Canadian Army says Iran’s air attack on base shows need for air defence

OTTAWA — The launching of Iranian missiles against a base housing Canadian soldiers in Iraq has highlighted a longstanding deficiency for the Canadian Army: the inability to defend against air attacks such as aircraft, rockets and drones.

“It is not just a capability shortfall, it’s a capability gap,” Canadian Army commander Lt.-Gen. Wayne Eyre said recently, speaking to the lack of an air defence system. “We don’t have it.”

Iran on Tuesday fired missiles at two military bases in Iraq, including one near the northern city of Irbil that has housed Canadian troops over five years as part of the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

No one was injured in the missile attack, which was in retaliation for the killing of Iranian Maj.-Gen. Qassem Soleimani by a U.S. drone last week.

Canadian troops are routinely deployed with allies who have what are called “ground-based air defences” (GBAD): missile interceptors, anti-aircraft guns, electronic jamming devices and lasers.

The military retired the last of its anti-air weapons in 2012 on the assumption that Canada and its allies would have air superiority in any battle and not have to worry about airborne attacks, said defence analyst David Perry of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.

The Iranian attack demonstrates the importance of Canadian troops on the ground being able to protect against airborne threats, he said.