John Robson: Current circumstances justify a higher level of military readiness

A significant benefit of reading, especially news, is the ability to have a double take. Everything flows smoothly, including “Canada’s Minister of National Defence, promised $4.4 million to three Canadian munitions manufacturers this March, to research and refine processes to design and produce NATO standard 155-millimetre munitions in Canada.” Then suddenly, you pause and think, “Wait, what?”

The reason for this reaction is that the 155mm is a standard size, widely used for decades, though Ukraine is currently only firing about 2,000 a day. And yes, that’s right, per day, not per week, month, or year.

As a journalist, I investigated and found that the 155mm shell has a long history dating back to an 1874 French committee that led to the creation of the “De Bange” cannon. There were various developments during both World Wars, with NATO eventually standardizing on the 155mm for its range and power efficiency.

Surprisingly, the Canadian military seems to have limited knowledge about the 155mm artillery, despite the existence of the “GC-45 gun.” It’s puzzling how such information is not well-known.