Cassandra
North American Aero Space Defence Townhall on Infrastructure Development
Town Hall answers questions about defence, infrastructure development and global security
On Thursday, April 23rd the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) hosted an open-house to share infrastructure development plans with citizens, as well as a question and answer session to provide further information, as well as receive feedback to inform their process.
Topics covered over the course of the evening included an overview of the North American Aero Space Defence Command (or NORAD) which is a “binational military command between Canada and the United States.” They are “responsible for aerospace warning, aerospace control and mistime warning in defence” for North America.
This development is based off of Canada’s NORAD modernization plan, which was announced in 2022, and is focused on recapitalization, modernization, and replacement or addition of new critical infrastructure across Canada, including in the North.
The size of the project is estimated to be the equivalent of six hockey rinks, near and around the Yellowknife Airport.
They plan to build hangers for the future fighter fleet to keep them “out of the elements, so [they] can be ready to go at a moments notice,” and “Apron space” or what is essentially open tarmac, storage, and accommodations for visiting personnel, and operations centres for NORAD and Canadian Armed Forces operations at large.
According to the presentation, the current FOL was created in 1989, and ‘cannot effectively support existing and future NORAD operations’ therefore necessitating upgrades to support NORAD, the Canadian Armed Forces domestic operations, as well as large scale exercises. They will also be integrating new Royal Canadian Air Force fleets into the current existing operations.
This is all expected to happen fairly but actual construction is not estimated to begin until after 2027.
Modern Quick Reaction Alert facilities are expected to be build as well as a network of sites that allow CAF to function more effectively in the North. These developments will improve access, logistics, and support for year-round operations.
For questions, comments, or concerns citizens are encouraged to reach out to NORADModInfraInfo-InfoInfraModNORAD@forces.gc.ca
