The Government of Canada has authorized the supply of four Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Bell CH-146 "Griffon" military helicopters to Latvia. The delivery has been scheduled for 2024. It's a move that falls within the framework of deterrence interventions arranged by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The aim is to strengthen the defense capabilities of the country bordering Russia. 

The announcement was made today by the Canadian Defense Minister, Bill Blair, who made the Ottawa government's decision official together with the Chief of Defense and Army Staff, General Wayne Eyre. The two are on an official visit to American soldiers at the Camp Adazi military base, located just outside the Latvian capital Riga, an important outpost of the Atlantic Alliance in Europe.

As part of NATO's transformation of the battlegroups present in the region into brigades, Canada has also arranged for the doubling of its military presence in the Baltic country: up to 2,200 soldiers by 2026, with the sending of 15 tanks Leopard weapons, anti-tank missile systems that Ottawa is purchasing, and Chinook helicopters that will arrive in the fall of 2025.