Cold War era defense system to get upgrade to counter Russia, China

Norad was a central part of the US and Canadian army’s deterrent strategy against the former Soviet Union. The surveillance system, which consists of satellites, ground-based radar, and air bases located primarily in Alaska and the Canadian Arctic, is designed to notify military allies of an imminent attack from the north.

The system, once state-of-the-art, has since become obsolete. New missiles deployed by Russia and China can reach more than five times the speed of sound and fly far farther than their predecessors, which would overwhelm the existing surveillance network, said Michael Dawson, who served as Canadian political adviser to the Norad command in Colorado. . from 2010 to 2014.

In addition, a melting polar ice cap is causing the once impassable Arctic Ocean to remain ice-free for extended periods of time, creating new vulnerabilities for the US and Canada, current and former military officials say.

“The North Pole is no longer a fortress wall, and our oceans are no longer protective ditches; they are now ways to approach advanced conventional weapons, ”retired US General Terrence O’Shaugnessy said in a testimony before the Senate Armed Forces Committee last March.

President Biden pointedly referred to Norad in his public comments following the Tuesday meeting, Mr Biden’s first bilateral conversation with a foreign leader since his election. He said the countries had agreed to modernize the system, which is jointly controlled by both governments.

Mr Biden also said he expected NATO members, including Canada, to spend at least 2% of their economic output on defense, as outlined in a 2014 pledge by members of the transatlantic alliance. According to the latest NATO figures, Canada’s annual defense spending is about 1.5%.

The White House and a Pentagon spokesman did not respond to a request for comment. On Friday, the US State Department listed the defense system as one of the priorities for US-Canada bilateral relations ahead of a meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Mr. Trudeau, along with other senior officials.

“We welcome Canada’s strengthened commitment to Norad as we modernize the command to address new global security challenges,” the division said in a fact sheet prior to Mr. Blinken was released on a video conference with Canadian officials on Friday.

Norad was also mentioned on a Jan. 22 call between the leaders, highlighting the importance the US attaches to upgrading a surveillance system first developed in the 1950s.

U.S. military and political leaders such as Senator Jim Inhofe (R., Oklahoma), senior member of the Senate Armed Forces Committee, see the Arctic Alert System as an important tool for keeping abreast of China and Russia’s growing military presence in the United States. Arctic. . Russia has developed ports along the Northern Sea Route, a shipping route that winds along the Siberian coast. President Vladimir Putin has also begun military build-up in the region, adding new airports, air defense installations and bases.

China, which according to government documents considers the Arctic to be a major shipping route and has sought to invest in northern mines that give the country access to minerals such as zinc, nickel and gold, has forged partnerships with several countries bordering the Arctic. It has deployed icebreakers in the region and declared itself a “near-Arctic state”.

While Canada pledged in 2017 to increase defense spending by 70% over a decade, Mr. Trudeau’s government has not earmarked money for updating the Arctic Alert System, a project that could cost the country $ 6 billion – About 40% of the $ 15 billion estimated cost, said James Fergusson, deputy director of the University of Manitoba’s Center for Defense and Security Studies.

That money would make a big commitment to Canada, whose total annual defense budget of $ 19 billion is less than 3% of its $ 700 billion defense budget.

Canadian officials have publicly recognized the importance of the upgrades.

“This is the chance to really step things up,” Canadian Defense Secretary Harjit Sajjan said in an interview in late January. Mr Sajjan also discussed the modernization with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on a January call.

Mr Sajjan said Canada has started some of the work, citing new Arctic and offshore patrol vessels that started arriving last year, with five more underway, and the deployment of new satellite technology to monitor the Arctic and maritime improve activity.

Since coming to power, Mr. Trudeau has focused on the threat of climate change to indigenous communities in the Arctic. A comprehensive Arctic plan, released by Mr Trudeau’s government in late 2019, envisaged investment in new infrastructure and health care improvements to serve local indigenous communities.

One of the major initiatives mentioned by the Canadian government was an upgrade of the North Warning System, or NWS, a chain of nearly 50 unmanned radar stations in the Arctic and Alaska. Canadian government documents indicate that the system will reach its end of life by 2025 and that the technology will need to be replaced.

Behind the scenes, officials in both countries have been working on projects aimed at updating the technology needed to protect the continent’s airspace as best they can, said John McKay, a Canadian legislator and co-chair of the Permanent Joint Board. on Defense – a group between the US and Canada that advises the country’s leaders on North American defense. The problem in recent years, Mr McKay said, has been a lack of political leadership from Washington.

“The previous administration was not as interested as it should be in Norad issues, and so it was difficult to get the attention of the Americans,” said Mr. McKay.

Still, a former senior Trump administration national security official replied that Arctic security was a defense priority for the former president’s team, noting that the Department of Defense published an Arctic strategy review in June 2019 and its second fleet for the North Atlantic and Arctic operations recovered. , and repeatedly called for more funding for missile defense.

—Michael R. Gordon contributed to this article.

Write to Vipal Monga at [email protected] and Paul Vieira at [email protected]