Canada considers transferring powerful CRV7 air defense missiles to Ukraine, which were to be disposed of
Canada can reinforce Ukraine with a sufficiently large amount of CRV7 aircraft munitions, which it disposes of anyway. This initiative was put forward by Canadian opposition MPs from the Conservative Party.
“Instead of forcing Canadians to pay millions of dollars to retire these weapons, they should be transferred to Ukraine, which can use them to defend its sovereignty,” CBC quoted Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre as saying.
There are three important aspects to this situation. First, it is not about the decision to transfer the CRV7 to Ukraine, but about the proposals of the party in opposition. The second important aspect is that CRV7s are not missiles, but unguided rockets in 70 mm caliber, based on the American Hydra 70.
The third aspect is the number of CRV7s available and their condition. In particular, the Canadian publication notes that a total of 83,303 of these missiles, which were adopted in the 1970s, were decommissioned in the 2000s.
According to available information, in the summer of 2021, the process of their disposal began, which was designed to last for six years. That is, it has been going on for 2.5 years. According to the publication, only 8,000 CRV7s are currently in good condition and have combat parts, while the rest have either been disposed of or disassembled.
Thus, it is still too early to say that Canada is transferring CRV7 missiles to Ukraine. Because the Canadian government still has to agree to this, make the appropriate decision, conduct an inventory, conduct real tests to ensure the reliability of really old unguided missiles, and only then transfer them.
At the same time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces need all the help they can get, and CRV7s can be used quite effectively instead of simply ending their lives by being scrapped. In particular, the CRV7, thanks to the fact that it is based on the Hydra 70 and can be launched from the same blocks. At the same time, these units with the original American missile have already been integrated under the wing of Ukrainian helicopters. In addition, the CRV7 can be used to make ground-launched mini-MRLSs.
In general, the CRV7 is considered to be a fairly successful unguided missile. Due to a more powerful engine and other changes, the missile’s range and accuracy were higher than in the original Hydra 70.
In addition, Canada has developed its own combat units for the CRV7. WDU-50001/B armor-piercing, high-explosive and incendiary, which is designed to destroy protected objects such as aircraft shelters and can penetrate up to 4 meters of ground or a meter of concrete. There is also a specialized Canadian warhead WDU-5002/B FAT for destroying tanks with tungsten-steel “darts”. As well as the extremely specific WDU-500X/B with 80 tungsten flares for destroying manpower and lightly armored vehicles.
Thus, if Canada decides to transfer the CRV7 to Ukraine, we can be 100% sure that the Ukrainian Armed Forces will definitely find a use for it.
