Canada’s Defence Department is looking to replace the CF-18 fighter jets, which have been in service since 1984, with U.S. aircraft known as Joint Strike Fighters (JSF). Over the past few years $1.8 billion has been spent on modernizing the CF-18s, which were recently rumored to be Canada’s next contribution to the war in Afghanistan. […]
Tag Archives: Defence policy
NATO boss says Afghan strategy was flawed
In a June interview with the Dutch magazine Vrij Nederland NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer stated that making individual NATO members responsible for specific provinces is a flawed strategy because it has failed to stimulate international military and civil cooperation. According to De Hoop Scheffer “All countries like to think they are the […]
Will Canada Join the Drone War in Pakistan?
Speculation as to what Canada’s role in Afghanistan will be beyond 2001 has been stirred up amid recent reports that Obama Democrats are quietly lobbying the Tory government to keep troops in Kandahar province after 2011. Steven Staples says that Although the role of Canadian ground troops in Afghanistan may diminish, the Canadian Air Force […]
Obama Opposes Additional Funding for F-22s
President Obama made the rare move of threatening to veto one of his own bills after senators made a last minute addition to his defence spending bill to include $1.75 billion to buy seven more F-22 Raptor Fighters. The F-22 Raptor is one of the most advanced stealth fighters in the American arsenal, and is […]
A new war….a new weapon
In Defense News, Gen. James Cartwright announced that over the next few years the U.S is likely to be engaged in new conflicts and that the Pentagon must “adjust” its strategy. Leslie comments on how the world has changed and that conventional military approaches to conflict are no longer a good fit,”…it is clear we […]
Global Arms Spending on the Rise
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s annual report on world arms transfers, global arms spending was up by 4 percent last year. The United States retained its position as the top spender on military procurement by a significant margin, over second place China. In total, “the U.S. accounted for nearly 42 percent” of the $1.46 […]