With Germany getting closer to starting production of the new KF-51, and with Canada in need of parts for our current fleet of Leopard 2 main battle tanks, we should work with our NATO ally to start building tank factories within our borders.
When someone asks what Canada needs more of when it comes to our military, the answer is simple:
“Everything.”
We’ve neglected our national defence for decades, meaning we are short on everything we need to protect ourselves and support our allies.
We are short on ammunition, short on tanks, short on planes, short on ships, short on submarines, and – most importantly – short on troops.
One of the biggest challenges we face in addressing this situation is that we have not only neglected to procure the necessary amount of equipment, but we cannot produce much of what we need within our borders.
This is a significant problem, given that any large-scale war would lead to severe disruptions in global shipping, and would rapidly drive up demand – and thus costs – for procuring weapons and military equipment.
Thus, any kind of “we’ll buy everything we need at the last minute” approach to a potential global conflict is doomed from the start.
It also means we need to have a total re-think of what military procurement in Canada means:
We shouldn’t merely seek to buy what we need, we should seek to build as much of it here at home as we possibly can.
This doesn’t mean isolating ourselves from our NATO allies.
Just the opposite.
It means deepening our cooperation with them while investing here at home in the factories and production capacity that can help ensure our protection.
How do these things – cooperation & self-sufficiency – go together?
It’s all about leveraging our alliances.
For example, Canada doesn’t need to invent a new next-generation main battle tank. Our NATO ally Germany has already done so with the KF51:
The tank may soon begin production in Hungary (a NATO ally that is ‘unreliable’ at best), and Germany, with Rheinmetall also looking at opening up a production plant in Ukraine sometime down the road.
If Hungary – a nation with a total GDP of just USD 212 billion compared to Canada’s GDP of USD 2.1 trillion – can find the money to invest in domestic tank production, Canada certainly can.
This is an area in which our alliances are mutually beneficial. Germany would benefit from Canada’s investment, which would incentivize the expansion of Germany’s defence industry (essential to strengthening NATO and removing some of the burden from the USA) and would provide Canada with a highly needed domestic production capacity.
An additional benefit is the fact that since Canada is an operator of the German-made Leopard tanks, tank factories for the KF51 could start as factories for the production/upgrading of Leopard 2A7 and 2A8 tanks:
“Beside the Hungarian contract, Rheinmetall is looking with interest at the Leopard 2 users, and is proposing an upgrade of their tanks, by replacing the turret with that of the Panther. As the 120 mm gun autoloader-compatible is already under development, here too the customer might select the L55A1 120 mm gun while maintaining an open option for a further smooth transition to the 130 mm calibre. Not only, as new production tanks require between 24 and 36 months at best to be delivered, such an upgrade option might provide a state-of-the-art MBT available at short term; the number of rounds remains the same in the 120 and 130 mm configurations, while the protection level is higher than that of Leopard 2s, and includes passive, reactive and active armour. The fire control system is an improved version of that used in the latest Leopard 2 versions.”
This part is the most important, and should be noted again:
“Not only, as new production tanks require between 24 and 36 months at best to be delivered, such an upgrade option might provide a state-of-the-art MBT available at short term; the number of rounds remains the same in the 120 and 130 mm configurations, while the protection level is higher than that of Leopard 2s, and includes passive, reactive and active armour. The fire control system is an improved version of that used in the latest Leopard 2 versions.”
This is exactly what Canada needs. We need to produce new equipment quickly, we need that equipment to be high quality, and we need that equipment to be responsive to the threats Canadian military personnel would face if the world was plunged into a large-scale war.
Currently, Canada has about 80 Leopard tanks. We gave eight to Ukraine (a tiny number given the scale of Russia’s brutal invasion), and the Canadian government recently asked Germany to produce more parts, since the Leopard 2A4 version lacks a current parts production line:
But why should Canada have to ask Germany for parts? Why should we be dependent on a country all the way across the ocean to build tanks for us?
There is no reason Canada can’t produce German-designed tanks here in Canada. And Germany would surely welcome it, as would our allies like the United States, United Kingdom, France, Poland, and others who hit and exceed the NATO 2% target and are increasingly exasperated with our refusal to do so.
West & East
The Canadian Government needs to take this seriously. Tanks will play an essential role in future conflicts (which is why nations like Poland and South Korea are ramping up tank production). While drones are a significant threat, there will be counters for drones, and new tanks will incorporate those counters.
Canada should immediately begin talks with Germany on setting up two tank factories – one in Western Canada and one in Eastern Canada. Those factories should initially focus on repair parts for Canada’s current fleet of tanks, before shifting to the production of Leopard 2A7/2A8, and then production of the KF51 (including unmanned variants to enhance crew protection).
We have done this before
Many people in our country have adopted a defeatist mindset, giving in to the idea that we are a ‘small country’ that can’t be a military power and is doomed to remain vulnerable.
But that is not the case.
As noted by Project ’44 & Veterans Affairs Canada, when necessary Canada has shown the ability to ramp up our industry and become a powerful military producer.
“Over the course of the war, Canadian industry produced more than 800,000 military transport vehicles. 168,000 were issued to the Canadian military, while the rest went to allies, including Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union. Tanks were also produced in Canada before the Allies decided to produce all Sherman tanks in the United States. As an example of Canadian tank production, the Canadian Pacific Railway constructed 788 Valentine tanks in Montreal. Some were shipped to Britain and the Soviet Union.
Canada also produced thousands of artillery pieces including field guns, anti-aircraft guns, and anti-tank guns. Millions of small arms such rifles and machine guns, ammunition rounds, and the various other equipment and material needed to fight the war were made in Canada.”
“Of the 800,000 military vehicles of all types built in Canada, 168,000 were issued to Canadian Forces. Thirty-eight percent of the total Canadian production went to the British. The remainder of the vehicles went to the other Allies. This meant that the Canadian Army “in the field” had a ratio of one vehicle for every three soldiers, making it the most mechanized field force in the war.
The Bombardier company of Valcourt, Quebec, built more than 150 military snowmobiles. General Motors developed a frame for another snowmobile, of which 300 were built.
Canadian Pacific Railway constructed 788 Valentine tanks in its Angus shop in Montreal; its engine was built by General Motors. 5,200 tanks had been built at C.P. Angus and Montreal Locomotive Company shops by the end of the war.
There were 2,150 twenty-five pounder “Sexton” self-propelled guns were built by Montreal Locomotive Works.
A heavy utility vehicle body was developed in Canada. Four-thousand such vehicles were manufactured by General Motors in Oshawa. This vehicle body could be mounted on a 4×4 chassis and could, with slight modifications, be used as a personnel carrier, ambulance, light wireless, truck or machinery truck.”
If we could acheive that at a time when our population was 11 million people, imagine what we can acheive today.
We must remember what our country is capable of.
We must remember who we were, and realize that we can be even better.
It’s time to get serious, recognize that the world has changed, and take immediate steps to ramp up our military production so we can confront a threatening future from a position of strength.
Spencer Fernando
Photo – YouTube
