million donation announced at the NATO summit in July 2024.
The donation of a NASAMS system is notable because Canada has lacked its own air defense capability for over a decade. The Canadian Forces used to operate its own air defense system in the form of the Army’s Air Defense Anti-Tank System (ADATS), but that capability was disposed of in 2012 without being replaced. While the need for a new Ground-Based Air Defense (GBAD) system has technically been on the books, the effort did not progress in the years following ADATS’s retirement. However, the stalled program may finally gain momentum, as the Army has outlined an urgent operational requirement for an air defense system.
A new Canadian GBAD system would work in coordination with Iron Dome radars that have already been purchased by the Army to track aircraft and detect the origin of incoming mortars, artillery, and rockets. Rheinmetall Canada was awarded a contract in July 2015 for 10 EL/M-2084 radars supplied by Elta Systems. In other words, the tracking capability exists, but Canada needs an interceptor to defeat the incoming threats.
Earlier this year, Canada partially filled its air defense capability gap with the acquisition of new portable short-range air defense systems. In February 2023, Saab was awarded a CAD 227.5 million ($168.2 million) contract for its RBS 70 NG. The portable systems will be field with Canadian soldiers deployed to Latvia.
As editor of International Military Markets, North America, Shaun has cultivated a deep understanding of the vast defense markets in the United States and Canada. Shaun's perspective on defense procurement and budget issues has been cited in a variety of defense periodicals, including Defense News and National Defense Magazine. Further, Shaun played an integral role in the development of Forecast International's U.S. Defense Budget Forecast product, which offers an unprecedented level of insight into the Pentagon's acquisition budget. In addition to providing original analytical content for the U.S. Defense Budget Forecast, Shaun oversees an internal defense budget forecasting process involving Forecast International's team of skilled systems analysts following release of the DoD's annual budget request. Shaun is also in charge of managing Forecast International's Weapons Inventory database.
image sources
- NASAMS: Soldatnytt/flickr
