Canada to purchase $6.6bn Australian radar system

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced that his country intends to purchase an Australian-developed, over-the-horizon long-range radar system, in an AU$6.6 billion deal — understood to be Australia’s biggest ever defence export.

The Jindalee Operational Radar Network, or JORN, is used by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) to monitor air and sea movements in Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. The radar system operates by bouncing high-frequency radio waves off the Earth’s ionosphere, enabling it to detect targets up to 3000 km away.

Described the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as “world-leading technology’’, JORN has for decades played a vital role in supporting the Australian Defence Force’s air and maritime operations, border protection, disaster relief and rescue operations. The system is currently in the middle of a 10-year, $1.2 billion upgrade led by BAE Systems Australia and involving more than 100 local companies.

Carney said Canada was interested in buying the Australian-developed technology to build its new Arctic Over-the-Horizon Radar system, which will provide early-warning radar coverage of threats in the country’s vast Arctic region. It comes in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to annex Canada and Greenland.

The deal was announced one month after the Australian Government committed $272 million to support the local defence industry, through the procurement of up to 14 multi-mission phased array radars (MMPARs) for the Australian Army.

Canberra-based CEA Technologies will produce the phased array radars, which will support the Army’s long-range fires capability and provide greater monitoring of potential threats across an integrated, focused Defence Force.

Once built, the radars will be based at the Edinburgh Defence precinct in South Australia as part of the 10th Fires Brigade. Delivery of the first radars is expected from 2027.

“CEA Technologies is one of Defence’s most critical suppliers,” said Pat Conroy, Minister for Defence Industry and Capability Delivery. “These domestically manufactured radars are testament to the ingenuity and expertise in Australia’s defence industry.

“This investment is another example of the Albanese government’s commitment to a future made in Australia, and the defence industry is an essential part of that future.”

Image credit: Defence Science and Technology Group.