Construction has started on new Canadian military drones but they won't be fully ready until 2033

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The construction of new drones for the Canadian military has started, but the aircraft won’t be fully operational until 2033, the Department of National Defence has confirmed.

DND posted on the social media site X on Jan. 10 that the first two MQ-9B drones were in production at a U.S. company in California. In its posting, the department called the news “exciting progress.”

But DND also confirmed to the Ottawa Citizen that the drones actually wouldn’t be fully operational for almost a decade.

“These (two) aircraft will be used to support testing that will begin in 2026,” DND spokesperson Kened Sadiku said in an email. ”Delivery of the first aircraft is expected in 2028, with full operational capability for the fleet expected by 2033.”

The Liberal government announced on Dec. 19, 2023, that Canada would buy 11 of the remotely piloted aircraft from a U.S. company for almost $2.5 billion.

The new drones will be stationed at 14 Wing Greenwood, N.S., and 19 Wing Comox, B.C.

Canada is purchasing the General Atomics MQ-9B for operations both overseas and domestically. The drones could be used on international missions to conduct surveillance and attack targets, while at home they would have a role on sovereignty patrols, surveillance of large events and gathering information in support of responses to natural disasters, according to a Canadian Forces briefing paper obtained by the Ottawa Citizen.

On Dec. 27, the U.S. government announced that General Atomics was awarded a contract not to exceed $107 million (U.S.) for components needed to support the Canadian purchase.

The drones were originally expected to be delivered in 2025, but that initial delivery of the first uninhabited aircraft will be delayed until 2028 as modifications are made to the aircraft to deal with Arctic conditions.

Full operation capability for the new fleet was originally set at 2030 or 2031, but that has also been delayed to 2033.

The drones will be able to carry different weapons, including 250- and 500-pound bombs as well as “low collateral damage” bombs, according to the DND briefing on the Remotely Piloted Aircraft System program.

Those will be purchased in the coming years, according to DND.

Ottawa’s Uplands neighbourhood will be the site for a new $65-million military facility to control the drone fleet.

The Ottawa installation, to be ready by 2028, will be around 6,000 square metres in size. It will be home to almost 200 military personnel whose job will be to operate and control the drones flying from the bases in British Columbia and Nova Scotia as well as Arctic locations.

The Canadian Forces and DND originally claimed to the Ottawa Citizen that the location in Ottawa for the new building was secret for security reasons.

But that information was false. DND outlined details about the Uplands location in publicly available documents. The department also held public consultations on the Uplands location as part of its environmental assessment for the site, government documents show.

The publicly available records outline the construction of the building as well as a parking lot for employees who will work at the Uplands site.

The documents indicate that the proposed size of the facility has increased. It was originally envisioned as a 4,000-square-metre building, according to the records.

The new building will house six stations to control the drones and two simulators to support operations. It will accommodate 198 personnel.

It is not clear why the RCAF and DND tried to mislead the Ottawa Citizen with false information.

David Pugliese is an award-winning journalist covering Canadian Forces and military issues in Canada. To support his work, subscribe:?ottawacitizen.com/subscribe