Canada bought Ukraine an air defence system 1 year ago. They still don’t have it – National | Globalnews.ca

by Elkenson_Sevven

5 comments

  1. This is embarrassing. The arms maker says it has no contract to build the system and the US is referring all questions back to the Canadian government. WTF? Who has the money? Give THAT to Ukraine and they can use it as they are fit.

  2. Nice to see the rest of the world is getting a taste of trudeau’s broken promises.

  4. This article is pretty small, but what it does cover is that:

    * Canada paid the US government $406 million for the NASAMS system last month
    * The US government (according to the Canadian DND) then signed a contract with Raytheon to build the system.
    * However, there is a 3rd party that builds the NASAMS – Kongsberg – that states that they didn’t receive a contract from the US or Canada as of yet to build the system.

    Not much to go on there. The Globe and Mail has a better article [about this here](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-questions-surround-canadas-donation-of-air-defence-system-for-ukraine/?login=true) (paywall though). It captures the following:

    >Ottawa announced plans to donate a $406-million surface-to-air missile defence system, known by the acronym NASAMS, on Jan. 10, 2023. Nearly a year later, one of the two companies involved in building the NASAMS system says it does not have a contract for the Canadian donation.
    >
    >The plan is for Canada to pay the United States government the total cost, and the U.S. to enter into a foreign military sales agreement with Ukraine directly.
    >
    >Such an arrangement allows Canada to avoid applying to the U.S. government for further approval to send the system on to Ukraine, which is needed anytime American military technology is sold outside the country.

    So, it looks like the money was directly given to the US so the US can just send the system on to Ukraine when it is completed.

    >The system is made jointly by U.S.-based Raytheon and the Norwegian-based Kongsberg. A spokesperson for Kongsberg said in an email last week that the company does not have a contract with the U.S. for the Canadian donation.
    >
    >“The acquisition authority is still processing the procurement of the Canadian donation,” wrote Ivar Simensen. He did not respond to questions about how long the production would take once it was authorized.
    >
    >The U.S. Defense Department did sign a US$1.2 billion contract with Raytheon for NASAMS systems intended for Ukraine in November 2022 and a public notice of that contract states the expected completion date is November 2025.
    >
    >A Pentagon spokesperson did not answer questions about whether the system falls under that contract or when it will be delivered, instead referring questions to Canadian officials.
    >
    >Canada’s Defence Department either does not know or will not say when it expects delivery of the system. Raytheon did not respond to questions.

    So, basically everyone is not giving a clear answer on this. Canada seems to have given money to the US for procurement, with the intention of letting the US take it from there to ensure that Canada doesn’t get bogged down in a procurement process -but it’s not clear what the status of the delivery is after that point.

    That said, would it be expected for any government of defense contractor to actually state definitively any sort of delivery date?

  5. Canada had the third largest navy and air force at the end of WW2. Now, it cannot even supply an air defense system.

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