Preserving capacity, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, Keys to Canadian SAR
Issue link: http://vanguardcanada.uberflip.com/i/1467384
The Lightspeed satellites make use of fast sub-millisecond fre- quency hopping across narrow beams, providing low probability of interception and detection. ARCTIC S ome argue that Russia would not invade Canada. In a rational world one could be led to believe so. History teaches us oth- erwise. In the words of the Economist, "Vladimir Putin uses warfare to make up for Russia's weaknesses. That is why he is so dangerous." Russia, under the leadership of Putin, is acting ir- rationally. Putin's logic to invade Ukraine was deeply flawed, nobody has dared tell him that he was wrong to do so and that he should stop immediately. What logic supports the complete destruction of Mariupol if one is to use it after victory? And what about the unprecedented number of war crimes documented in this digital world of smart phone and satellite imag- ery? What will Putin gain in the end? The situation in Ukraine has continued to escalate in terms of risks. The West is increasing its provi- sion of offensive weapon systems. Russia has cut off Poland from natural gas. The situation in Transnistria is evolving. The danger is that the invasion of Ukraine may well escalate to a point where NATO becomes directly involved and tactical nuclear weapons are used by the Russians. At that point all scenarios be- come possible. Article 5 is invoked, and we are in World War III. Successive NORAD Commanders have stated that the Canadian Arctic will play a pivotal role in any future conflict. Russia, China and North Korea, the main adversaries of the USA, would possibly attack through the Arctic whether it is with bombers, hy- personic cruise missiles, hypersonic glide vehicles or intercontinental ballistic missiles. Canada faces two threats in the Arctic. One is through the Arctic as an avenue of approach to the USA and one is physical by a direct land assault. Putin could easily lash out at Canada for its sup- port to Ukraine and order an assault on Canadian BY COL PIERRE LEBLANC (RET'D) CANADA ON RUSSIA'S RADAR? Exercise ARCTIC EDGE. A CH-146 Griffon helicopter flies along the eastern Alaska Mountain Range at Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center 22-02, Fort Wainwright, Alaska on March 14, 2022. Photo: Corporal Angela Gore, Canadian Armed Forces Photo www.vanguardcanada.com APRIL/MAY 2022 15