Government hints at boosting Canada’s military spending

I'll believe it when I see it.

 

[Maxman1]

Any word on how many missiles would be positioned on Newfoundland, for the Golden Dome on The Rock?

 

[McG]

Hopefully the Logistic Vehicle Modernization program is tripled or quadrupled, because 500 heavy trucks and 1,000 "light" (2 ½ton) trucks isn't even close to enough.

This would be a good thing, but would be very difficult to do given the competition is complete and the contract awarded. The Govt would have to tell PSPC to issue a new directed contract to the winner and to not run a second competition. The bureaucracy will not support such a CoA without political direction.

 

[Maxman1]

The fact we can't just order more of something already selected and/or in the system is everything that's wrong with our procurement.

 

[KevinB]

This would be a good thing, but would be very difficult to do given the competition is complete and the contract awarded. The Govt would have to tell PSPC to issue a new directed contract to the winner and to not run a second competition. The bureaucracy will not support such a CoA without political direction.

I don’t understand why Canada doesn’t do IDIQ 5 year contracts for some items.

 

[brihard]

Crazy question from your resident crayon eater:

What’s the Golden Dome? Like an Iron Dome? But better and more beautiful?

Realistically it would be a ‘system of systems’ designed to protect certain bubbles of strategic importance within North America from ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones. It’s a weird-ass term for an integrated and and ballistic missile defense system. There is no one single piece of kit that defines it and it’s probably something that would evolve incrementally over a couple decades as new and advanced kit comes online. Some limited capability already exists. It would basically be piling more and more on.

Ballistic missiles are a society-ending threat.

Cruise missiles are a ‘take out key stuff’ threat; most likely sub launched or air launched. More of a ‘defend the perimeter’ thing since they have to fly in from outside at interceptable altitudes.

Drones are potentially the ‘anything, anywhere, any time’ threat. Their potential for asymmetric use against high visibility/high vulnerability targets is super scary. I would see drones as more of a ‘snuck into the country’ or even ‘built in the country from off the shelf parts’ weapon. I don’t think it would be immensely difficult for a hostile state to infiltrate people into the U.S. and over the span of a few months build a couple dozen fiber optic guided FPV drones. The opportunities are only as limited as your fucked up imagination. I can think of some doozies.

 

[KevinB]

Realistically it would be a ‘system of systems’ designed to protect certain bubbles of strategic importance within North America from ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones. It’s a weird-ass term for an integrated and and ballistic missile defense system. There is no one single piece of kit that defines it and it’s probably something that would evolve incrementally over a couple decades as new and advanced kit comes online. Some limited capability already exists. It would basically be piling more and more on.

Ballistic missiles are a society-ending threat.

Cruise missiles are a ‘take out key stuff’ threat; most likely sub launched or air launched. More of a ‘defend the perimeter’ thing since they have to fly in from outside at interceptable altitudes.

Drones are potentially the ‘anything, anywhere, any time’ threat. Their potential for asymmetric use against high visibility/high vulnerability targets is super scary. I would see drones as more of a ‘snuck into the country’ or even ‘built in the country from off the shelf parts’ weapon. I don’t think it would be immensely difficult for a hostile state to infiltrate people into the U.S. and over the span of a few months build a couple dozen fiber optic guided FPV drones. The opportunities are only as limited as your fucked up imagination. I can think of some doozies.

The easiest way to summarize up Golden Dome is - think like Iron Dome X1000, and then add POTUS Trumps perchance for Gold - and there you go.

 

[YZT580]

I don’t think it’s weird to have more faith in Carney than in Trudeau at all.

I don’t think Carney is overly concerned with specifically who builds infrastructure; as a twice over G7 central banker with an exceptional education in economics, he’s likely to be solidly classically liberal in wanting to maximize the ability of the market to achieve positive outcomes. Viewing a lot of what he says through that light, and tempering it with political realities that we all know exist, I expect to see him pushing hard to reduce the degree to which government is in the way of major infrastructure and capital expenditures.



Saw that. Interesting tidbit about 75 cents out of every procurement dollar in defense going to the U.S. wanting to diversify that is reasonable. Hopefully we get ourselves integrated into European defence supply chains similar to our involvement with F-35.

If RUMINT is true. Within a day or two we should hear of some relatively substantive commitments within DND/CAF. I hope that’s the case; some early indicators of “we mean business” would be great to see.

his comments reference signing on with Europe. Will this remove Korea from the equation or will we still be shopping Globally. Carney is afterall Eurocentric

 

[PrairieFella]

his comments reference signing on with Europe. Will this remove Korea from the equation or will we still be shopping Globally. Carney is afterall Eurocentric

We can walk and chew bubblegum here. Our strategic focus is on Europe, in which any conflict will predominantly be a land war, so let's focus our land forces on Eurocentric kit. Subs from Korea can still make sense in that framework. In fact, K9s could too since they're used by several Euro countries.

 

[rmc_wannabe]

his comments reference signing on with Europe. Will this remove Korea from the equation or will we still be shopping Globally. Carney is afterall Eurocentric

I think this was more of a thumbing of the nose to the U.S. than cutting out potential Korean partners. It was a way of saying "we can and will take our ball and go play elsewhere. LocMart and Boeing be damned" in a nice way, without specifically naming companies like Hanwa or Samsung.

It may be a second order effort to get that U.S. Defense Lobby on board with ending the trade war with Canada.

 

[Rifleman62]

Saab receives order from Canada for the Carl-Gustaf M4 weapon​

Curiously, or not, the announcement nor a search could ascertain the number of CG's being purchased as others have asked. Nothing about purchasing new ammo types.

Queue disappointment. Purchased only enough for the troops in Latvia plus a few for maintainers. The Canadian way of procurement.

 

[GK .Dundas]

Curiously, or not, the announcement nor a search could ascertain the number of CG's being purchased as others have asked. Nothing about purchasing new ammo types.

Queue disappointment. Purchased only enough for the troops in Latvia plus a few for maintainers. The Canadian way of procurement.

We are quite frankly not a serious country.

 

[Remius]

The easiest way to summarize up Golden Dome is - think like Iron Dome X1000, and then add POTUS Trumps perchance for Gold - and there you go.

Golden shower of anti missile goodness…

 

[dapaterson]

I think this was more of a thumbing of the nose to the U.S. than cutting out potential Korean partners. It was a way of saying "we can and will take our ball and go play elsewhere. LocMart and Boeing be damned" in a nice way, without specifically naming companies like Hanwa or Samsung.

It may be a second order effort to get that U.S. Defense Lobby on board with ending the trade war with Canada.

Hanwa is practically a Polish company now

 

[Kirkhill]

Hanwa is practically a Polish company now

No joke.

Hanwha is not just a Polish favourite.

K9 SPH User Group Meets in Helsinki | Joint Forces News

Military representatives from six of the countries operating the Hanwha K9 Self-Propelled Howitzer (SPH) have convened in Helsinki.

www.joint-forces.com

- A Euro Tracked Fleet now looks like Leo2A8, CV9035, K9.

 

[Kirkhill]

WRT Carney -

I have come to realize that my best hope for this country relies on Carney being unprincipled.

 

[Kirkhill]

I think this was more of a thumbing of the nose to the U.S. than cutting out potential Korean partners. It was a way of saying "we can and will take our ball and go play elsewhere. LocMart and Boeing be damned" in a nice way, without specifically naming companies like Hanwa or Samsung.

It may be a second order effort to get that U.S. Defense Lobby on board with ending the trade war with Canada.

It would be foolish to thumb our nose at anyone. Least of all the States. I would be trying to establish new chains of supply while maintaining existing ones.

Investing in Continental Defence / Golden Dome to maintain trading relations with the US while finally preparing to defence ourselves is no bad thing.

Likewise, spending Canadian dollars in Europe AND in Asia to establish ties there is also not a bad thing.

Currently we are spending 75% of a very small pot in the US. If we are growing the pot then we can maintain the same dollar supply to the US while bringing in new suppliers from other countries.

 

[brihard]

WRT Carney -

I have come to realize that my best hope for this country relies on Carney being unprincipled.

I’m curious, how do you mean that?

 

[PrairieFella]

Anyone going to CANSEC today? Any scoops or pictures would be deadly!

 

[Fabius]

If you listen to the PMs interview on defence in relation to Europe and his comments on 1 July, I don’t think he is actually talking about procurement for the CAF.
His words are specifically about increasing our integration into the European military industrial complex. That doesn’t mean CAF procurement. It can but it’s not a given. Funding and subsidizing expansion of industry here in Canada to supply components, explosives, etc to Euro manufacturers might actually be bigger piece of this than CAF procurement.

Getting euro dollars from the increased military spending in Europe spent here while developing a safer strategic supply base for Europe might be our game plan.

CAF procurement could increase but only so as to get euro contracts from their industry.

 

[Kirkhill]

I’m curious, how do you mean that?

Back to another Scots philosopher -

'It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.

As much as Carney has trafficked in principle (ESG/DEI/Net Zero) I now find myself hoping that those words were penned to serve a purpose, namely his own self-interest.

Now I am hoping to see if he can backtrack on those principles while keeping his reputation intact.

Eg

Bill C-69 (No more pipelines)
Bill C-48 (No more tankers)
Emissions Cap
etc.

....

I don't think he can repeal those and keep his Eastern Faction happy.
Can he, however, work with that legislation and still deliver pipelines and, as requested by the Eagle Spirit coalition, a Dixon Channel carve-out, to let tankers get to open water from Prince Rupert?
As I have noted over the years it is not necessarily that rule book that matters but rather the person that reads the rule book.

If Carney can put in place pipeline friendly bureaucrats with a PMO mandate and they can deliver the pipelines that would settle the separatist discussion in the West (and it is not just an Alberta thing - you find pockets in BC, Saskatchewan and Manitoba - particularly outside the major cities).

But he is going to have to give Danielle something - and a pipeline, or at least a corridor for a pipeline, with or without changes in the acts, would be the best indicator.

I also think that his best cover would be supplied by:

1 demonstrate that the demand is driven by First Nations who are willing to give "social licence" to pipelines over their traditional lands in exchange for a share in the profits.
2 move some of those corridors into protected lands, national parks, as part of the 30% of Canada to be protected.

That item 2 may seem counter productive but if the Corridors were Green Corridors - no development beyond the utilities transiting the corridors - perhaps there is something there.

For those of you that are familiar with MCCs (Motor Control Centres) - the Green Corridors could act as the Power Bus. Communities outside of the Corridors could then tie in and draw on the power supply.


PS ....

If building rails and burying pipelines why not run another pipe and feed the electricity lines down it as well? And another for fiber optics? Rather than build pylons all over the place.