Canadian Armed Forces, the Department of National Defence’s top procurement official says COVID-19 is further slowing down some already delayed purchases.The past six months have seen a number of major milestones for Canada’s beleaguered military procurement system, including last week’s unveiling of the first of 16 new military search-and-rescue planes after 16 years of delays and controversy.Procurement officials are also now reviewing three bids that were received from fighter-jet makers at the end of July as Canada inches closer to selecting a replacement for the aging CF-18s following more than a decade of political mismanagement.The list of recent successes also includes Halifax-based Irving Shipbuilding having delivered the first of.