The ban on exporting the sensors to Turkey came after the Canadian government determined the drones were used by Azeri forces fighting Armenia.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Wednesday the government would provide $50 million in new military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Some of that money will be used to purchase Wescam surveillance cameras for Ukraine’s Bayraktar TB2 armed drones. The Bayraktar TB2 is built by Turkey and has been sold to Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Poland and several other nations.
Sources tell this newspaper the money will be used to buy between 30 and 40 of the cameras from L3Harris Wescam in Hamilton, Ont. It is not known how quickly the surveillance cameras can be made available to Ukraine and the Canadian government has not provided any details.
Last April, Marc Garneau, then Canadas foreign affairs minister, put a halt to exports of L3Harris Wescam cameras to Turkey for use in the Bayraktar TB2. The ban on exporting the sensors to Turkey came after the Canadian government determined the Bayraktar drones were used by Azeri forces fighting Armenia in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.
“This use was not consistent with Canadian foreign policy, nor end-use assurances given by Turkey,” Garneau stated.
The ban on exporting the cameras to Turkey will remain in place.
Ukraine is believed to have around 50 of the Bayraktar TB2 drones, which it first bought in 2019.
The relatively low-cost Bayraktar drones have been successful in targeting tanks and other armoured vehicles during various conflicts. Ukraine has posted video of one of the aircraft attacking a Russian military column.
The Wescam equipment is also installed on U.S. Predator drones that have been used in what the Americans call “targeted killings” involving terrorist targets. But it has also been estimated that between 10,000 and 20,000 innocent civilians have been killed in those drone attacks in Afghanistan, Somalia, Pakistan and Yemen.
Turkey, a NATO ally, reacted angrily to Canada’s decision last year on the export ban. Officials there warned that the Canadian response could cause serious problems to Turkey and its drone clients.
Turkish officials also accused Canada of holding a double standard since the Liberal government had continued to allow military exports to Saudi Arabia. That nation has a poor human rights record and has played a key role in the war in Yemen, a conflict that has resulted in the deaths of 100,000 people.
Canada has said it is shipping a variety of lethal and non-lethal equipment to Ukraine.
While some of the gear arrived shortly before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there are growing questions about whether the rest of the equipment will be provided in time.
The Canadian military is to send 100 anti-tank weapons and 2,000 rounds of ammunition to Ukraine as well as more protective vests for troops. No details on when the equipment will reach Ukraine were released for security reasons.
In addition, Liberal cabinet ministers also announced Canada would provide $25 million in non-lethal aid. But that gear, including helmets, gas masks and night vision goggles, won’t come from Canadian Forces equipment inventory. Instead, the Canadian government’s procurement system will buy the equipment from various companies and suppliers.
Global Affairs Canada has declined to answer questions on that donation, but some industry officials say there are already problems buying the needed gear.
David Pugliese
Source: Ottawa Citizen
