Conflicts raging in Europe and the Middle East are helping guide how Canada’s military spends billions of dollars in what could be a generational investment in air defences at its base in New Brunswick.
The federal government has pledged $172 million for infrastructure that will support a new ground-based air def=ence system at 5th Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown.
That system is yet to be revealed, with a procurement process that could see Ottawa spend billions more on the required equipment and weaponry.
As that work gets underway, Canadian Armed Forces officials are paying particular attention to the wars in Ukraine and Iran, and the emergence of drones as a formidable threat.
“We in the air defence community have been tracking how all of this is being used,” said Maj. Mark Haines, acting deputy commander of 4th Artillery Regiment, at Base Gagetown.
“We’ve been watching all the examples and looking at it for our own development.”
Maj. Mark Haines says the expertise of the 4th Artillery Regiment at 5th Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown is the reason the base was chosen to host the air defence upgrades. (Mike Heenan/CBC)
For decades Canada lagged in its NATO obligation of spending at least two per cent of its GDP on defence.
As part of announcements of new military spending last month, Prime Minister Mark Carney revealed Canada had met its NATO obligation — a first since the late 1980s.
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