Partners lay out roadmap for NORAD modernisation

Canada and the US have reiterated their joint commitment to modernise the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) missile warning system.

In a statement on 14 August, Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and his US counterpart Lloyd Austin agreed to ‘move forward deliberately with coordinated investments [including R&D] that reflect the continuing importance of the role that NORAD plays in North American and allied deterrence, and in maintaining North America as a secure base for active engagement around the world’.

They added: ‘This work is to be advanced through ongoing engagements between DND and DoD.’

Canada and the US will prioritise enhancing situational awareness, especially in the northern and maritime approaches to the North American landmass.

This work will include replacing the North Warning System with more advanced technology with a system-of-systems approach ‘as soon as possible, including next-generation over-the-horizon radar systems that can dramatically improve early warning and persistent surveillance of North American airspace and approaches’.

NORAD C2 will be modernised to ‘better fuse and integrate data from all-domain sensors into a common, comprehensive operating picture, enabling faster and better informed decision-making’, Sajjan and Austin added.