The U.S. Army Program Executive Office, Aviation Fixed Wing Project Office’s Product Director International and Transport Aircraft (PM FW- ITA) office delivered one Beechcraft King Air 350 Extended Range platform to the Government of Canada at the L3Harris facility in Greenville, Texas.
This marks the initial phase of a programme that will see a total of three CE-145C Vigilance aircraft delivered to the RCAF.
Upon acceptance, a Royal Canadian Air Force pilot flew the aircraft to the Canadian Forces Base in Trenton, Ontario. This effort aims to provide Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) equipped aircraft to the Canadian Armed Forces and is the first of three ISR aircraft set to be delivered to Canada this year.
As mandated in Canada’s Defense Policy and the Chief of the Defense Staff Directive for Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Force Posture and Readiness, the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command requires the aircraft to be capable of promptly achieving tactical, operational and strategic effects. Maintaining a readily available, mission-tailored and sustainable manned airborne ISR capability within the RCAF is required to meet this mandate and enhance the CAF IRS capabilities.
Scott Thovson, deputy product director at ITA, and Ken Ols, PM FW – ITA case manager, who have worked on this project for over two years, agree that this transaction will greatly help the CAF with intelligence gathering, surveillance, and reconnaissance in its operations, and that while this project has presented numerous challenges, it is extremely rewarding to see the completion and delivery of the first aircraft.
“Delivering the aircraft to Canada has been a blessing and will help continue to grow our alliance with Canada,” said Joseph Kidwell Jr., senior central case manager at the U.S. Army Security Assistance Command, who has managed the Canada Program since 2021.
“The U.S. and Canada continue to have one of the most excellent military alliances in the world.”
For a country with small armed forces and a modest defence budget, Canada does extremely well to produce or acquire good kit crewed/operated by well trained professionals.
Check back in 5 years and you will see more kit with all of the procurement going on. A lot of projects on the go.
Would be interesting to understand what is in the pipeline?
My reply to you was marked as spam 🙂
A search for Canadian defence procurement will provide you with what has been ordered for the forces as of late. Quite a lot actually.
88x F35 ordered 2027-29 delivery
14x P-8 Poseidon ordered 2026 delivery
8x Arctic OPVs completed 2026
15 x T26 Frigates project start 2026
2x Protecteur Support ships 2026(Berlin Class)
Submarine replacement ( maybe by joining AUKUS as indicated by the PM yesterday too). That project alone would set a funding target above the 1.76% to 2% of GDP. The Victoria Class needs to be replaced by 2030 something.
There is a lot more investment in the armed forces to get up to a 1.76 % from the gov by 2029. Yesterday’s announcement mentioned static air Defence for the country and closer air support for the army. A replacement for medium lift helicopters and more investment in Arctic sovereignty defence was mentioned
More Battle tanks and IFVs have funding committed to them.
Thanks Mickey I have reposted your key points so others can see. Very interesting.
Yep, there was my ‘spam’ message. Lol
There are a lot more equipment aquisitions and other fundings from Tuesdays message by the Canadian PM.
Thanks for posting Mark B
9x MRTT, first two delivered
11x MQ-9B SkyGuardian, delivery starting 2028
~2000 Mercedes Benz Zetros trucks, deliveries starting 2025
Thanks Mickey. I did an Exchange posting with Canadian DND in Ottawa in 2004-6. I was impressed then and am impressed now with what they can do with their taut Defence budget.
The defence chief has done a good job convincing the PM of the proper funding required for the CAF . He has come a long way on this and more needs to be done. Recruitment and retention (16,000 vacancies) has now been addressed with funding targets as well.
Ottawa is beautiful at all times of the year (winters can be a bit long). A good posting.
Expect to see them over Latvia quite soon.
CF has supplied the core of the eFP BG in Latvia since 2017, with about 540 mechanized infantry and supporting troops. The capability there is being strengthened all the time.
Yes, bolstered to 2200 mechanized infantry brigade by end of year.
A battalion of Swedish infantry is being sent over to the EFP group also later this year.
And yet in Defence Select Cmtte, we were told all our commitments were being met and yet, we can’t field a Brigade in Estonia as requested by NATO.
For Canada to field that brigade, it puts stress on the Army, RCAF but it also shows to NATO that Canada to do more until their funding and new equipment starts arriving
Isn’t that just a future aspiration?
I know Sir, I lived there for several years 🙂
Ottawa?
Latvia, Sir.
Canada, America, Germany are all now putting brigades in eFP stationed in the Baltics and Poland, except one country, Britain.
Latvia, I see, thanks – that was interesting, I’m sure.
A key reference is the NATO Madrid Summit of 2022, but the SHAPE website had nothing on evolving to Brigades in the eFP missions.
Canada has been uplifting and expects to do a Bde level exercise this autumn but not all Bde troops will be in place until 2026.
I could not find out anything about the US uplift.
Germany is struggling to do the uplift.
The UK has said that we will rear-base the balance of a brigade in the UK – that really is not ‘forward presence’!
Ottawa, Latvia?
We were talking about Canadian Forces and also Canadian troops in Latvia. I mentioned I had lived and worked in Ottawa. When DB said he once lived there I thought he meant Ottawa, but it was Latvia he lived in.
Now I saw something like this, twin propeller high rear tail flying up and down in a pattern low over London a week or so ago. I thought it was google mapping.