The federal cabinet is poised to sign off on a new master plan for the Canadian Forces that will include billions more for new military equipment.

CTV News has learned that the Department of National Defence has submitted its "Canada First Defence Strategy", a so-called defence capabilities plan that sketches out the sorts of missions the military should be prepared to carry out and what kind of role it ought to play over the next several decades in support of Canadian foreign policy and Canadian domestic policy.

At the same time, cabinet is considering four different procurement projects that are being pushed by Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor.

O'Connor is asking for cabinet approval to buy more planes, unmanned aerial vehicles, and a new Arctic patrol vessel.

A spokesperson for O'Connor declined to comment but it is understood that Conservatives will argue that their defence strategy and the military equipment they hope to purchases fulfill promises the Conservatives made during last winter's election campaign.

The price tag for the combined military purchases could be in excess of $4.5-billion.

"This government is doing so much in secret with no accountability to the Canadian taxpayer, to Canadian Parliament," said Dawn Black, the NDP Member of Parliament for New Westminster-Port Coquitlam and her party's defence critic. "I'm frankly appalled that they would be letting these kinds of contracts without at least coming to the Defence Committee of the House of Commons. Everything done in secret! I don't understand it. What is it that they're afraid of?"

Cabinet is being asked to sign off on four procurement projects:

• Fixed-wing Search-and-Rescue Aircaft. Cabinet is being asked to approve a $3.4-billion package for planes to replace Canada's fleet of C-115 Buffalo aircraft. Industry experts the favourites to win this contract are Alenia North America Inc.'s C-27J Spartan or the C-295 from EADS/CASA, a consortium of European manufacturers. Canada's Bombardier may also compete for this contract with its Dash-8 although few give it much of a chance of winning.

• Utility Transport Aircraft. Bombardier is the favourite to win this contract, valued at about $380-million, with its Dash-8 contract.

• An Arctic Patrol Vessel. The Conservatives had promised to put an armed navy icebreaker into service in the North but that plan is prohibitively expensive. Instead, the military is proposing to put an armed frigate with a reinforced hull that can operate in what is known as "fresh ice" that is less than a year-old. It's not clear what the costs for this project would be. "What it is is part of the Tories' plan that they've announced to enhance our sovereignty over the north. And as a part of that, of course, you need a capacity that has fire power to it," said Col. (Ret'd) Brian MacDonald, senior defence analyst with the Conference of Defence Associations.
  
• Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs): These drones can hover above a battlefield acting as the eyes for the troops and artillery on the ground. Some drones can also be outfitted with missiles to attack targets on the ground. "As a commander, if you're asking my personal opinion, I'd like to have some missiles stuck under the wings so I can immediately deal with what I found," said Maj. Gen. (Ret'd) Lewis Mackenzie. In a peacetime role, unmanned aerial vehicles could also play a role doing surveillance work in the Arctic.