In my previous article, we looked at Ukraine’s historic drone strike against Russian strategic bombers.
While the implications of this moment are wide-ranging, let’s narrow down and look at what it means for Canada.
I see three key lessons to be drawn from this:
First, Canada must heavily invest in the mass production of drones. Ukraine has become one of the world’s top producers of lethal drones, a development driven by existential necessity. Considering that Canada has a similar population, much larger per capita GDP, and many more natural resources than Ukraine, there is no reason we can’t be a world leader in drone production as well, despite not facing the same immediate existential risk (though risks to Canada are mounting fast). A key part of any Canadian rearmament program must be billions of dollars being directed towards expanding Canadian military drone production, rather than buying drones from abroad. We must build them here.
Second, Canada must invest in short-range air defence (SHORAD) at key army, air force, and naval installations. In March, I explained why Canada should partner with German defence firm Rheinmetall to produce mobile air defence platforms domestically. There is real urgency to do so, given the vulnerability of military locations to relatively inexpensive drones. Consider the possibility of China or Russia stashing large numbers of drones in container ships docked at Canadian and allied ports, and then distributing them to key locations ahead of a potential conflict. Much of our already-limited military strength could be crippled all at once. We could spend billions on F-35s or other advanced fighter jets, only to watch them wiped out by drones that cost thousands.
Of note, Rheinmetall Canada is also working on air defence drones, which could be a cost-effective counter to the threat posed by offensive drones. The Canadian government should act now and start placing orders, rather than waiting for the ‘perfect’ moment to buy, a moment that often comes too late (or, in Canada’s case, when it relates to procurement, not at all).
Third, Canada must deepen our military-industrial partnership with Ukraine. Ukraine’s innovation and mastery of the rapidly changing elements of modern warfare are lessons Canada must internalize and integrate into our operations as rapidly as possible. Ukraine is more than willing to work with Canada on this, provided we continue to provide support for Ukraine’s survival. Canada must ramp up our artillery production and shift a portion of it to Ukraine on an ongoing basis, and continue providing further military and financial support. If we expect Ukraine to help us understand modern warfare, we must help Ukraine defeat Russia’s invasion.
Rather than simply gawking at Ukraine’s history-making drone strike on Russian strategic bombers, Canada must learn from it and ensure our nation becomes more resilient, innovative, and secure in a dangerous world.
Spencer Fernando
Image – Twitter
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