Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that delivering air defence systems to the battlefield is the top priority during the new year. However, Canada’s promise to donate $406 million for the missile defence system had not yet been fulfilled, according to the Canadian CTV channel.
Ottawa announced plans to donate the surface-to-air missile defence system, known as NASAMS, on January 10, 2023. However, almost a year later, one of the two companies involved in the deal stated that it did not have a contract to donate the system.
Under the plan, Canada was to pay the US government the full cost of the system, while the US was to ship it to Ukraine.
This arrangement would allow Canada to avoid seeking further authorisation from the US government to send the system to Ukraine, which is required whenever US military technology is sold outside the country.
Although Canada paid for the NASAMS system in March last year, it remains unclear even to the Defence Ministry when exactly it will reach Ukraine. A spokesman reported that the department was working with its US partners to determine a timeline. Zelensky is ramping up pressure for it to happen as soon as possible during talks with world leaders earlier this year.
“Our entire diplomatic team, everyone in charge of communicating with partners, and all Ukrainian representatives around the world are fully committed to ensuring the delivery of additional air defence systems and ammunition.”
Canada’s Department of Defence, represented by spokesperson Andree-Anne Poulin, has not given a clear answer on whether the country intends to provide more NASAMS systems:
We remain in close contact with Ukrainian officials about Ukraine’s most pressing defence needs, and Canada will continue to step up and address those needs by providing comprehensive military aid.
Poulin reported that the US government had signed a contract with weapons manufacturer Raytheon for the NASAMS system.
The US Department of Defence has signed a $1.2 billion contract with Raytheon to deliver NASAMS systems destined for Ukraine in November 2022. The public notice for this contract states that the expected completion date is November 2025.
The State Department approved a possible foreign arms sale to the Ukrainian government in late May, notifying Congress of the procurement, which it estimated to be worth $285 million. Since then, however, there have been no public updates from either government on the progress of the donation.
The Norwegian government announced last month that it plans to donate eight more NASAMS systems to Ukraine from its own stockpile.
