General Tom Lawson, Canada’s Chief of the Defence Staff, addresses the Canadian Club of Ottawa on Nov. 19, 2013.ADRIAN WYLD/The Canadian Press
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Canada's relatively small military is among the world's most "engaged, agile, deployable and responsive," says General Tom Lawson, the nation's top soldier.
But the former fighter pilot making his second foray to Washington since Prime Minister Stephen Harper picked him to head the Canadian military 13 months ago, made no mention in a speech on Wednesday of the long-delayed replacements for Canada's aging CF-18 warplanes, which first flew three decades ago.
"You only need to look north of your border to find a reliable, committed ally," he said at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, one of Washington's foremost think tanks, before meeting with U.S. General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Gen. Lawson focused his talk at the defence forum on the long history of close co-operation between Canada and the United States as war-fighting allies and peacetime partners.
"Long ago, our two countries learned how to leverage each other's strengths, and how our mutual prosperity and security requires our militaries to be truly connected and interoperable – not just at home, but abroad," Gen. Lawson said. Canadians and Americans fought shoulder-to-shoulder in two world wars, in Korea, and they "were battle-buddies again over the last decade in Afghanistan," he added.
But as the last Canadians troops prepare to leave Afghanistan, the general was vague about future expeditionary roles.
"We are committed to do our fair share on the international front," he said.
Instead, the former deputy commander of NORAD, the Cold-War-era North American Aerospace Defence Command, said defending North America has changed since the threats were Soviet nuclear bombers and missions. but is no less vital.
"Safeguarding North America is not a simple task," he said, adding: "Canadians are proud to be a meaningful contributor to continental defence." Although both Canada and the United States were founding members of NATO, the general said "our most impressive co-operation is without a doubt the Northern American Aerospace Command."
Gen. Lawson said Canada has provided unique intelligence and satellite surveillance to the United States and its closest allies – Britain, Australia and New Zealand – as one of the Five Eyes, a select group that shares access to secret intelligence and spy intercepts.
Canada already shares surveillance gathered by the Canadian Space Agency's Radarsat-2, and better satellite sensors are on the way.
A more powerful satellite replaces the current one in 2018 and will also provide "real-time tracking of ships approaching our shores," Gen. Lawson said.
"Canada is the only Five Eyes partner, other than the U.S., who is able to contribute to satellite surveillance in such an important way … and this capability is key to North America's security and to missions abroad," he said.
Fielding questions later, the general said the Canadian military has already identified a "couple of hundred million" in possible cuts to meet a target of $1-billion less a year in spending. Asked about the future of drones in the forces – always a hot topic in Washington – he said no decision has been made on whether to adopt armed ones. So far, Canada has used unmanned aerial vehicles for surveillance and reconnaissance only.
Paul Koring reports from The Globe's Washington bureau.
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said Gen. Lawson was appointed three months ago, instead of 13.