Canada moves closer to armed drone deals
Canada is inching closer to the purchase of armed drones for its military as details around how the controversial weapons will be used are starting to come together after nearly two decades of delays and discussion.
In an interview with the Canadian Press, Royal Canadian Air Force commander Lt.-Gen. Al Meinzinger said a formal request for bids from the two dronemakers shortlisted for the competition — worth up to $5 billion — is set to kick off in the fall.
At the same time, preparations are underway so the military is ready to begin using the unmanned aerial vehicles when they start to arrive in the next three to four years. That includes plans to establish a central hub in Ottawa where pilots will fly the drones.
“We have not finalized the basing locations, but there certainly will be a centralized ground control node in Ottawa,” Meinzinger said. “And we will have an east and a west maintenance detachment where we will locate vehicles, air vehicles and launch and recovery teams. And then we’ll have one northern base, which will be used when it’s necessary to be used.”
The entire drone force will comprise about 300 service members, he said, with technicians, pilots and others drawn from the air force and other parts of the military. The exact makeup of that force, and even how many drones will purchased, remains a work in progress.
Despite the outstanding
questions, the fact the military has reached even this level of detail represents a major step forward after almost 20 years of work to identify and buy a fleet
of UAVs to conduct surveillance over Canada’s vast territory and support missions abroad. Aside from purchasing a small number of temporary, unarmed drones
for the war in Afghanistan — all of which have since been retired — the military has never been able to make much progress on a permanent fleet.