Canadian Military Begins NORAD Arctic Air Defence Operation

Canadian Armed Forces soldiers clear the ice runway from any bumps in preparation for takeoff on Feb. 24, 2022, in the vicinity of Deadhorse, Alaska. Cpl Hugo Montpetit, Canadian Forces Combat Camera, Canadian Armed Forces Photo

After a string of military exercises in northern Canada and the United States in recent days, the Canadian military will conduct a NORAD-specific exercise this week aimed at strengthening the continent’s defence against a variety of threats, including those originating from Russia.

The Arctic air defence operation, dubbed Operation Noble Defender (NB), involves Canadian and U.S. personnel and equipment and stretches from the Yukon to Newfoundland and Labrador, and also covers Alaska and areas off the coast of Greenland.

“The security of our Arctic is not negotiable,” tweeted Defence Minister Anita Anand while announcing the operation on March 13.

“What we’re looking to do is confirm our ability to respond to threat aircraft as well as cruise missile type threats that would come within the Canadian NORAD region,” Canadian NORAD Region Commander Major-General Eric Kenny told CBC News on March 14.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command’s (NORAD) exercise runs from March 14 to 17.

The exercise will likely not be noticeable to civilians due to aircraft flying at high altitudes and in remote areas, NORAD said in a statement, but there will be an increased military presence in Whitehorse, Yellowknife, and the 5 Wing Goose Bay air force base in Newfoundland.

NB is a series of NORAD operations which validate “the command’s capability to defend Canada and the United States against threats from every avenue of approach, and demonstrate the ability to integrate with other defense and security partners for a holistic defense of North America,” says the organization in a statement.

The latest exercise took place last October and involved U.S. special operations forces conducting activities such as maritime infiltration and special reconnaissance.

NB is taking place after the annual Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) northern exercise, Operation NANOOK, concluded on Feb. 28. Troops from the U.S., the U.K., and France participated in long-range patrols, complex logistical support, and under-ice diving activities, according to the Department of National Defence.

NB is but one of many joint exercises with the U.S. taking place in the Arctic this winter, with different U.S. services or commands taking the lead.

The CAF says over 400 personnel are taking part in the exercises, along with 10 aircraft and the Navy ship Brandon.

Some of the exercises occur on a recurrent schedule and are not in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but Russia is the dominant threat in the Arctic, according to NORAD.

The organization says that long-range cruise missiles being launched from Russia and travelling through northern approaches to strike Canadian or U.S. targets “has emerged as the dominant military threat in the Arctic.”

NORAD came into existence in 1958 to centralize continental air defence systems to protect against the threat of Soviet bombers. It was expanded in 2006 to include a maritime warning mission to counter potential terrorist threats. With the northern waters being subsequently increasingly passable, maritime traffic and great power competition in the region became an increasing concern.

Canada’s main role in NORAD is hosting 47 radar sites, part of the North Warning System (NWS). Having been built at the end of the 1980s, it’s considered in urgent need of replacement.

“Its radar capabilities are becoming increasingly challenged by modern weapons technology, including advanced cruise missiles and hypersonic weapons,” says a National Defence backgrounder on the NWS.

The Liberal government’s 2021 budget announced a $163 million commitment to NORAD modernization, but the replacement cost of the NWS alone is estimated at over $10 billion.

Anand told the Ottawa Conference on Security and Defence on March 11 she would soon unveil a “robust package to modernize NORAD,” reported the Globe and Mail.