Australia and Canada are planning to jointly develop a multi-billion dollar Arctic military radar system, driven by a sharp increase in global attention on the region. This project aims to bolster the two countries' defense capabilities in the Arctic, addressing increasingly complex security challenges and ensuring regional stability.
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03-20, 2025Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that he spoke with newly appointed Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney about the two countries jointly developing a A$6.6 billion over-the-horizon military radar system. Prime Minister Albanese emphasized that the radar system would help strengthen the two countries' strategic defense in the Arctic region and enhance their collaborative security efforts.
Prime Minister Albanese noted, "Canada has a good relationship with Australia. The Canadian Prime Minister confirmed that he is looking at the radar network technology that we have, which is already in use." He further added, "It is a world-leading technology… we want to export it where we can, and this would be a significant export item if that agreement is finalized," highlighting the potential economic benefits alongside the strategic advantages.
Canadian officials stated that the over-the-horizon radar system would provide early warning radar coverage from the Canada-US border to the Arctic region. However, any new Canadian Arctic defense infrastructure would likely need to be compatible with the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), a crucial US-Canada military agreement. Due to the significant strategic and environmental importance of the Arctic, competition for influence is intensifying among the eight countries with Arctic territories: Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States.
Currently, Canada is in the midst of its most serious diplomatic dispute with the United States in years, and despite security cooperation with its southern neighbor, long-standing disagreements persist regarding the extent of Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic region. For instance, Canada insists that the Northwest Passage through Arctic waters lies entirely within Canadian territory, while the United States claims the passage is located in international waters. At the same time, China and Russia have been coordinating actions in the Arctic region. The US Department of Defense warned in July that the "growing cooperation" between Russia and China in the region has "the potential to alter the stability and threaten the existing order in the Arctic."
