Amid Canada's 'arms embargo': Here are the Israeli weapons still in use by Ottawa

• Published date: 20 March 2024
• Author: UDI EZION
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

They are deployed to protect Canada's borders and NATO countries bordering Russia, similar to when Canadian troops were stationed in Afghanistan in the war against the Taliban

For some reason, the minister's announcement forgot that in the last decade, the Canadian Defense Ministry purchased Israeli weapon systems worth more than a billion dollars after examining their performance, prices, and delivery times compared to those of other Western companies.

In those years, Israel purchased components and subsystems worth only tens of millions of dollars from the Canadians, numbers that indicate the Israeli defense industries' central position in the global arms market and their dependence on exports to customers abroad.

Only in December 2023, two months after the outbreak of Operation Swords of Iron, Canada announced the purchase of LR 2 Spike missiles from Rafael, worth $32 million, with delivery the following summer. Canada needs the advanced anti-tank missiles in case of a Russian invasion of Latvia, where a division of the Canadian army is stationed. This was not the first time that the Canadians purchased an Israeli missile: in 2018, they purchased Spike missiles of an older model for their special forces.

Canada used Rafael to achieve one of its largest defense export deals: the sale of dozens of armored personnel carriers made by General Dynamics Canada to the Colombian military for $418 million last year. Their choice was helped because they are equipped with remote-controlled 30 mm cannon turrets manufactured by Rafael, which can be operated from the weapon's interior without exposing the operator to enemy fire.

The Canadians' largest deal with the Israeli defense industry was signed in 2015 when they purchased 10 Iron Dome radars—these are MMR radars produced by the Elta Systems of the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). The Canadians purchased radars to detect air threats to their forces, including planes, helicopters, submarines, and rockets. The value of the deal was estimated to be $190 million.

Since then, the Canadians have purchased from Elta naval...