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Canada’s military went shopping for second-hand drones last year as it tried to fast-track its attempts to acquire a fleet of unmanned aircraft, but came away empty-handed — Canada’s allies weren’t keen to part with equipment that is increasingly seen as vital on the modern battlefield.

The Liberal government’s new defence strategy, released in June, called for the purchase of armed drones. But according to Department of National Defence documents obtained by the Ottawa Citizen, the Canadian military was already trying to acquire the systems last year, even as the defence policy was still being developed.

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The Canadian Forces asked companies about the availability of new and used drones and how fast they could be delivered. Canadian military attaches were also asked to see whether allied nations were willing to part with any of their unmanned aircraft.

Photo by Eric Gay/AFP/Getty Images

RCAF spokesman Capt. Trevor Reid confirmed in an to the Citizen that Canada “approached our allies to identify any excess capacity to buy.”