OTTAWA: Canadian Defence Minister Bill Blair said that Canada's donation of a National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) has arrived in Ukraine.
This donation will help Ukraine strengthen its air defence systems against destructive air attacks on military sites, civilian critical infrastructure, and population centres, the Defence Minister said in a news statement on Friday.
Canada has also donated more than 300 air defence missiles from the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) inventory since February 2022, the statement added as reported by Xinhua news agency.
This high-priority donation was purchased by Canada from the US, and is a new build from Raytheon in partnership with Kongsberg, it said.
"This ground-based air defence system will help Ukraine protect itself against destructive air attacks. Canada's support for Ukraine is steadfast and we will continue to step up and build on our contributions to Ukraine in their fight against Russia's invasion. We thank the United States, as well as our partners in Norway, for their collaboration and ensuring the safe arrival of Canada's donation of this NASAMS to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, " Blair said.
A NASAMS is a short to medium-range ground-based air defence system that protects against drone, missile, and aircraft attack, with a high success rate.