politics
Australia, Canada Sign $2.5 Billion Arctic Radar Deal as Ottawa Accelerates NORAD Modernization
Canada and Australia have signed a A$2.5 billion ($1.75 billion) deal for an Arctic over-the-horizon radar system, a cornerstone of Ottawa’s NORAD modernization plans as Western allies expand surveillance capabilities amid growing strategic competition in the Arctic.
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Australia and Canada signed a $1.75USD billion agreement on Monday for an Arctic over-the-horizon radar system, marking Australia’s largest-ever defense export and a major step in Ottawa’s efforts to strengthen surveillance of its northern approaches amid growing strategic competition in the Arctic. 
The agreement will see Australia provide Canada with advanced over-the-horizon radar (OTHR) technology derived from the Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN).
This is a system that can detect and track aircraft, ships and missile threats at ranges of up to 3,000 km (1,864 miles) by bouncing high-frequency radio waves off the ionosphere, allowing it to see beyond the curvature of the Earth.
Broader effort
Canadian officials said the project forms part of a broader effort to create an integrated Arctic surveillance and communications network and strengthen continental defense through the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
“Canada is reinforcing Arctic security through the Arctic Over-the-Horizon Radar project,” Canada’s Secretary of State for Defense Procurement Stephen Fuhr said in a statement announcing the deal.
Reinforces our commitment to Arctic sovereignty
The system will strengthen Canada’s ability “to monitor, understand and respond to activity in the Arctic,” he added.
Arctic sovereignty
“This investment reinforces our commitment to Arctic sovereignty [...],”echoed David McGuinty, Canada’s Minister of National Defence.
The contract will be delivered through BAE Systems Australia, which has played a central role in the development and sustainment of JORN over several decades.
“Canada’s acquisition of a cutting-edge Australian OTHR system supports the strategic interests of both nations through enhanced detection and tracking of threats to North America,” said the firm’s CEO Craig Lockhart.
Process years in the making
The agreement is the culmination of a process that began years before the final contract signing.
Canada announced a C$38.6 billion NORAD modernisation plan in 2022 following a joint commitment by then-U.S. President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to modernise continental defense and improve awareness of emerging threats approaching North America through the Arctic.
A key pillar of that effort is the replacement and expansion of Cold War-era surveillance systems with new generations of over-the-horizon radar capable of detecting advanced cruise missiles, hypersonic weapons, and long-range aircraft earlier and at greater distances.
Operational by 2031
The newly signed Australian deal covers Canada’s Arctic Over-the-Horizon Radar (A-OTHR) program, which is intended to provide surveillance coverage from the Canada-U.S. border northward toward the Arctic Circle.
Canadian defense planning documents target initial operational capability later this decade and full operational capability around 2031.
However, A-OTHR is only one component of Canada’s wider vision. Ottawa also plans a Polar Over-the-Horizon Radar (P-OTHR) system that would extend surveillance over and beyond the northernmost approaches to North America, including the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.
Unlike A-OTHR, which focuses on the northern approaches across the continental Arctic, P-OTHR is intended to provide warning and tracking deeper into the polar region itself. The project remains in earlier stages of development and site selection.
Long-range surveillance
The Canadian program highlights a broader shift in Arctic defense planning among NATO members as climate change, increased shipping activity, and deteriorating relations with Russia raise the strategic importance of the region.
Russia has long maintained the most extensive network of Arctic military infrastructure and long-range surveillance systems in the High North. Over the past decade Moscow has refurbished Soviet-era bases, expanded air defense coverage, and deployed a network of advanced early-warning radars across its Arctic coastline.
Satellite imagery published in recent years by HNN has also revealed construction of new long-range radar facilities in Russia’s Arctic regions as Moscow seeks to strengthen monitoring of northern air and missile approaches.
Pressure from the war
Russian early-warning systems, including the Voronezh family of strategic radars, form part of a layered architecture designed to detect ballistic missile launches and aerospace threats at long range.
Yet Russia’s Arctic military modernisation has increasingly faced pressure from the war in Ukraine. Personnel, equipment, and financial resources have been redirected to the conflict, slowing some Arctic initiatives even as Moscow continues to emphasise the region’s strategic importance.
New Canadian Coast Guard heavy icebreakers
Growing tempo
Canada’s decision to acquire Australian radar technology underscores how Western allies are increasingly investing in Arctic surveillance capabilities of their own.
The effort comes alongside plans for new Canadian Coast Guard heavy icebreakers, expanded Arctic patrol capabilities, U.S.-Canadian NORAD upgrades and a growing tempo of NATO exercises across northern Europe and the High North.
Taken together, the developments reflect a wider geopolitical reality: the Arctic is no longer viewed primarily as a remote frontier but as an increasingly contested strategic space where North American and European allies are seeking greater awareness, presence, and deterrence capabilities.
