A tent belonging to the 1st Canadian Ranger Patrol Group under aurora borealis as Canadian Armed Forces deploy to Operation Nanook-Nunalivut, a yearly series of drills designed to highlight the military's ability to defend the Canadian Arctic, in Yellowknife, in February.Carlos Osorio/Reuters
Canada has officially signed an agreement with Australia for a $2.5-billion over-the-horizon radar system to provide early warning radar coverage and track potential threats entering Canadian airspace in the North.
Canada’s Secretary of State for Defence Procurement Stephen Fuhr signed a government-to-government agreement with Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, also the country’s Minister for Defence, on Monday in Canberra.
This agreement includes the Australian government’s industry partner BAE Systems Australia, the provider of the technology. It marks the beginning of the delivery phase for the capability, which is set to achieve initial operation by December, 2029.
“This project is part of a broader effort to build an integrated Arctic surveillance and communications network that will strengthen Canada’s ability to monitor, understand and respond to activity in the Arctic,” Mr. Fuhr said in a written statement.
It is estimated that the Arctic Over-The-Horizon Radar project, which Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada will invest a total of $6-billion into, will contribute nearly $290-million annually to the country’s gross domestic product between 2026 and 2033. It’s also expected to create roughly 2,270 Canadian jobs annually during that same period.
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This $2.5-billion investment is the first phase of the $6-billion project, and includes the co-development and delivery of the radar.
The procurement of the system from BAE Systems Australia is being led by Ottawa’s newly created Defence Investment Agency, though it was in the works before the agency was created in October, 2025. Ottawa has also signed an industrial and technological benefits agreement with BAE as part of this procurement, which mandates the contractor work with Canadian companies to ensure expertise about the radar system and how it works is established in Canada. This could include work on the system’s integration and sustainment, as well as related defence-sector activities.
The radar is part of a “Northern Approaches” surveillance system that Canada is investing in through its $38.6-billion plan to modernize North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) over 20 years beginning in 2022.
Investment priorities include surveillance systems, communications technology, air weapons systems, northern infrastructure, and science and technology. Most of the 30 projects taking place as part of NORAD modernization are set to be fully operational by the early 2030s.
Over-the-horizon radar technology is a critical part of Canada’s northern surveillance system because it can detect objects at extremely far distances, looking beyond the curvature of the earth to provide early warning for potential threats. Canada also plans to procure a polar over-the-horizon radar, which will surveil Canadian territory in and around the Arctic Circle, though this capability is still in early stages.
In July, 2025, Ottawa selected the first two sites in Canada for transmitting and receiving its Arctic radar. The first permanent transmit site is a 163-hectare property acquired by the Department of National Defence in the City of Kawartha Lakes, Ont. A 288-hectare receive site was also acquired by the government in Clearview Township, Ont. Initial work on these sites is expected to begin this winter.
Altogether, the radar will have four sites: two transmit sites and two receive sites. Last year, Ottawa said it was still considering options for the other two sites.
NORAD was initially established in 1958 by Canada and the United States during the Cold War to monitor and defend North American airspace from the threat of a Soviet air attack. In more recent memory, NORAD played a role in the response to China’s high-altitude surveillance balloon when it entered American and Canadian airspace.