Canada to buy JORN in C$6 billion deal

The Canadian Department of National Defence will acquire a version of the Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN) to watch its northern Arctic approaches. It will acquire the JORN system from Australian prime contractor BAE Systems Australia in a C$6 billion ($6.6 billion) program.

Newly appointed Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney made the announcement in Nunavut in Canada’s far north, following a call with the Australian Prime Minister earlier on 18 March, stating that Canada needed to reaffirm its sovereignty by strengthening its military and bolstering its arctic security.

“Canada is, and forever will be, an Arctic nation, and we can never take our sovereignty and security in the region for granted,” said Mark Carney. “Our government will strengthen Canada’s Arctic security, bolster partnerships with our closest Allies, unleash the North’s economic potential, and reaffirm reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. Canada will remain a strong, secure, and sovereign nation.”

He said that Canada intends to partner with Australia to develop advanced Over-the-Horizon Radar technology. This partnership will include developing Canada’s Arctic Over-the-Horizon Radar system, an investment of more than $6 billion that will provide early warning radar coverage from threats to the Arctic.

Canada has been the subject of vitriolic attacks by newly inaugurated US President Donald Trump who has imposed heavy tariffs on Canadian manufactured goods and energy and said he wants Canada to become America’s 51^st state. Carney’s predecessor as Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, fought back against Trump’s intemperate demands. Nevertheless, there remains a close, ongoing relationship between the Canadia and US militaries.

Trump has also said the US would ‘get’ the massive arctic island of Greenland ‘one way or the other’. About one quarter the size of Australia, Greenland is vital to both Canadian and US defence and is one of three constituencies belong to the sovereign state of Denmark. Its northernmost areas would almost certainly lie within the footprint of a Canadian Over-the-Horizon radar based in northern Canada.

The Over-the-Horizon Radar will be a key component of Canada’s North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) modernization plan. Its 3,000km range, surveillance and threat tracking capabilities will detect and deter threats across the North, he said in statement.

“Collaboration with Australia on this critical technology will further deepen our long-standing bilateral defence relationship, while supporting Canada’s commitment to strengthening North American defences in partnership with the United States,” the statement adds.

Prime Minister Carney also announced a greater, sustained, and year-round Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) presence in the Arctic, an investment of nearly C$420 million ($462 million) to protect the country’s 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, the Canadian government’s statement says.