State of Canadian Military
Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2025 9:20 pm
I wont preface to say I am in anyway a military expert but multiple Canadian government have screwed the Canadian military for years. Constantly putting off equipment upgrades through politics and putting our members in a position of using antiquated and sometimes embarrassing equipment.
There are 2 finally 2 major updates coming. First is the purchase of 88 F-35 from 2026 to 2032/34 for an estimated cost of $19B. These planes will be delivered in batches with the first 16 to come in 2025/26. The talk of cancelling future orders and trying a different plane is ridiculous in my opinion. There is a no “kill” switch on the planes that Russia/China or NKorea can access. Can you imagine F-35 even flown by USA pilots all of a sudden not working?
Trump is gone even before we get the rest of the planes and how they interact with NORAD/NATO is imperative to how Canada fights a war. We will never fight USA because it would be over in days if they attacked.
All planes are made in USA with some components made in Canada worth $1B to Canadian firms.
Next major purchase are new River Class destroyers for the Navy. 3 ships have been ordered and it is expected that 15 will be delivered in total over multiple years for a total cost of $77.3B but this includes missiles/weapons used over the life of the ships.
The good part is that the ships are all made in Canada with of course certain components made elsewhere. They are replacing 40 year old ships that hit end of life years ago. The ships are designed for multi use including anti submarine and surface and air support. With the ability to carry 2 multi purpose helicopters.
Sticking with the Navy, Canada has ordered and already received 4-5 artic and off shore patrol ships with another 1-2 still coming. These are also made in Canada for a total cost of $5.0B. Additionally they ordered 2 ice breakers for a total cost of $8.5B with the first ship coming 2030. These are not military vessels per say but will be used to defend our north coast.
Lastly with the Navy the government has decided to look at 12 new submarines that will most likely not be nuclear (need USA approval) but diesel. These submarines will be designed with the artic in mind and with the ability to go under the ice which our current 30-40 barely functioning submarines can't do now. Remember the fun and embarrassment when 1 of the used subs caught fire coming to Canada?
Canada has ordered helicopters to replace its aging fleet. The new helicopters are at a cost of $18B starting with delivery 2033 and full operations by 2038. No helicopter has been chosen but multi role is strategic.
I will finalize with the fact that the government is also looking at other military equipment from drones to vehicles (not sure about tanks) and missiles. Of course some of these are far off and who knows what future governments who are newly elected and will cancel. But I feel that will happen less and less now as Canada needs to look after ourselves and spend up to the 2%. It is not always military actions in foreign countries, we need to support the defence of NA against other countries. Plus military personal have been used to fight wildfires, floods and other events when they are called upon.
Now the military needs to fill the ranks with new men/women ready to defend the country. Pay is so-so but there are a lot of benefits including good education bonuses and pensions.
Some of the numbers noted above might be combinations of different purchases and timelines so look at them as such.
There are 2 finally 2 major updates coming. First is the purchase of 88 F-35 from 2026 to 2032/34 for an estimated cost of $19B. These planes will be delivered in batches with the first 16 to come in 2025/26. The talk of cancelling future orders and trying a different plane is ridiculous in my opinion. There is a no “kill” switch on the planes that Russia/China or NKorea can access. Can you imagine F-35 even flown by USA pilots all of a sudden not working?
Trump is gone even before we get the rest of the planes and how they interact with NORAD/NATO is imperative to how Canada fights a war. We will never fight USA because it would be over in days if they attacked.
All planes are made in USA with some components made in Canada worth $1B to Canadian firms.
Next major purchase are new River Class destroyers for the Navy. 3 ships have been ordered and it is expected that 15 will be delivered in total over multiple years for a total cost of $77.3B but this includes missiles/weapons used over the life of the ships.
The good part is that the ships are all made in Canada with of course certain components made elsewhere. They are replacing 40 year old ships that hit end of life years ago. The ships are designed for multi use including anti submarine and surface and air support. With the ability to carry 2 multi purpose helicopters.
Sticking with the Navy, Canada has ordered and already received 4-5 artic and off shore patrol ships with another 1-2 still coming. These are also made in Canada for a total cost of $5.0B. Additionally they ordered 2 ice breakers for a total cost of $8.5B with the first ship coming 2030. These are not military vessels per say but will be used to defend our north coast.
Lastly with the Navy the government has decided to look at 12 new submarines that will most likely not be nuclear (need USA approval) but diesel. These submarines will be designed with the artic in mind and with the ability to go under the ice which our current 30-40 barely functioning submarines can't do now. Remember the fun and embarrassment when 1 of the used subs caught fire coming to Canada?
Canada has ordered helicopters to replace its aging fleet. The new helicopters are at a cost of $18B starting with delivery 2033 and full operations by 2038. No helicopter has been chosen but multi role is strategic.
I will finalize with the fact that the government is also looking at other military equipment from drones to vehicles (not sure about tanks) and missiles. Of course some of these are far off and who knows what future governments who are newly elected and will cancel. But I feel that will happen less and less now as Canada needs to look after ourselves and spend up to the 2%. It is not always military actions in foreign countries, we need to support the defence of NA against other countries. Plus military personal have been used to fight wildfires, floods and other events when they are called upon.
Now the military needs to fill the ranks with new men/women ready to defend the country. Pay is so-so but there are a lot of benefits including good education bonuses and pensions.
Some of the numbers noted above might be combinations of different purchases and timelines so look at them as such.
