Canada doesn't know when it will be able to deliver the NASAMS system

The modern medium-range air defense system NASAMS, which Canada agreed to buy for Ukraine last year, has not yet been manufactured.

According to Ukrinform, this was reported by the Canadian public broadcaster CBC News.

It is noted that Canada announced its intention to transfer this air defense system worth more than $300 million to Ukraine on January 10, 2023.

"A year later, one of the companies involved in the creation of NASAMS systems claims that it has no contract for the Canadian donation," the article says.

NASAMS systems are jointly built by the American company Raytheon and the Norwegian company Kongsberg. "A Kongsberg spokesperson said in an email last week that the company is not under contract with the U.S. for the Canadian donation," CBC News said.

The original arrangement was that Canada would reimburse the US for the full cost of the new NASAMS system, while the US would enter into a direct contract with Ukraine for the supply of these weapons. This was supposed to allow Canada to circumvent the requirement to obtain U.S. permission to re-export NASAMS to Ukraine.

"Although Canada paid for the NASAMS system in March, it is still unclear when it will arrive in Ukraine. It is also unclear whether the Canadian Ministry of Defense understands this. A spokesperson said that the ministry is working with its American counterparts to determine the timing," the publication notes.

Publicly available documents from the U.S. Department of Defense indicate that the United States signed an agreement with Raytheon to purchase NASAMS for Ukraine in November 2022. The delivery date is November 2025. However, there is no official confirmation that Canada has returned the money to the United States for one of these systems.

Author - Serhii Kolomiets, 11/01/2024