The federal Liberal government’s plan to buy anti-aircraft missiles for Ukraine is prompting questions about why such equipment isn’t being bought for the Canadian Army.
The Army has been without weapons to defend Canadian troops from enemy aircraft, rockets and drones since the last of its anti-air weapons were retired in 2012, and efforts to acquire new ones have remained stuck in neutral for years.
Multiple Army commanders have described the lack of such weapons as a key deficiency for the Canadian military, including defence chief Gen. Wayne Eyre, when he was the head of the Army in 2019.
That December, Eyre said restoring anti-aircraft defence was one of his top priorities….