CDA Institute

Canada borrows its interoperability. It should build it.

josh — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 15:20:28 +0000

Somewhere over the approaches to North America this week, a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) CF-18 will fly an intercept alongside a United States Air Force F-15 Eagle. The two crews will share one radio net, one encrypted data link, one air picture, and one binational chain of command that has run without interruption since […]

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What Canada’s New Icebreaker Fleet Means for Arctic Sovereignty

josh — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 13:00:00 +0000

On August 24, the Government of Canada announced an $11.3 billion contract with Chantier Davie to build six new Polar Class III icebreakers for the Canadian Coast Guard. The new fleet is expected to strengthen Canada’s ability to operate in the Arctic while supporting year-round maritime activity across the country. In this episode of the […]

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Canada’s Climate Security Needs More Than Military Spending

josh — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 17:49:32 +0000

Canada is preparing to spend historic sums on defence and security as it responds to NATO’s new 5 per cent spending ambition. Much of that investment is necessary. But some of the security pressures Canada must increasingly manage cannot be addressed through military capability alone. Climate change and environmental disruption are expanding the “messy middle”: […]

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Canada Joins the Global Combat Air Programme to Develop 6th-Generation Fighter

josh — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 22:00:00 +0000

On July 21, Canada became the first observer nation in the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), the UK, Italy and Japan’s effort to develop a sixth-generation stealth combat aircraft and an integrated networked air combat system. In this episode of the Expert Series, former RCAF commander LGen Yvan Blondin and former RCAF deputy commander MGen […]

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Converting Defence Spending into Capability: Institutional Misalignment and Senior Military Leadership in Canada

josh — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 17:22:35 +0000

Canada’s defence expansion is shifting the policy problem from obtaining resources to converting them into capability. This paper asks why Canadian defence spending converts so slowly and unevenly into usable military capability and what that implies for the mandate, selection, and evaluation of senior military leadership. Drawing on parliamentary evidence, departmental data, audits, doctrine, and […]

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How Is Canada Ramping Up Its Drone Supply?

josh — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000

On August 12, the Canadian Armed Forces hosted the RED COBALT Uncrewed Systems Accelerator, bringing Canadian defence companies, innovators and military personnel together to test emerging autonomous technologies and provide direct operational feedback. In this episode of the Expert Series, Dr. Alexander Salt examines what these new initiatives mean for the rapid integration of drones […]

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NATO’s Industrial Turn: What the Alliance’s New Defence Industrial Policy Means for Canada

josh — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 17:04:02 +0000

Since 2022, NATO has moved beyond setting spending targets and begun to shape defence industrial production in member countries. The action plan agreed to at the Vilnius Summit, the industrial capacity pledge signed at Washington, the two-tier, 5 per cent budgetary commitment adopted at The Hague, and the procurement framework unveiled at the 2026 Ankara […]

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What Does Canada’s New $2.3 Billion Military Satellite Contract Mean for Arctic Defence?

josh — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 13:00:00 +0000

On August 4, the Government of Canada announced a $2.3 billion contract with Telesat to deliver the first phase of the Enhanced Satellite Communications Project, expanding its Lightspeed constellation by 69 satellites to provide secure and resilient military communications in the Arctic and other high-latitude regions. In this episode of the Expert Series, Dr. Jessica […]

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Stop Squandering our Investments in Defence Capabilities

josh — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 16:25:39 +0000

Canadian governments have often trumpeted their investments in shiny new defence hardware, but few have shown comparable interest in ensuring proper maintenance of the assets the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) has, or planned responsibly for their eventual replacement. Failure to pay attention to these unglamourous, yet essential, foundational activities inevitably resulted in many of the […]

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