CBC News: The National | Canada moves closer to Europe with energy, military deals

Tonight Mark Kearney moves Canada closer to Europe on energy and on military equipment.

In terms of upsetting the Trump administration I think this is a relatively minor one.

Plus exclusive new details on one country's bid to make Canada's next submarines.As Mark Kearney pushes for new markets Canada strikes an energy deal with Germany.

To actually access that European market is very important not only for economics but for us to become an energy superpower.

And a victim of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse fights back.I like to say that now I'm like a diamond because diamonds pounded and pounded and pounded and then it's a rock.We're on Capitol Hill with a defiant Canadian woman.

From CBC News, this is The National with Chief Correspondent Adrienne Arsenault.

Thank you for joining us.Tonight, multiple announcements of big deals for Canada on military purchases and energy sales.Plus, a CBC News exclusive on another deal potentially in the making.Different economic sectors but a common theme.As Mark Carney pivots away from the U .S.

, the partners are in Europe.The Prime Minister says the government will move forward with Swedish aircraft technology and Canada has struck a deal with Germany on liquefied natural gas.We will get to that big announcement in just a moment but let's start with Ashley Burke on a deal for Swedish air defense technology.Mark Carney's choice for Canada's military.

The Prime Minister promised Canadians he would rebuild the country's military but spend far less on American equipment.Now the first example of that pledge in action.

Canada has entered into negotiations to procure Saab's airborne early warning and control aircraft.

Known as the Global Eye, the Swedish technologyis mounted into Canadian -made Bombardier planes containing some American parts.

The Global Eye's airborne surveillance capability can track objects and signals up to 650 kilometers away.and they'll share in real time that information with the Canadian forces and our allies.

The government selecting Swedish company Saab over two American contenders.

It's a decision that we've made to diversify our military relationships.This is a capability that will be quite novel.

The head of Saab says it wants to create 3 ,000 jobs by building the aircraft in Canada and shipping them abroad too.

The demand in the market is substantial and we need to ramp up and we cannot deliver everything from Sweden so this will be a new industrial setup for us in Canada.

The question now whether Donald Trump will notice.

I think we've seen in the last year and a bit that the American administration finds lots of reasons to be unhappy about lots of things.

In terms of upsetting the Trump administration I think this is a relatively minor one.

The bigger issue still on the table if Canada will decide to buy Saab's Swedish fighter jets and scale back an almost 28 billion dollar contract for a full fleet of American F -35s.

We're going to take the time we need to take to get this right.

The government has been reviewing the issue for more than a year and still won't say if it will risk upsetting Trump by pivoting away from the U .S.Ashley Burke, CBC News, Ottawa.

Let's go from planes to submarines and exclusive details about one of the two bids to build new subs for Canada.Marie Brewster sat down today with Germany's defence minister.So, Marie, can you bring us up to speed?What have you learned?

Well, the Germans are clearly feeling the pressure from the South Korean bid.I mean, that country promised to deliver four submarines to the Canadian Navy by 2035.Germany's defence minister, Boris Pristorius, told metoday that his country's shipyard, TKMS, can have four boats in the hands of the Canadians by 2036.

They say we are able to do so.That's a deliverable of the proposal, of the offer, and they say they can do that, and I trust them because I have only good experiences with them.They only promise what they can really achieve finally.

In order to keep that promise, though, both Germany and its partner Norway will have to give up boats planned for their own navies, saying that they're doing it for Allied solidarity, a sign of how much they want to seal this deal with Canada.

I gather there's also a little bit more detail about what the German economic offer looks like.What can you tell us?

Well, CBC News has seen a summary of what the German submarine pitch says about economic development in Canada.In the military sector, it includes facilities on both coasts to support maintenance of the subs and the possibility of a factory to make heavy torpedoes and hypersonic missiles.But other sectors are also in play, including a proposed partnership with Alberta for a carbon capture facility and helping turn the port of Churchill into a major hub, especially for LNG.Now on paper all of that adds up to billions of dollars in investment and potentially hundreds of thousands of jobs.South Korea's bid will do that too but Germany says it can be up and running in two years with its proposals.Mark Carney says Canada is going to decide by the end of June which bid to go with.

Okay we will all be watching.That is Marie Brewster in Ottawa tonight.And so now to that energy deal with Germany.It will purchase 1 million tons of LNG a year from northwestern BC for up to two decades.As Tanya Fletcher shows us, there are a couple of hurdles.Getting the project built and how to get the product to Europe.

British Columbia, the backdrop for Ottawa's landmark liquefied natural gas deal, a first between Canada and Europe.along B .C.'s north coast.

We're in a world where energy security is national security.We're in a world where our allies are begging us, are begging us to produce our resources.

The Nisga 'a Nation is co -owner of the project, but acknowledges some First Nations oppose it.

More and more of our Indigenous people are beginning to recognize the very trying times that the world is facing.And so they're looking at ways to bring prosperity.

Pushback is coming from environmental groups too.

The world is pivoting very quickly to electrification and clean energy with renewables.So why would we double down on another risky fossil fuel project?

And then there's the geographical challenge.How to get LNG from coastal BC all the way over to Europe.

That's still unclear.I guess theoretically you could go around Alaska.

Conservative leader Pierre Polliev insists Canada should export LNG from the East Coast.When asked why Ottawa wouldn't pipe it across the country then ship it directly across the Atlantic to Germany, the energy minister said it's cheaper to move the product by water than it is to pay tolls through a pipeline.

Well, I think Canada is currently engaged in a game of 3D chess.To actually access that European market is very important, not only for economics, but for us to become an energy superpower.

But some market analysts have warned of an LNG bubble, where projects might fail to generatethe returns once promised.Still, the timeline here is ambitious with a goal to get shovels in the ground within months.Tanya Fletcher, CBC News, Vancouver.

Senior business reporter Peter Armstrong is here.So Peter, Ottawa says it expects a final, I guess, investment decision within months.But what needs to happen to get it across the line?

So three big things remain.The first, they've got to pin down whether the export agreements they have in place show there is, in fact, enough demand to start construction, right?They already had agreements with Shell and Total.You add in today's agreement, we're talking about five million metric tons annually committed.Is that enough?Do they need more?

How much more?They've got to figure that out.They also have two pretty major legal disputes that they've got to resolve.One over the pipeline, one over the terminal itself.One's in court, one still needs a date.And then they've got to finalize the transmission of energy.

They've got to get an agreement, build that.These are all pretty significant ifs, but if they get those done, Hodgson says they could have that final investment decision in a matter of months, that would mean shovels in the ground pretty quickly thereafter.

Okay, briefly, Tanya mentioned that there's some debate about how to get LNG from the west coast of Canada to Europe.How do they solve that?

It's a good question.It's not exactly simple, but one option is what they call a swap.So imagine you're an LNG producer on the U .S.Gulf Coast and you've got a customer in Japan that wants your LNG.I'm the operator up in Prince Rupert and I've got this agreement to ship LNG to Germany.

Well, I can call you up and say, Adrian, why don't you send yours to Germany and I'll send mine to Japan?Both customers get their product faster.Both companies get paid.It's not perfect, but it works.And it's something the industry already does today.

It requires cooperation.It does.Peter Armstrong, thank you.Yeah, you bet.So Thursday morning, The Current's Matt Galloway will sit down with B .C.

Premier David Eby.They will be talking about pipelines.politics and B .C.'s roleC.'s role in Canadian unity.You can listen everywhere you stream podcasts and on CBC Radio.Well Stephen Gilboa is speaking out about what drove him to leave politics and his seat as a Liberal MP.

Once a powerful environment minister, he is now denouncing his party's pro -pipeline policies.

Rafi Boudjikanian shows us how that is being received.Stephen Gilbo, not looking back.The last straw for the Green activist turned MP was the Prime Minister closing in on a deal with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith for a new pipeline.

In theory, the MOU was supposed to help with the referendum.She has decided to go ahead anyway.So I'm I'm puzzled why we would put so many eggs in the basket of a premier who has not shown to other provinces, frankly, and the federal government and Canadians that she can be a reliable partner.

It's for him to make decisions about his career and the next stage of career.All aspects of all our careers, even journalists, even prime ministers, get to a point where things change and people make decisions.And I very much respect that.

Gilbo received praise from both sides of the aisle.

We worked together really well and he became a friend quickly.

You know what?I really admire his principles.I really do.to stand up like that.He understands that his principles don't align with the federal liberal principles anymore.

But as someone who made his mark by climbing the CN Tower with Greenpeace and getting arrested, politics was always an unlikely fit.Guilbeau was among 14 liberal MPs who recently wrote to Mark Carney about their discomfort with his climate policies.This climate activist says her group has heard the same concerns from voters in competitive rallies.

Science does not negotiate.The atmosphere does not negotiate.We cannot be building more fossil fuel infrastructure.

Gilboa's departure means four by -elections are now likely in the coming months.The Liberals need to win three of those to maintain their current majority numbers.Rafi Boujikani, on CBC News, Arwa.

A new report is shedding light on the past medical mistreatment of Indigenous women in Quebec.Dozens of documented cases of women who say they were pressured into sterilization.Sarah Levitt hears from survivors demanding accountability.

I am a survivor of coerced sterilization.

Emotional testimony from two First Nations women sharing their experiences with forced sterilization.Gasaneo Kick was just 17 years old giving birth to her second daughter.

The physician had asked about the sterilization and I couldn't answer her.I couldn't speak.

The women spoke in front of the Permanent People's Tribunal, an international human rights organization investigating possible violations.Their stories heard as more allegations emerge about decades of obstetric violence against First Nations and Inuit women.This is the second report from the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec highlighting these experiences.We heard 55 more cases.in this second phase.55 forced sterilizations adding to the 22 women who spoke out in the first report this researcher says.

Women reported being told they had too many babies or couldn't properly care for them.

I had the responsibility to help or to be with these women and do my best as a researcher to make sure that their voices and experiences

are heard.The Assembly of First Nations wants an official apology from both Canada and Quebec but many, including the Assembly's chief, fear it won't happen.

Quebec government remains slow to fully recognize the existence of systemic discrimination and racism.

But we're not fighting over descriptions or the name of it.

Quebec's Indigenous Affairs Minister says the government has acted through measures like cultural safety training for health care staff.In Ottawa, a bill criminalizing forced sterilization is making its way through the House of Commons now.Small steps, advocates say, for survivors who still suffer.It's significant.It's a significant loss for them.It isn't only at the time of the sterilization but it's lifelong.

Lifelong and irreversible.

Sarah Levitt, CBC News, Montreal.The Israeli military is warning people in southern Lebanon to clear out as it intensifies its fight against Hezbollah.So that follows heavy Israeli bombing, some strikes landing near the country's largest reservoir.As funerals for Hezbollah troops take place, Israeli ground forces push further north.This is the largest warning from Israel since a ceasefire was declared nearly six weeks ago.And Israeli forces have also been continuing operations in Gaza with recent strikes taking out key leaders in the Hamas military.

Sasha Petrosek shows us the strategy and the casualties.

With an extra mood of defiance, Palestinians mourned one of the latest casualties in Gaza.The head of the armed wing of Hamas, Mohammed Odeh.He was killed in a targeted Israeli assassination along with his wife and son.There is no ceasefire with the Israelis, says Oday's brother Khalil.This is empty talk.At least three other Palestinians were killed in the Israeli airstrike in Gaza City according to health officials.

But it was O'Day Israel says it was aiming for.Just a week after another airstrike killed O'Day's predecessor.and dozens of other Hamas officials have been targeted since the U .S.-brokered ceasefire went into effect in Gaza in October.Despite commitments to stop, Israeli airstrikes have continued almost daily.

It blames Hamas for refusing to disarm, as it promised in the peace deal.

This is part of the strategy of weakening Hamas.

Israeli intelligence experts say the assassinations are working.

And now they are almost out of experienced people.

It won't stop us, Hazem Qassem told CBC News in Gaza two weeks ago.The Hamas spokesman has since gone into hiding, fearing for his own life.But it's not just Hamas officials.The UN estimates more than 750 Palestinians have died in Israeli attacks despite the ceasefire.

But killings and the destruction of infrastructure have continued at an almost daily basis.

Even Wednesday, the strikes continue.Sasha Petricic, CBC News, Toronto.

In Laos, rescuers are celebrating finding five people alive which is remarkable considering they'd been stuck in a flooded cave for over a week.Now they face another treacherous task.Getting them out next.Plus, Uber is facing backlash over its premium membership.Why some customers say they were wrongly billed.And a special bond reaches new heights.

We're back in two.

Officials say they do not expect to find survivors as crews search for nine people still missing after a chemical tank ruptured and then imploded at a Washington paper mill Tuesday.Two people are now confirmed dead.The rupture spilled nearly 2 million litres of what is called white liquor, which is a highly corrosive chemical used in paper manufacturing.Well, five villagers trapped in a cave in central Laos have been found alive.And now that it's Thursday morning in Laos, rescuers have resumed the search for two still missing.She and Desjardins has more on their plans and why it may be hard to get to them.

The first moments of contact.Quiet relief as five people trapped deep in a cave in central Laos are found alive.Two are still missing.But this is a glimmer of hope.Outside, sheer happiness.The group is said to have entered the cave last Tuesday, looking for gold.

But a downpour plugged the exit.Getting anyone out isn't an easy task, says one of the lead rescuers.

The collapse risks are high because you're constantly touching the roof and it's hand -tucked.There's no support anywhere.

An unmapped cave system with barely enough room to move.At certain points, the rescuers are forced underwater.The cave in Laos is about 350 kilometres from a famous cave rescue in northern Thailand.In 2018, heavy rain trapped 12 boys and their soccer coach in a cave for more than two weeks.

Myself and my dive partner Rick Stanton were the first to find the boys.

John Philanthin was part of the complex operation to retrieve them.He says the situation in Laos is much different.

The smaller passage makes it more difficult to navigate but it means there's probably less water involved and so pumping may be possible where it wasn't in Sam Luang.You have a lot more control when people can breathe.It's as simple as that.

But more rain is expected.

Flash flooding is one of the most critical problems.

Soon season is expected to be quieter than normal.

That should allow them a chance to be able to pump out more of the water from the mine.

And venture even deeper into this cave in a race to find the others.Chanda Chaudhary, CBC News, Toronto.

Dozens of Uber customers say they were charged for premium memberships they didn't sign up for.

It's bewildering.You feel like you've been scammed.

What experts say about what could be a plane.And CBC News sits down with a Canadian survivor of Jeffrey Epstein.

What happened to us already happened.We can't change that.But what we can change is people's lives going forward.

Charlene Rochard shares her story and her fight for justice.The National breaks down the story shaping our world next.Suzanne Perry and Keith Morrison arriving in court today.Matthew Perry's mother and stepfather present for the sentencing of the late actor's personal assistant.60 -year -old Kenneth Iwamasa was sentenced to three years and five months in prison for his role in the actor's death.He procured ketamine for Perry and injected it into him, sometimes up to eight times per day.

This was the fifth and final person sentenced in relation to Perry's death in 2023.Well, Uber is facing some backlash tonight as a growing number of customers claim they were unknowingly registered for a premium monthly membership.Uber says those users agreed to the service, but as Sophia Harris explained, some experts say this raises some serious questions.

Nora Kelly was surprised to find an $11 charge from Uber on her credit card bill for May 11th.After all, this is how she got around that day.

I said, this is crazy.I was biking all day.

Next, Kelly uncovered four more Uber charges for previous months, totaling almost $60.

Uber One.

Turns out she was enrolled in Uber One, a monthly paid membership that offers discounts.The problem?Kelly says, to her knowledge, she never signed up for Uber One.

You feel like you've been scammed.

CBC News heard from more than a dozen upset Canadians who said they were signed up for Uber One without their knowledge and hit with one or more monthly charges.

The Federal Trade Commission is now suing Uber.

In the U .S., similar complaints prompted the Federal Trade Commission to sue Uber alleging deceptive billing and deceptive cancellation practices as many people say they had difficulty canceling their unwanted membership.This tech expert says Uber may be the next.be getting people to sign up for Uber One by incorporating what are known as dark patterns, subtle design tricks embedded in websites and apps.

Dark patterns are used to nudge individuals, psychologically nudge them into clicking on something.You may not even realize that you clicked on it and agree to it.

In an email to CBC News, Uber denied using dark patterns and said it does not enroll or charge people for Uber One without their consent and that cancelling typically takes less than 20 seconds.But Kelly communicated with Uber over the course of two days before she got her membership cancelled and she failed to get all her money back.

It feels like like you've been taken for a fool.

After CBC News reached out to Uber, the company told Kelly it would refund all her Uber One charges plus issue a $30 credit.However, Uber still insists Kelly signed up for the program.Sophia Harris, CBC News, Toronto.

In the breakdown tonight, a Canadian victim of Jeffrey Epstein shares her story and Hezbollah changes tactics in its fight against Israel.After decades of rocket -powered warfare, Hezbollah turns to drones to try to turn the tide.

They're basically kind of a nightmare for any radar detection.

How Israel is struggling to adapt, but first...What happened to us already happened.We can't change that.But what we can change is people's lives going forward.

Charlene Rochard, the lone Canadian to speak out as an Epstein survivor, now fighting for the future of others.Katie Nicholson delves into Charlene's journey, the emotional toll, how it has changed her life, and what is still at stake.

This was in L .A.This one was in Miami.This one, I was definitely being trafficked during this time.This one was from that time.

Charlene Rochard wades through the pages of her past.

I wish I knew red flags, what grooming was.And I just wish that I knew that those were potential traps to fall into a sex trafficking situation.

She's emerging from decades of shame and silence to reframe her pain.

What happened to us already happened.We can't change that.But what we can change is people's lives going forward.

I stand here today not only for myself but for every survivor of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse.Charlene is one of the Epstein survivors.The lone Canadian to go public.Part of a powerful force in US politics.

This is not just about survivors.It's about accountability.Fairness.and the promise of justice.

Amen.She first came forward last November, sharing her story with other survivors, talking about Jeffrey Epstein's island, his Manhattan mansion, fighting for justice on Capitol Hill, in a PSA during the Super Bowl.We all deserve the truth.And at the UN.

Trafficking persists when systems fail.

I wonder how that felt when you start to sort of express what happened to you publicly.

It almost seems surreal.It doesn't feel like it's me.It's not easy.It was one of the hardest things I've ever done in my whole entire life is start speaking about the parts of my life that were the most difficult.

Jeffrey Epstein died in prison in 2019, facing charges of sex trafficking minors.Since then, more survivors have come forward.

I was only 14 years old when I was introduced to Jeffrey Epstein.I was one of a dozen of girls who were forced into Jeffrey's mansion.

Then...

The Epstein files have just been released.

Further accusations of women being assaulted, trafficked and forced to give sexual massages.

We're witnesses to crimes.

Charlene grew up in Ontario.She was 16 when she started traveling to the United States to model.

I moved to New York.I moved to Dallas.I lived in L .A.I lived in Miami.I lived in Chicago.

And she was successful, booking multiple jobs a week.

I was full of ambition, and this was the first time that people had looked at me and told me that I was worth something.I was definitely going through a hard time when I did that one.

Eventually, she was introduced to Jeffrey Epstein.

It's always somebody older who can offer you advice, trips.financial stability, housing, whatever it is that's how they bring you into the world of trafficking.

Charlene says she was trafficked into her 20s but unable to talk to others about what had happened.

I like to say that now I'm like a diamond because diamonds pounded and pounded and pounded.And then it's a rock and it just becomes a diamond after so many years of basically being abused.That's literally how all of us survivors are.

How do you come out the other side of that?

At some point, it all becomes too heavy.And then I saw Lisa, and it was like I found my voice.

My name is Lisa Phillips.In the year 2000, I was taken to Jeffrey Epstein's island while on a photo shoot in the Caribbean.

Charlene and Lisa Phillips were young models together back in the day.Charlene called Lisa and told her what happened.

I was really sad to know that she had gone through the same type of abuse that I had.had gone through.I never knew that she had been on the island too.It's one thing to deal with the pain of what happens to you but when you when you know it's happened to somebody else it's not easy you know.

It's very hard and so I lean on Lisa a lot.

Charlene, Lisa, and their survivor sisters are in Washington to honor one of the first women to tell the world about Jeffrey Epstein.

You share a trauma bond and a friendship bond, and everything that we share together, it's more than just friendship.It's sisterhood.It's family.It's hard.And Virginia was our family.

Virginia Roberts -Dufresne, the young girl in the infamous photo with the then Prince Andrew, ignited a firestorm in 2011 when she went public, calling out a network of powerful people in Epstein's circle who she alleged trafficked and exploited young women.

Her story really represents, you know, the fight that she had in her.

It's the one -year anniversary of her death by suicide.

Charlene gave us these butterflies and necklaces this morning.They're really beautiful and represent Virginia and her strength.

Survivors now use the butterfly as a symbol for Virginia for resilience and transformation.

Want you to know you changed the world, sis.You really did.

Because she spoke, people like me learned we were never alone.

But politics are always at play in Washington.The day of the memorial, the U .S.Department of Justice posted that survivors should walk over to the FBI building and make a statement.Charlene says they're more than willing to talk.

They've said publicly that they've called for meetings for us but none of them have actually gotten any meetings with them.

The Department of Justice has onlyreleased half of the Epstein files so far and what's public is heavily redacted including names of alleged perpetrators.

It's not like they don't have them.They're not releasing them.It's the opposite.

Charlene has given her lawyer the names of the men she says abused her.Have you gotten a call from the DOJ since any of that happened?

Nope.DOJ has not contacted us.

In February, survivors attended a congressional hearing with then Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Attorney General Bondi, will you turn to the survivors who are standing right behind you and are waiting for you to turn to them and apologize for what your Department of Justice has done?

I'm not going to get in the gutter for her theatrics.Bondi refused to turn around and face the survivors behind her.

It felt like I was a little kid again, just asking for somebody to acknowledge me.To be honest, it felt really degrading that she just couldn't turn around and say, you know what, I'm sorry.

Even if some in Washington might not want to acknowledge them...The survivors keep at it, knocking on the doors of Republicans and Democrats.When somebody abuses somebody, that person should be held accountable.Trying to pass Virginia's law to remove time limits for survivors to file civil claims.The whole system needs to be changed.

It needs to be justice first as opposed to, you know, all this rigmarole that you have to go to get to justice.It's frustrating.

There still has not been a single investigation or prosecution in the United States.

And then there are roundtable discussions with democratic lawmakers and advocacy groups.

I thought I had made mistakes.I thought it was my fault.

The girl from Ontario sitting at the big table.

I thought I had put myself in these situations.That confusion is part of the system that is not exiting.and traffickers rely on this.

Coming forward can be empowering, but there's vulnerability, too.

It was really scary.I didn't know if I was going to get people not liking me anymore, not talking to me, or people supporting me.So I received both.

Where does your courage come from, do you think?

My courage comes from my children, and I think about them in every single press conference, every single time I speak, and I want them to be proud of me.

Charlene checked with her kids before stepping into this glaring spotlight.Olivia, Trent, Liam, and Bella all supported her decision.

When she came on, she was like, I'm gonna be talking about being a survivor.I was like, whoa, like, I didn't expect that.Like, I knew you guys, I knew you guys knew each other, but that's like, That's a big thing.

People sometimes say, like, they don't believe her or they won't support, like, her story and what she's doing.So it was kind of scary.Like, we didn't want to get any, like, stalkers.It was really cool, especially because she's, like, talking and actually being, like, a big inspiration for people.I am proud of you.I love you.

I love you all.This is a girl who really just wanted a future.

That future, dimmed for the longest time by abuse and trauma, now looking more bright.

It's because of us Epstein survivors that are telling our stories and just not letting the story fall into the cracks.And I do feel like we are making a difference with all of our advocacy work.

Charlene transforming her pain into power.And three of Charlene's kids are now following in her footsteps.They've joined World Without Exploitation.That's thatgroup that aims to end human trafficking.The same one behind that Super Bowl ad that their mom was in.

So Katie, Charlene clearly pushing for change in American laws.What about here in Canada?

Yes, so she is talking to advocacy groups in Canada and particularly focusing on two bills aimed at shoring up protections for victims of intimate partner violence and their children.

All right, thank you for this.That is Katie Nicholson in Washington.Coming up, an increasing amount of Israeli soldiers are being killed or wounded by explosive drone attacks.

It does create a psychological terror because the IDF soldiers know that there's a race against time to come up with solutions.

How Hezbollah's changing tactics are causing fear among Israeli troops, next.Tactics by Hezbollah, a group long known for its powerful rockets.

It's literally duct taping an RPG warhead to one of these quadcopters and crashing it into the forces.

Cheap drones cobbled together, nearly invisible to radar until it's too late.

It does create quite a serious tactical problem for the Israelis.

Chris Brown breaks down the emerging threat and how the IDF is trying to respond.

Hezbollah militants have adapted drones that can be bought online into deadly weapons and they're splashing all of their purported successes across social media.The drones are cheap, easy to get and have Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon diving for cover.

We've seen scores and scores of attacks on Israeli soldiers, armoured vehicles, tanks, air defences.well.But it does create quite a serious tactical problem for the Israelis.

For most of its history, Hezbollah was feared for its arsenal of thousands of powerful rockets.Since 2024, Israel has killed a lot of Hezbollah's key leaders and destroyed much of its heavy weapons.So its surviving fighters have innovated.

It's literally duct taping an RPG warhead to one of these quadcopters and crashing it into the forces.And it's very difficult to detect these quadcopters.They don't leave much of a radar signature.They fly low.They're basically kind of a nightmare for any radar detection.

Typically, drones rely on a radio frequency to guide their flight path, but signals can be jammed.Now these first -person view or FPV drones use fiber -optic cables, sometimes dozens of kilometers long, that physically tether the operator to the drone.The innovation was pioneered in Ukraine after Russia's invasion.In eastern Ukraine, some battlefields look like they're covered by spider webs because of so many old cables.

get that high -resolution video feed which is very good for finding targets because the fibre optic tether gives it such high resolution and a stable connection.What I do think is interesting is that their drone operators seem to have picked this up relatively quickly.

To date, most Hezbollah drone attacks appear to have targeted Israeli soldiers and their weapons and machinery in occupied southern Lebanon.And some attacks look highly coordinated.Here, hitting a vehicle and then following up with a strike on the evacuation team.Another time, a Hezbollah drone tracked and attacked an Israeli missile battery.In recent weeks, 11 Israeli soldiers have been killed with dozens wounded.

It does create a psychological terror because the IDF soldiers know that there's a race against time to come up with solutions.And until those solutions are firmly in place, they're going to feel exposed.

You hear many reports of Ukrainian and Russians under attack by drones.Just panic, just pure panic.It will be a long time before training, doctrine is in place to ensure that soldiers are really well drilled to behave calmly under those attacks.

Israel's military appeared to be somewhat caught by surprise with Hezbollah's pivot from rockets to drones.

Of course, the IDF had warnings about this and it's been late.

Facing growing anger, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he's created a special anti -drone project and he's ordered intensified attacks on targets in Lebanon.Israel already has the Iron Dome and other sophisticated defense systems.but they're not useful against low -flying maneuverable drones.

So we've already seen the IDF deploy huge amounts of basically netting that they're placing on their vehicles and that traps these kinds of threats but that's only the first step.The second step is there has to be an ability to shoot them down.

Some Israeli tanks have radar that track incoming threats and can even shoot down anti -tank missiles.But not all vehicles have them.and some has belonged.can hide for example at the side of a road until their target approaches.

Some of these units have the ability to land and then they call it perching where they sort of go to sleep and they can be activated again and if they perch They're not going to be detected unless somebody physically sees them.So this is one threat, the ability of Hezbollah to land these things and reactivate them later.That's something that is pretty disturbing.

Israel's military has pushed deep into southern Lebanon, demolishing Shia villages and leaving behind a moonscape to try to drive militants back from Israel's northern border.That leaves Israeli soldiers vulnerable to drone attacks.

can persist with this threat, then it does start to have strategic implications, I think.As more Israeli soldiers are killed and wounded, then yes, the effects will add up.

Israel's military has given no indication that the drone attacks are causing it to rethink its strategy in Lebanon.But the implications of what Hezbollah is doing could reach far beyond this conflict.

We are going to be entering a situation where basically any adversary, non -state terrorists, some of them supported by nefarious actors, are going to be able to deliver air threats pretty much anywhere in the world.This is like a poor man's air force, and therefore this is, I think, a wake -up call for everybody, the whole of the West.This threat is very, very accessible.

As military drones spread from Ukraine to Lebanon, they're changing the face of modern warfare.leaving the world's most advanced militaries scrambling to look up.

And in response to the drone warfare, Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will expand the scope of its attacks against Hezbollah.The IDF says it has struck 550 targets just this week alone.Well coming up, childhood best friends take a long -awaited trip.

Their special flight to Toronto, next in our moment.

So you are looking at pilots Andrew Anderson and Andre Turner.More than just colleagues they are also lifelong friends and this is a rare meeting in the sky.So before takeoff Captain Anderson took a moment to honour his co -pilot in front of all their passengers.So tonight their flight together to Toronto makes our moment.

Andre Turner.I text my Andre, I said, Andre, go in the system now and get this flight, get this flight.I've known him since I was 11 years old.We grew up on the tiny island of Kingston, Jamaica together, went to high school together, and then we came to the US to go to college together.For two years, I studied medicine, he studied accounting, and then we both decided this is not for us.And we decided we're going to fly and become pilots together.

He didn't know that I was going to say anything.Kind of a nice moment and a great moment for them.

So Captain Anderson said he actually had a bit of a hard timeflying with his pal Andre.Not because of skill.They're both very good at what they do.But because the friendship is so strong, he had a little bit of an issue telling his buddy what to do.From all of us at The National, thanks for being with us.

I'm Adrienne Arsenault.Take care.