Canada plans to build an Arctic over-the-horizon radar system that will provide strategic control over the Far North.

The War Zone reported on this.

The Canadian government plans to invest just over $4 billion in the construction of the A-OTHR Arctic over-the-horizon radar, with the support of Australia.

The radar system is expected to close the gap in airspace surveillance in the north of the country and cover a large part of the Arctic region, which will provide a strategic advantage and early warning of approaching objects.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the conversation about cooperation in the over-the-horizon radar project with his Canadian counterpart Carney, noting that it is about the Jindalee operational radar network technology.

Australia’s Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN) consists of three separate over-the-horizon radars built in the 1990s. The developer, BAE Systems, claims that JORN “provides surveillance over a range of distances from 1000 to 3000 kilometers”.

This radar consists of a large array of antennas placed over a large area. Such systems cannot change the viewing angle and have low accuracy, but they allow monitoring the space at distances inaccessible to conventional systems by overcoming the radio horizon effect, which is a limitation of a line of sight due to the earth’s curvature.

The principle of operation of such a radar is based on the effect of radio wave reflection from the planet’s ionosphere: the station emits radio waves at a certain angle, which are reflected back to earth – beyond the radio horizon line – and return in the same way.

Another advantage of over-the-horizon radars is the coverage of a large area and the ability to control the surface water. A 2000 report by Defense Systems Daily states that Australia’s network of three JORN radars covers 9 million square kilometers of ocean.

It is still unknown whether this regards a single radar for the A-OTHR system or a network of several radar stations. In a joint statement in 2023, the US President and the Prime Minister of Canada outlined a plan to “acquire and deploy two aperture radar systems covering Arctic and polar approaches.”

It is currently estimated that the program will begin in 2027/2028. The stations’ initial and final delivery is expected to take place in 2030/2031 and 2031/2032, respectively.

If implemented, the A-OTHR project will significantly enhance the capabilities of the joint U.S.-Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and will be part of a larger plan to increase the presence of Canadian forces in the Arctic.