Canada took 4 months to send money after deciding to buy air defence system for Ukraine

Canada took 4 months to send money after deciding to buy air defence system for Ukraine

It initially took Canada four months to get into the queue after deciding to join a plan by the United States to buy urgently needed National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) for Ukraine.

Defence Minister Bill Blair insists the lag did not contribute to the slow pace of acquiring the high-tech defensive capability, which is still months away from being delivered.

A proposal for the federal government to purchase the system was first discussed by former defence minister Anita Anand and U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin in late November 2022 at the Halifax International Security Forum, CBC News has learned.

It came at a time when Russia was engaged in a brutal ballistic missile campaign intended to wipe out Ukraine’s electrical grid, a series of attacks that hit civilian targets and killed scores of innocent people.

Anand announced the planned $406-million purchase in January 2023, but as the Defence Department recently told CBC News, the federal government didn’t transfer funds to the United States to pay for the system and start the process until March 2023, at the end of the fiscal year.

“I don’t believe that that contributed in any way to the delay,” Blair said in a recent interview with CBC News.

“It required more than just a conversation and an agreement between the secretary and the minister. There had to be a contract. And because we were purchasing through the United States, it required congressional approval as well. And so there is actually a legal process in the United States to enable them to acquire and purchase munitions that they would send to another government.”

Washington, however, could not begin to negotiate a contract with the manufacturers until it had both its own funds and Canada’s money in hand.

The U.S. Congress gave the green light in May 2023. 

Blair expects delivery by end of this year

The Liberal government has faced repeated criticism for the glacial pace of acquiring the capability, especially as the civilian death toll in Ukraine increases.

The most expedient way to buy the NASAMS was through Washington and to piggyback on a purchase the United States was already making, Blair said.

On the margins of the Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland in June, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said his country is in urgent need of weapons and wished the air defence system Canada promised was already in place.

In his interview with CBC News, Blair said the latest information is that 10 NASAMS ordered by the United States will be delivered by the manufacturers Raytheon and Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace by the end of this year.

“Ours will be among that tranche of deliveries and we’ll immediately get it to Ukraine” in early 2025, the minister added.

Earlier this year, Blair blamed the holdup on the Americans and the challenges Washington faced in financing its portion of the deal. The Republican-dominated Congress held up funding for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan for months in a political standoff with the Biden administration.

There was one additional wrinkle, according to defence trade publications: One of the manufacturers, U.S.-based Raytheon, asked the Pentagon to waive provisions in the Truth in Negotiations Act (TINA) in order to speed up the process of delivering NASAMS.

U.S. defence officials were reluctant because the legislation requires them to demonstrate how long-term contracts save money, and — in the case of donations to Ukraine — that is difficult to establish. Complying with TINA, according to the publication Defence One, adds another six to nine months to the procurement process.

When Ukraine approached the United States about acquiring air defence systems at the onset of the full Russian invasion, the government in Kyiv was initially told it would take up to five years — an answer that left Ukrainian officials dismayed.

The average time to build a new NASAMS is two years, the CEO of Raytheon, Gregory Hayes, has been quoted as saying. 

First systems have 100% interception rate

The U.S. announced in July 2022 that it was buying two NASAMS for Ukraine, then two months later added six more to the order. 

The first systems, taken from an existing Pentagon order, arrived in Ukraine within 71 days of the contract signing, according to U.S. government data.

Once in action, the NASAMS had a 100 per cent success rate intercepting drones and cruise missiles from Russia, Austin told the Halifax conference where he struck the deal with Canada to finance an additional system.

Thomas Withington, an analyst who studies air defence systems and electronic warfare at the U.K.-based Royal United Services Institute, said the struggle by Canada, the U.S. and other nations over the last two years to acquire protection against missiles and drones has ramifications beyond the war in Ukraine.

“We’ve lived, in many ways, through a gilded age where, by and large, the air threat to NATO writ-large has been reduced,” said Withington.

“We’ve not faced the prospect of our own countries being attacked en masse with air delivered effects, so missiles, bombs, that kind of thing. That situation has now ended, and in many ways we find ourselves back in a similar situation to where we were during the Cold War, where we faced significant air threats and we faced significant missile threats.”

Canada’s recently updated defence policy pledges to acquire ground-based air defence systems to protect critical civilian infrastructure. The military is currently trying to purchase an air defence system to protect troops on the ground overseas, but in a recent statement to CBC News the Defence Department said such equipment could also be deployed to protect Canadians at home.

Withington said either way, the country could be in for a long wait because — as Ukraine demonstrated — part of the problem involves the capacity of defence contractors to absorb the flood of new orders.

“You’ve got production lines in the major missile houses where they are configured to produce a set number of missiles in a set amount of time for a set number of customers,” said Withington.

“There is a degree of flexibility within those production lines to account for new customers … but they have a finite capacity, and that’s dictated by the number of employees.”

He also said any decision to add new production lines would have to be carefully thought through by the defence contractors because air defence is a specialty product.

In the medium term, Withington said he could see a number of NATO countries wanting to acquire those systems to protect themselves against the kind of attacks they’ve seen in Ukraine.

“I would argue yes, there definitely needs to be a ramp-up in production levels for ground based air defences,” Withington said.

“I think if you show as an alliance you’re deadly serious about this, and you are prepared to get the air defence assets you need, and more, so you’re saying to Mr. Putin … NATO is not to be trifled with.”

Blair couldn’t give a timeline for when Canada would acquire its own system, but said it is among his top purchasing priorities.

Published at Thu, 11 Apr 2024 22:52:23 +0000

Israeli labour court orders end to general strike for ceasefire deal, siding with government

A rare call for a general strike in Israel to protest the failure to return hostages held in Gaza led to closures and other disruptions around the country on Monday, including at its main international airport. But it was ignored in some areas, reflecting deep political divisions.

Hundreds of thousands of Israelis had poured into the streets late Sunday in grief and anger after six hostages were found dead in Gaza. The families and much of the public blamed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying they could have been returned alive in a deal with Hamas to end the nearly 11-month-old war.

But others support Netanyahu’s strategy of maintaining relentless military pressure on Hamas, whose Oct. 7 attack into Israel triggered the war. They say it will eventually force the militants to give in to Israeli demands, potentially lead to more successful rescues and ultimately annihilate the group.

A labour court ruled that the strike must end by 2:30 p.m. local time, accepting a petition from the government saying it was politically motivated.

Israel’s largest trade union, the Histadrut, had called for the general strike for Monday, the first since the start of the war. It aimed to shut down or disrupt major sectors of the economy, including banking, health care and the country’s main airport.

Airlines at Israel’s main international airport Ben-Gurion were halting outgoing flights between 8:00 and 10:00 a.m. on Monday. Those flights either departed early or were slightly delayed, and travellers were seen lining up at check-in counters despite the limited disruption. Arriving flights were continuing as usual during that time, according to the Israel Airports Authority.

Banks, some large malls and government offices were all closed due to the strike and public transit was limited. Municipalities in Israel’s populated central area, including Tel Aviv, were participating in the strike, leading to shortened school hours and cancellations for public daycares and kindergartens.

Many municipalities, however, including Jerusalem, were not participating in the strike, even though tens of thousands protested in front of Israeli’s parliament in Jerusalem on Sunday. Israeli media reported that the state appealed to a labour court to cancel the strike, saying it was politically motivated.

Many Israelis blame Netanyahu for failure to end war, return hostages

The demonstrations on Sunday appeared to be the largest since the start of the war, with organizers estimating that up to 500,000 people joined nationwide events and the main rally held in Tel Aviv. Israeli media estimated that 200,000 to 400,000 took part.

They are demanding that Netanyahu reach a deal to return the roughly 100 hostages remaining in Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead, even if it means leaving a battered Hamas intact and withdrawing from the territory. Many Israelis support this position, but others prioritize the destruction of the militant group over freedom for the hostages.

Negotiations for a ceasefire have dragged on for much of this year, stalled by Netanyahu’s refusal to commit to ending the offensive in Gaza as part of a deal. He has pledged “total victory” over Hamas and blames it for the failure of negotiations.

Israel said Hamas killed all six hostages shortly before Israeli forces arrived in the tunnel where they were being held. Three of them, including an Israeli American, were reportedly scheduled to be released in the first phase of a ceasefire proposal discussed in July. The Israeli Health Ministry said autopsies had determined the hostages were shot at close range and died on Thursday or Friday.

Netanyahu blamed Hamas, saying “whoever murders hostages doesn’t want a deal.”

Hamas blamed their deaths on Israel and the United States, accusing them of dragging out the talks by issuing new demands, including for lasting Israeli control over two strategic corridors in Gaza. Hamas has offered to release the hostages in return for an end to the war, the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners, including high-profile militants.

‘Devastated and outraged’

One of the six hostages was Israeli American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, a native of Berkeley, Calif., who lost part of his left arm to a grenade in the attack. In April, Hamas issued a video that showed him alive, sparking protests in Israel.

He was one of the best-known hostages, and his parents had led a high-profile campaign for the captives’ release, meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden and Pope Francis, and addressing the Democratic National Convention last month.

Biden on Sunday said he was “devastated and outraged.” The White House said he spoke with Goldberg-Polin’s parents and offered condolences.

Some 250 hostages were taken on Oct. 7. Israel now believes about 100 remain in captivity, including 35 who are thought to be dead. More than 100 were freed during a ceasefire in November in exchange for the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Eight have been rescued by Israeli forces. Israeli troops mistakenly killed three Israelis who escaped captivity in December.

Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, when they stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, according to Israeli tallies. Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials.

The war has displaced the vast majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million people, often multiple times, and plunged the besieged territory into a humanitarian catastrophe.

Published at Mon, 02 Sep 2024 10:27:57 +0000