#CanadianArmy

Colt Canada have unveiled their C8A4 at the CANSEC 2024 trade fair in Ottawa. The new rifle is seeking to fulfill the Canadian Army’s ‘Canadian Modular Assault Rifle’ requirement which has been shaping up over the last couple of years. The ‘Canadian Modular Assault Rifle’ project is the latest element of the Canadian armed forces’ small arms modernization program which has seen the adoption of the SIG Sauer P320 as the C22 to replace the long-service Browning Hi-Power and the adoption of the C20 designated marksman rifle.

In October 2022, the Canadian government  announced that the SIG Sauer P320 will be replacing the iconic Browning HiPower which have been in service for nearly 80 years. The Canadian government will procure an initial batch of 7,000 pistols and holster systems for the Canadian Army.

After seeing a considerable number of Colt Canada C7 rifles and C8 carbines being used in Ukraine, I decided to investigate their origins reaching out to various Ministries of Defense to enquire if they had provided the rifles. The Canadian Ministry of National Defence not only confirmed that they had provided various small arms but their spokesperson was also kind enough to confirm some of the types of small arms and light weapons which Canada has transferred to Ukraine since February. 

The Canadian government has announced that the SIG Sauer P320 will replace the Browning HiPower. The Canadian government will procure an initial batch of 7,000 pistols and holster systems for the Canadian Army. There will be a follow-up option to procure up to 9,500 more pistols for further elements of the Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Canadian Navy and Military Police.

The Finnish firearms manufacturer Sako has just announced that their SAKO TRG M10 rifle has been selected as the new Canadian Multi-Calibre Sniper Weapon (MCSW). The purpose of the MCSW program was to replace the current .338 Lapua Magnum C14 Rifle (introduced in 2005), with a rifle that would be capable of swapping between the more expensive .338 Lapua Magnum cartridge and the less expensive standard 7.62mm NATO cartridge. Sako will now begin the process of delivering the TRG M10 rifles to the Canadian Department of National Defense’s Army.

Canadian media outlets have reported that a member of Canada’s elite Joint Task Force 2 was wounded in the leg when his pistol allegedly misfired. The accident occurred last November when the operator was training with a newly purchased SIG Sauer P320. The variant of the Canadian P320 procured is unknown.

It appears the days of the Canadian Army’s venerable Browning Hi-Power service pistols may finally be numbered after over 60 years of service. They hope to have trialled, selected and begun fielding the new pistols by the summer of 2022. A minimum of 9,000 pistols will be initially procured with follow on procurement contracts likely.

Earlier this year the Canadian government confirmed it would be procuring a further 3,626 C6A1 FLEX General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMG) from Colt Canada. This large contract is worth CA$96.97 million and was awarded under the Canadian government’s Munitions Supply Program.

The Canadian Army have ordered just under 300 new semi-automatic precision rifles from Colt Canada. The initial order for the new 7.62x51mm C20 is worth a reported CA$8.5 million. We at TFB got our first look at Colt Canada’s new C20 rifle last summer at DSEI 2019, when Colt Canada were kind enough to talk us through the new rifle. Check out that earlier article about the rifle here.