by David Pugliese
AFTER YEARS OF being without a ground-based air defence, the Canadian Armed Forces is ready to begin the process to acquire a system capable of shooting down enemy aircraft, missiles and drones.
Federal government procurement specialists will request information from the defence industry sometime this year as the Canadian Army works out the specifics of what it wants in such a system.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shown the value of air defence systems. Here Canadian soldiers train with a man-portable air- defence system (MANPAD). (CANADIAN FORCES PHOTO)
Defence analysts and retired generals have pointed to the Russian invasion of Ukraine as evidence of the need for such equipment. The Liberal government originally outlined the pro- posed purchase in its 2018 defence capability plan. At that point, the government stated such a ground-based air defence system would cost between $250 million and $499 million.
But, even before the procurement process has begun in earnest, that price tag has increased to what observers are saying is a more realistic cost estimate. During an April 5 brief- ing in Ottawa, Canadian Army officials told defence industry representatives the cost would now be between $500 million and $1 billion.
A contact is expected to be awarded in 2026 and the first systems would be in place a year later, industry officials were told. Interestingly, Army officers consider the main threats the new system would be used to deal with are rocket, artillery and mortar munitions, air to surface missiles and bombs, and remotely piloted
aircraft systems.”
During the April 5 briefing, industry officials were informed the
system would also be able to target cruise missiles, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. The new system wouldn’t be capable of dealing with larger weapons, such as theatre ballistic missiles or intercontinental ballistic missiles.
The Canadian Army will consider systems with guns or missiles or both. It still has to examine whether it wants the air defence system mounted on light armoured vehicles or something smaller, such as trucks.
The Canadian Army was outfitted in 1989 with a then state- of-the art air defence anti-tank system known as ADATS, shown here during military exercises. But, faced with budget cuts ordered by the Conservative government, the Army announced it was removing ADATS from service in 2012. (CANADIAN FORCES PHOTO)
The package could also include a sensor suite, fire control software and an integrated networked C4ISR system. It would be equipped with a training and simulation system that leverages modelling and simulation to provide realistic and immersive training, according to the Canadian Armed Forces.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shown the value of air defence systems, according to defence analysts. Ukraine has been able to prevent Russia’s air force from controlling the skies over the battlefield using a variety of anti-aircraft missiles and weapons. The war has also highlighted a gap in the Canadian military’s capabilities as it has been without an air defence system for the past decade.
The Canadian Army was outfitted in 1989 with a then state-of-the art air defence anti-tank system known as ADATS. It was purchased to protect bases in Germany against attack by the Russians, but, shortly after ADATS was delivered, the Cold War ended and the systems were shipped back to Canada. ADATS was occasionally used for domestic security, including to provide protection from potential air threats during the G8 summit in Alberta in 2002.
But, faced with budget cuts ordered by the Conservative government, the Army announced it was removing ADATS from service in 2012.
The move left the Canadian Forces without a primary air defence system. Army officers acknowledged at the time that decision was risky, but the service had determined it was accept- able in the short term. The Army had plans to introduce a new air defence system around 2017, but that project never went forward.
In 2020, then Army commander Lt.-Gen. Wayne Eyre told Esprit de Corps that ground-based air defence was a priority for the service. “We see the evolving threat from drones, from rockets, and other forms of indirect fire,” said Eyre, who has since been promoted to Chief of the Defence Staff. “We have to be able to protect ourselves.”
He noted that sophisticated sensors capable of identifying the location of enemy positions as well as detecting incoming warheads would be particularly important for ground-based air defence. CANADA’S ADATS
Back in the 1990s, the Canadian Army was one of the few military organizations operating the ADATS, which had been designed to provide air defence protection for mobile troops as well as ground installations. That self-contained weapon system was mounted on a tracked M113 and capable of performing during day or night and in adverse weather. ADATS was operated by a crew of three (driver, commander/radar operator, and electro-optical operator), plus three personnel in a support vehicle, according to the Canadian Armed Forces. It carried eight ready-to-fire missiles which traveled at a speed of Mach 3+ to a range of over eight kilometres. Its sensors included search radar and an electro-optical device contained a TV and Forward Looking Infrared Radar (FLIR).
ADATS first entered service with the Air Defence Artillery School located at CFB Chatham N. B. in 1989, with 34 units purchased. It was considered state-of-the-art at the time.
But after a series of budget cuts, the Canadian Army decided to shed its the ground based air defence capability. In 2005, the Army determined that the primary role of ADATS was “to be direct fire” with air defence a secondary role.
But the Army’s efforts to dump GBAD were met with serious concern, particularly in the Royal Canadian Air Force. The office of then Maj.-Gen. Charles Bouchard tried to push back against the Army, according to 2005 documents obtained by Esprit de Corps.
“While understood and not unexpected, this planned reduction in GBAD capability is happening at a time when the asymmetric threat and associated response dictates that the requirement for such a capability remains valid,” Bouchard’s office responded in a 2005 briefing note for the Canadian Army.
While the Army commander saw little need to maintain GBAD for an expeditionary role, Bouchard’s office countered with the following: “This capability does have a utility from both a NORAD and a domestic operations perspective.”
In fact, during a May 2005 NORAD planning conference, the joint U.S.-Canadian air defence command had identified the requirement “for a rapidly deployable” air defence capability for national special security events or important gatherings such as a G8 conference, according to the records.
But the RCAF’s concerns only delayed the inevitable. Almost all ADATS were declared surplus, and except for a few units for testing and support, the GBAD capability all but disappeared in 2012.