(OTTAWA) The major general in charge of the Canadian region at NORAD, responsible for protecting North American airspace, says that Russia would have the capability, if it wanted to, to strike the continent, which he said reinforces the need to improve defense systems.
Posted at 2:07 p.m.
Russia has been investing in its armed forces for years, including acquiring cruise missiles and developing a variety of non-nuclear weapons.
The mission of protecting North America against the threat of cruise missile attack has been assigned to the North American Aerospace Defense Command, better known by the acronym NORAD.
The commander of Canada’s NORAD region, Major-General Eric Kenny, does not expect an imminent attack from Russia, but admits that Moscow would have the capability to strike North America through various means.
Kenny made the comments in an interview from Yellowknife, as NORAD conducts a previously scheduled exercise in the Far North involving Canadian CF-18 fighter jets.
The major-general says the exercise is intended to give new and veteran members of the Armed Forces an opportunity to experience operations in the far north and, ideally, to give NORAD an edge over adversaries.
“But the reality is that we can’t do much with the strength we have now,” Kenny said. So we’re making very conscious and deliberate decisions about what that entails in the current NORAD environment. »
Investing to Modernize NORAD
Successive Canadian and US governments have pledged to modernize systems as part of a sweeping update to NORAD, which was first created during the Cold War to protect against Soviet attack.
In last year’s budget, the Liberal government provided an initial $163 million over five years “to support the modernization of NORAD”.
The Defense Department’s forward plan for the fiscal year that begins in April noted that a number of modernization initiatives “have yet to be fully defined and funded.” The report specifically mentions the North Warning System, a chain of radars installed in the Canadian Arctic during the 1980s.
Maj. Gen. Kenny said Thursday that officials are looking closely at the necessary infrastructure, making sure it’s the right size and in the right place, and he also noted the planned replacement of aging CF-18s.
Commander Kenny expects an announcement next year on the long-delayed procurement, with delivery of new fighters by the middle of this decade.
Key government spending estimates released earlier this month called for a $25.9 billion budget for the Department of National Defence, slightly more than the $25.7 billion authorized for the department so far this month. of this exercise. Next year’s allocation for acquisitions was nearly $4.8 billion.
A future more generous budget?
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has hinted that her upcoming budget may include more money for the military, as Canada sees many of its allies increase military spending.
The objective within NATO is to bring military expenditure to at least 2% of the size of the economy (GDP) of the member countries. The latest figures from the Atlantic Alliance put Canada’s military spending at 1.39% of its GDP in 2021.
Defense Minister Anita Anand met her NATO counterparts this week in Brussels. In particular, she had a one-on-one Thursday with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, while the military alliance is debating what to do next in Ukraine.
“The discussions in which I took part […] reinforce the shared commitment of our allies and partners to assist Ukraine, as well as the need to adapt the Alliance’s deterrence and defense posture,” said Mr.me Anand in a statement.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to join other NATO leaders at an extraordinary summit next week.
Some of the soldiers who took part in the NORAD exercise in the Far North were part of Canada’s mission to train Ukrainian security forces before the Russian invasion three weeks ago.
Major General Kenny said the fighting in Ukraine struck a chord at home. He said the Canadian military were proud of the training they provided and they see the fruits of some of that training today. But they are also troubled by the impact of the Russian invasion on Ukrainians.
“The world is not safe, contrary to what some might think,” said Mr. Kenny. When actors, in particular peer states, decide to commit military forces, we see what we see today. »