Canada Upgrades Arctic Air and Missile Defense System to Counter Threat of Dictatorships’ Hypersonic Missiles

At a press conference held at Trenton Air Force Base in Ontario, Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand announced upgrades to the Arctic air and missile defense system with the United States and will spend Can$4.9 billion over the next six years.

The funds are to be spent on land-based facilities and satellite radar that can detect incoming bombers or missiles “over the horizon”, as well as a network of sensors with “classified capabilities” to monitor all types of objects approaching North American continent from the Arctic air and sea.

These are modernization projects for the North American Aerospace Defense Command’s (North American Aerospace Defense Command) early warning systems, which have been upgraded since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.

These new systems will replace the aging Cold War-era North Warning System, whose almost 50 short- and long-range radar stations from Alaska to northern Quebec are no longer capable of responding to the threat of modern missiles.

“As autocratic regimes threatened the rules-based international order that has protected us for decades, and as our competitors develop new technologies like hypersonic weapons and advanced cruise missiles, there is a pressing need to modernize Canada’s NORAD capabilities,” Anand said.

The U.S. has already budgeted new spending for national defense.