Canada will buy a US-made NASAMS for Ukraine, says Trudeau
\n OTTAWA
\nCanada will buy a U.S.-made National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) for Ukraine, a statement from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau\u2019s office said after a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden in Mexico City on Tuesday.
\nTrudeau and Biden are being hosted by Mexico for a North American leaders\u2019 meeting and Trudeau told Biden about the purchase during separate discussions the two had on supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia.
\n\u201cThis is the first Canadian donation of an air defense system to Ukraine,\u201d Defense Minister Anita Anand said on Twitter after the announcement.
\nAir defense systems are Ukraine\u2019s top priority, she said her Ukrainian counterpart, Oleksii Reznikov, told her in a phone conversation held earlier on Tuesday.
\nThe NASAMS is a short- to medium-range ground-based air defense system that protects against drone, missile, and aircraft attack, Anand said.
\nThe donation has a value of about C$406 million ($302.6 million), and is in addition to the C$500 million Canada promised to Ukraine in November, according to a defense ministry statement. Since February, Canada has committed more than C$1 billion in military assistance to Ukraine.
\nTrudeau and Biden also \u201cdiscussed their shared commitment to the defense of North America, including Canada\u2019s acquisition of F-35 fighter jets for the Royal Canadian Air Force,\u201d according to the statement from the prime minister\u2019s office.
\nCanada finalized a deal to buy 88 F-35 fighter jets from U.S. defense company Lockheed Martin Corp on Monday in a C$19 billion project to replace its aging fleet of fighter aircraft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Canada will buy a US-made NASAMS for Ukraine, says Trudeau OTTAWA Canada will buy a U.S.-made National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) for Ukraine, a statement from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau\u2019s office said after a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden in Mexico City on Tuesday. Trudeau and Biden are being hosted by Mexico for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-306862","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n