Canada is turning to Australia for a more than $4 billion Arctic radar for the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). The Canadian Over-the-Horizon Radar would leverage Australia’s BAE Systems‘ Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN), first conceived in 1984 and now consisting of three sites in Australia that provide high frequency, wide area surveillance of ships and aircraft out to 1,800 miles.
Jindalee is an aboriginal term for “bare hills.”
The office of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Tuesday that the Canadian-Australian collaboration will develop “Canada’s Arctic Over-the-Horizon Radar system, an investment…that will provide early warning radar coverage from threats to the Arctic.”
“A key component of Canada’s NORAD modernization plan, the radar system’s long-range surveillance and threat tracking capabilities will detect and deter threats across the North,” according to Carney’s office. “Collaboration with Australia on this critical technology will further deepen our long-standing bilateral defense relationship, while supporting Canada’s commitment to strengthening North American defenses in partnership with the United States.”
The U.S. Air Force has yet to award a system development contract for its Over-the-Horizon Radar (Defense Daily, Jan. 2).
Section 138 of the Fiscal 2024 National Defense Authorization Act called for the Air Force to start buying up to six of the radars–the first two to be in the United States.
“The contract for system development has not been awarded due to delays with the military construction environmental impact studies and associated processes to secure the land required,” the Air Force said in December. “The U.S. Air Force is pursuing opportunities to provide an early operational capability consistent with the needs of North American Aerospace Defense/Northern Command [NORTHCOM] requirements. The USAF plans to update the way forward in the FY26 president’s budget.”
Last year, NORTHCOM said that it wanted such radars by 2028 to counter advanced missiles, including hypersonic ones.
NATO allies are seeking to distance themselves from the Trump White House and forge their own defense paths. For his part, Trump has said he wants Canada to be the 51st state.
“Canada is strong,” Carney said at a press conference on Tuesday. “We can stand up for ourselves. We have called out those comments. They’re disrespectful. They’re not helpful, and they will have to stop before we sit down and have a conversation about our broader partnership with the United States.”
On Tuesday, Carney’s office also said that his country “will take on a greater, sustained, and year-round Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) presence in the Arctic–an investment of nearly $420 million to protect our sovereignty across land, air, and sea.”
“With an expansion of its Northern and Arctic operations and training exercises, and the deployment of more personnel, the CAF will be better placed to defend Canada’s Arctic presence and sovereignty – while enabling greater collaboration with NATO allies,” according to Carney’s office.