National Defence committee  As you described, this is a NORAD mission—aerospace warning, aerospace control and maritime warning. What we have seen since the invasion of Ukraine in particular are fewer incursions by the Russians into our air defence identification zone. That's related, I think, to their focu

National Defence committee  I can start on that. We need to recognize that we're short of experienced personnel right now, but the modernization of the Royal Canadian Air Force, from my perspective, is quite exciting. We're going to see delivery of many capabilities in the coming years that will allow us t

National Defence committee  Since 2020, the number of fighter pilots has increased by, I want to say, about two, which is actually a big success in fighter pilot strength. What we saw during the pandemic, and it is still being realized, is a slight increase in the number of fighter pilots. If you were to lo

National Defence committee  From an air force perspective, we prioritize our efforts based on our capacity. That would be a recommendation we would give to the chief of the defence staff.

National Defence committee  Thank you for the question, Mr. Chair. We're still in the procurement process for the remotely piloted aircraft system. The aircraft, to meet the high-level requirements, has to be able to operate in the Arctic and to be able to operate out of places such as Yellowknife.

National Defence committee  One of the things we're also working on in space-based capability is having the satellite infrastructure in place to operate in the Arctic. It is a very difficult to have communication as well as surveillance capabilities in the high Arctic. Part of this remotely piloted aircraft

National Defence committee  I'll start and then I'll defer to my colleagues. From a Royal Canadian Air Force perspective, and as laid out by the chief of the defence staff, we have a crisis of personnel at this very moment. Our focus is on reconstitution of our forces. Specifically, we're making difficult

National Defence committee  I don't have the specific number of members who work in the Arctic or in the territories. I would defer to my colleagues on that. They may have some of those answers. I will say that one of our main concentrations of forces is within Yellowknife. We have a squadron there, 440 S

National Defence committee  The reality is that we need to be able to see threats or impacts to our sovereignly first to be able to then deter or defeat them if required. With drones specifically, or the remotely piloted aircraft system project when it is delivered, as early as 2026, what we're anticipating

National Defence committee  I'll start. As far as air- and space-based threats are concerned, the focus is more on Russia than onChina. That doesn't necessarily mean a threat is looming tomorrow or even next year, as the chief of the defence staff said. However, Russia already has the capability to reach N

National Defence committee  Thank you for your question. We have a project under way to acquire a remotely piloted aircraft system. If all goes well, we will have a contract in place by 2024 to purchase drones that will be based in Greenwood, Nova Scotia, and Comox, British Columbia. They will be able to t

National Defence committee  Thank you for the question, Mr. Chair. I am aware of the article that has come out today. My focus is on the national security of Canada and Canadians. We take that extremely seriously. We look at the threats every day to ensure that we're ready to meet those today and in the f

National Defence committee  The future fighter capability project is moving apace. We are in the finalization phase of this stage. It's being worked on by Public Services and Procurement Canada. At this phase, we are working with the U.S. government and with Lockheed Martin in particular to see if they can

Government Operations committee  The percentage was changed in June.

Government Operations committee  It was set at 65%.