DND confirms malfunction of new anti-tank missiles heading to Latvia

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More than half of the new anti-tank missiles received by the Canadian military didn’t function properly during testing, the Department of National Defence has confirmed.

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The federal government spent U.S. $32 million ($45 million Canadian) to purchase Spike anti-tank missiles for use by Canadian Forces personnel in Latvia.

But the National Post reported on Nov. 26 that there were problems with those missiles and concerns they were not performing as required. The National Post noted that DND was considering cancelling the contract.

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DND spokesperson Nick Drescher Brown said there are no plans to cancel the Spike missile contract with Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, an Israeli company.

But the department did acknowledge ongoing problems with the Spike LR2 missiles.

“During Initial Cadre Training conducted by the company on July 15-16, 2024, five out of eight missiles experienced functionality issues,” Drescher Brown confirmed to the Ottawa Citizen. “We continue to work closely with the equipment manufacturer to identify and address the root cause of these issues.”

Drescher Brown did not go into detail about the specific problems affecting the missiles. But he noted that no one was injured nor were there any safety concerns associated with the firings. “All safety protocols built into the equipment performed exactly as expected,” he added.

Rafael did not respond to a request for comment.

In February 2023, the Ottawa Citizen reported that the Canadian Army was fast-tracking its purchase of the anti-tank weapons as well as air defence systems for troops stationed in Latvia. The equipment was classified as an Urgent Operational Requirement, the same process used during the Afghanistan war to quickly obtain gear without going through the slower traditional procurement procedures.

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Drescher Brown said in the interest of getting the new missiles quickly for the Latvia mission, no live-fire tests or demonstrations were performed during the selection process. “This technical risk was assessed and deemed acceptable as all of the potential bidders had delivered thousands of units of this product to other customers by that point in time,” he said.

The ongoing issues affect both the missiles and launchers.

“While deliveries of these new systems for deployed Canadian Battle Group members in Latvia has been delayed slightly, until the equipment manufacturer implements the required changes to ensure that these systems function as intended, full operational capability remains on schedule for January 2026,”  Drescher Brown added.

No details were provided by DND on when the needed changes for the Spike systems are expected to be completed.

Canadian soldiers are in Latvia as part of the Canadian-led NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group to deter Russian aggression in the region. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in July 2023 that, as part of a major commitment to NATO, Canada would spend an additional $2.6 billion to double the number of troops it stationed in Latvia. The government’s plan would see up to 2,200 troops deployed for what is being called Operation Reassurance.

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This is not the first time the Canadian military examined the purchase of modern anti-tank weapons. In 2005 the then-Liberal government had approved $194 million for the purchase of either the Israeli-made Spike missile or the American-build Javelin system. Companies put their bids in to provide 840 missiles and more than 100 firing systems. Test firings of both weapons were conducted.

But a year later the bids were rejected as the Canadian Army determined it didn’t have enough information to figure out whether the weapons would be effective on the battlefield. The project then went by the wayside.

Both Spike and Javelin missiles are in service with multiple nations. Javelin has been used extensively in Ukraine while Spike variants have been used in conflicts in Gaza, Iraq, Lebanon and during the second Nagorno-Karabakh war.

David Pugliese is an award-winning journalist covering Canadian Forces and military issues in Canada. To support his work, including exclusive content for subscribers only, sign up here: ottawacitizen.com/subscribe

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