RADARSAT-2
Space Surveillance

Aurora Aircraft
Aerial Surveillance

Canadian Rangers
Ground Enforcement

Upgrades
Acquisitions

References

Constructed during a six-year period (1986-1992), the North Warning System (NWS) is a chain of 47 unmanned radar stations and supported by five logistic sites.  Originally part of the 1950s DEW Line (cold-war relic) the chain of both short (36) and long-range (11) radar stations are located across Alaska, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut and the Labrador coast – spanning almost 5,000 km in length.

NWS is operated from CFB North Bay in a facility hundreds of feet below ground.  The primary role of NWS is to provide strategic aerospace surveillance and ensure Canadian sovereignty is up-held; NWS also supports Canada’s role in NORAD.  The cost of NWS is shared through a 60/40 split between the United States and Canada.

Long-range radar station and logistic site at Cambridge Bay, Nunavut
Image Credit: Department of National Defence

During the transition of the upgrade to NWS, a large share of the DEW Line radar stations were decommissioned.  A DEW Line clean-up strategy was implemented due to the environmental impact stemming from years of usage in these relatively remote locations.  A major concern centers on soil contamination, mainly through the use of the toxic chemical PCB found widely in the paint at the various DEW Line radar sites.  A clean-up project administered by Defence Construction Canada (Canadian Crown Corporation) began in 1995 and is scheduled to be complete in 2012.