As NORAD jets train over the Arctic, experts say it's time to revamp aging northern defence systems

Arctic security experts say gaps in Northern defence technology could leave Canada vulnerable to an attack — and it's time for the federal government to make good on its promise to modernize northern defence systems.

Canada has relied on the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD), a joint U.S.-Canada effort to defend North America's skies, to detect air threats since the mid-1950s.

But NORAD's Arctic security infrastructure is aging, two academics who specialize in Arctic security told CBC. The North Warning System, an early-warning radar system for air defence, hasn't had major upgrades in nearly 40 years.

"There have been pretty strong indications that the North Warning System, as it's currently constructed, is no longer sufficient to have the watch for North America," said Whitney Lackenbauer, a Canada Research Chair who studies Arctic sovereignty and security.

Lackenbauer said the system still generates useful information that would help detect airborne attacks — but it needs upgrades, and so too do other aspects of NORAD.

The Arctic has drawn federal attention in recent weeks as Russia ramps up its invasion of Ukraine. National Defence Minister Anita Anand said she's working on a spending plan to modernize NORAD and intends to visit the North.

Meanwhile, Yukon MP Brendan Hanley and Northwest Territories MP Michael McLeod are among the many House of Commons members Russia's foreign ministry banned on Tuesday from entering Russia.

This week, NORAD is carrying out an air training operation in Canada's North, intended in part to send a message to Russia that Canada is prepared for any aggression.

Lackenbauer said he doesn't think the threat to the Canadian Arctic has increased, but Russia's invasion of Ukraine has made it more important for Canada to modernize its continental defences.

"Today, much as was the case back in the Cold War, the Arctic obviously plays a very, very significant role in defending the North American continent," he said.

Robert Huebert, an associate professor at the University of Calgary who specializes in Arctic sovereignty and security, said NORAD's infrastructure needs to be expanded, with more ground-based radar, as well as some element of space-based security. 

New threats that weren't around when NORAD was created, such as hypersonic missiles and sophisticated, underwater autonomous vehicles, mean Canada also has to work more closely with the U.S. to shore up its Arctic borders, he said.

"You need to have what's called pan-domain awareness, which means you've got to see everywhere and you've got to do it with your ally and neighbour — and that's the only way that it gets done," he said.

Deputy commander 'confident' in NORAD

Investments in NORAD are necessary, says Brig.-Gen. Derek O'Malley, the deputy commander for the Canadian NORAD region, but he's "very confident" in NORAD's ability to defend North America.

"Equipment gets old, but right now your defences are very capable and they're doing the job," he said.

Over his 26-year military career, said O'Malley, he's often been in situations in which he wanted better equipment.

"In the end, I found in over 500 hours of combat time, what made us successful — regardless of the constraints we had with equipment — was the people and the innovation of the people," he said.

"I also have confidence that there's going to be some significant investments in the future that will make us even stronger."

Sending a message

Though the training happening in the North right now, dubbed Operation Noble Defender, was planned well before Russia invaded Ukraine, O'Malley said it sends an important message to Russia.

"I think these types of operations really have a very important deterrent effect to discourage our adversaries from doing things we don't want them to do, and hopefully preserve the peace," he said.

O'Malley said he has no indication yet of whether the exercise has drawn Russia's attention, but he hopes that it has.

The exercise involves CF-18 fighter jets operating out of Canadian Forces Station Alert in Nunavut; Whitehorse, Yukon; Yellowknife, N.W.T.; 5 Wing Goose Bay, N.L.; and Thule, Greenland.

O'Malley said the training involves aircraft simulating the interception of incoming missiles.

"It's basically Northern defence — we're defending the homeland in North America from both aircraft attacks and from cruise missile attacks." 

He said the training exercise feels especially necessary this year because of Russia's war — it's giving the force focus and reminding them why the training is important.

"What we're doing right now, we do all the time ... but with real-world events going on, it becomes much more real," he said.