TRENTON, Canada (AP) — Canada is spending C$4.9 billion ($3.8 billion) over the next six years to modernize North America’s aging defense systems.
Defense Minister Anita Anand announced on Monday that the funding is the first of about C$40 billion ($31 billion) to be spent over the next 20 years to modernize the Joint Early Warning System for the United States and Canada, known as the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) and acquire other military assets to protect the continent.
The announcement at an Air Force base in Ontario comes amid widespread warnings from US and Canadian military officials and experts that NORAD is showing its age.
“As autocratic regimes threaten the rules-based international order they have protected for decades, and our competitors develop new technologies such as hypersonic weapons and advanced cruise missiles, there is an urgent need to modernize NORAD capabilities in Canada,” said Anand.
Anand had promised a robust investment package to upgrade the system created in the 1950s, which is responsible for detecting air and sea threats reaching North America, including missiles and aircraft.
The new funding will include plans to build new radar arrays that detect threats flying over the Arctic, as well as command and control systems, advanced air-to-air missiles and others.
“Canada can no longer rely on its geography to protect Canadians,” he said.
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