Military Readiness Fell 10 Percent in One Year, Says National Defence Report

Only 61 percent of the Canadian Armed Forces is considered ready for operations, a 10 percent dip since last year, according to recent military data. The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) says it must fix the “foundation” of its decades-long readiness challenges so it can be ready to respond to an “increasingly challenging international security environment.” The CAF is striving to reach 90 percent readiness by March 2025, it said in its 2024–2025 department plan released Feb. 27. Equipment readiness is also an issue, according to the report. The number of operational land fleets has fallen from 65.8 percent in 2021–2022 to 56 percent in 2022–2023. Maritime fleets fell from 54 percent to 51.2 percent, and aerospace rose from 43 percent to 43.8 percent. The CAF said its readiness targets for those departments are 70 percent, 60 percent, and 85 percent, respectively....