NATO mission | Ottawa to send 15 Leopard tanks to Latvia

National Defense Minister Anita Anand announced on Friday that Canada will send a squadron of 15 Leopard tanks to Latvia in support of a battle group of 10 NATO countries based in this Baltic state to deter any external threat (read , Russia) and of which Canada is in command.

To support the operation of these 15 tanks, the Canadian Army will also deploy more than 35 other vehicles, including two armored recovery vehicles, several others used for maintenance, refueling and transporting tools, test equipment, etc Some 130 soldiers will be added to the hundreds of comrades already present.

The invoice for this new shipment has not yet been determined. The expected duration of this new deployment is six months.

According to Robert Baines, President and CEO of the Canadian NATO Association, this Canadian commitment is very important insofar as the Canadian army currently has 82 Leopard main battle tanks. It will be recalled that at the beginning of the year, Canada sent four Leopard tanks to Ukraine, a number which rose to eight a few weeks later.

Canada is in Latvia as part of the REASSURANCE mission. This was sent in 2014 following Russia’s invasion and occupation of Crimea. In response, the NATO countries implemented a deterrence plan in Central Europe.

“Natural Order of Things”

Stéphane Roussel, professor at the National School of Public Administration (ENAP), sees the sending of Canadian tanks in a logic of continuity. “Canada has never been a tank power,” he said. This is not in the Canadian tradition for the simple reason that such a tank is completely useless for the defense of Canadian territory. The reason Canada has armor is to have an expeditionary force. This was the case, for example, in Korea and Afghanistan. So sending them to Latvia is the natural order of things. »

“I think it’s helpful to see Canada’s commitment to provide additional troops and equipment to Latvia in light of recent comments that suggested Canada was not going to meet its NATO commitment of spend 2% of its GDP on defence,” notes Thomas Hughes, postdoctoral researcher at the Center for International and Defense Policy at Queen’s University.

None of the three experts believe that this decision will further sting Russia, which has said that it is on the verge of breaking off its relations with Canada following the seizure, a few days ago, of a plane- Russian freighter in Toronto.

Via Montreal

Before arriving in Latvia, the Canadian tanks will pass through Montreal.

“The movement of 2A4M tanks will begin by the end of June,” the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) media relations office said in an email exchange with The Press. These will be transported from the divisional support bases in Edmonton, Alberta and Gagetown, New Brunswick to the Army Equipment Fielding Center in Montreal. The vehicles will then leave Montreal by ship in mid-September and are expected to arrive in Latvia in the fall of 2023.”

During their stay in Montreal, these tanks will go through the stages of maintenance, repair, upgrade and final inspection to “ensure that they are ready to support operations”.

Support for Ukraine

Minister Anand’s announcement comes on top of a slew of new military aid pledges (tanks, missiles, etc.) to Ukraine by NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels on Thursday and Friday.

In an article, the specialized media Politico wondered, however, whether the military industry will be able to keep up.

“The issue became central last week, when images of destroyed equipment – ​​including American-made Bradley fighting vehicles and German-made Leopard tanks – began to surface on social media. The need to supply and support Ukraine coincides with the various governments trying to increase funding for their own defense industries in order to increase production. »

Aid to Ukraine and the protection of the Baltic States will no doubt return to the agenda of the next NATO summit, on 11 and 12 July in Vilnius, capital of Lithuania.