Canada tapped allies for used drones
Canada’s military went shopping for second-hand drones last year as it tried to fast-track its attempts to acquire a fleet of unmanned aircraft, but came away empty-handed — Canada’s allies weren’t keen to part with equipment that is increasingly seen as vital on the modern battlefield.
The Liberal government’s new defence strategy, released in June, called for the purchase of armed drones. But according to Department of National Defence documents obtained by the Ottawa Citizen, the Canadian military was already trying to acquire the systems last year, even as the defence policy was still being developed.
The Canadian Forces asked companies about the availability of new and used drones and how fast they could be delivered. Canadian military attaches were also asked to see whether allied nations were willing to part with any of their unmanned aircraft.
RCAF spokesman Capt. Trevor Reid confirmed that Canada “approached our allies to identify any excess capacity to buy.”
“Based on the feedback received from allies, the project did not pursue that option further,” he said.
With the Liberal government’s approval, the military is now completing its analysis of various options on how to proceed.
The Canadian Forces hope to have new drones by 2021 and have the fleet fully operational by 2023. The cost of such a purchase is expected to be more than $1 billion.
There are a limited number of armed drones on the market that fit Canada’s needs, and in the past the military has expressed interest in the U.S.-built Predators.
During the Afghan war, the federal government approved the lease of Israeli-built drones from MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates in Richmond, B.C. Those unarmed aircraft operated out of Kandahar Airfield. The Canadian Forces also previously operated unarmed French-built unmanned aircraft in Afghanistan.
Used-drone shopping isn’t the Canadian military’s only recent attempt to buy military equipment secondhand.
To deal with what it says is a capability gap because of the country’s aging CF18 fighter aircraft, the Canadian Forces is currently examining the purchase of second-hand fighter jets from Australia.
A Liberal government plan to buy new Super Hornets is in limbo after the aircraft’s manufacturer, Boeing, filed a trade complaint against Canadian aerospace firm Bombardier.
Boeing claims Bombardier is unfairly subsidized by Canada and the complaint, lodged with the U.S. government, has touched off a feud between the American firm and the Canadian government, which has said it will not proceed with the purchase of new Boeing fighter jets until the trade dispute is resolved.