Could Canada get CMAR next year? (probably not but maybe)

Noah Shorts

Another day, another news story that floods my inbox. There's nothing wrong with that, mind you; I love when you guys send me news! This one will be short, though. CBC published an article—well, more a short interview—with LGen Wright asking about a few different topics.

Primarily, the article focused on everyone's favourite thing: CMAR. LGen Wright has seemingly thrown out the idea that Canada could be receiving its first batch of CMAR as early as next year, a woefully sped-up timeframe from the 2027 date commonly cited.

Several of you have asked me to confirm, which is weird to ask as this is the CCA. You don't really get a better source than him. It’s kinda his thing. If he says it, you can usually believe it. However, I do think I should make note of some things.

For one, I think it’s ambitious, as I recently had a chat with some people about CMAR and they were talking delays. The original plan was for 2027 to be the introduction year, pushed back to 2028. Why? Apparently, it's on Colt’s side—not for a bad reason, mind you. Apparently, they're getting new forges for CMAR. The current ones are at the end of their life, and they need replacements.

The new forges will greatly improve the quality of CMAR and allow for the use of stronger alloys in production. So, it's a delay, but one with good merit. Of course, you could speed that timeline up by just going through anyway, but I did want to make note of the latest rumours I heard since people have asked me today.

On a side note, I got a chance to play around with the CMAR prototype and see the new 3D-printed silencers at CANSEC, and I was very happy with it. It felt light, great to hold, and looks absolutely beautiful. I look forward this year to getting to see it again! Colt also loaded me up with a bunch of stickers, which, like, I can appreciate. Defence contractors, take note: Noah likes merch and brochures.

Another thing about the article that I felt was a bit weird was the insistence that there was some sort of competition here, and that someone other than Colt could be the producer for CMAR. It was very weird to see it written that way, considering that Colt has a legit monopoly thanks to the Munitions Supply Program.

They quite literally are the option here. I guess you could do something funny and force CZ to run a pseudo-competition. Like, we could throw CMAR against the Bren 3 just for funsies. I don't know, it just felt weird to act like this was some competition, especially playing off the American angle.

Like, yes, we're buying Canadian, as mandated by the monopoly we give Colt. I did appreciate the article for having some numbers. Papa Brewster likes to go after numbers, and I can appreciate that.

Anywho, just some thoughts and what I heard. I'm always excited to hear things pushed up and accelerated. If we can get new kit next year? Awesome, great. However, I will believe it when I see it.

Speaking of that stuff, we will be talking about kit in the newsletter this week! I would say it now, since it ties in, but I'm still holding off on verifying some stuff first before blurting out gossip!

Until then!