The Canadian army announced that it has concluded a deal with "General Atomics" worth 1.87 billion dollars to purchase 11 armed drones from the company, which it will use in overseas troop deployment missions and monitoring the country's territories.

In addition to these aircraft, the deal, valued at a total of 2.49 billion Canadian dollars (1.7 billion euros), includes the purchase of ground control stations for these aircraft, hangars, and missiles with which these aircraft will be armed.

National Defense Minister Bill Blair said in a statement, "We must ensure that Canada has a modern and adaptable army ready to respond to emerging and constantly changing security challenges."

The statement issued by the Ministry of Defense added that "the drones will enable the Canadian Armed Forces to monitor Canada's vast lands and long coastlines. These aircraft will support civil assistance operations such as responding to wildfires and floods."

The Canadian army is scheduled to receive the first of these drones in 2028.

These drones, which are of the "MQ-9B Sky Guardian" model, fly long distances and enjoy great autonomy "and will only be armed when the specific mission requires it," according to the Ministry of Defense.

The size of this drone is approximately that of a fighter jet.

This deal comes as the Canadian Air Force is upgrading its old fleet with new fighter jets, particularly the F-35 model.