Story perspectives

Australia-Canada $2.5 B Radar Deal Adds $290 M GDP

6/23/2026

Summary

Australia Signs Radar

Australia and Canada signed a $2.5 billion deal on 22 June 2026 to export an Over-the-Horizon Radar system to Canada.
BAE Systems Australia will lead the project, start work on Arctic OTHR programme on 1 July 2026, with initial operational capability by December 2029.
Canada expects the radar to add $290 million per year to GDP and create 2,270 jobs.
The deal also sustains about 300 Australian jobs and creates a joint R&D framework for OTHR and Five-Eyes awareness.

Summary

Canada Funds Radar

Canada allocated $6.5 billion for the radar and $2.3 billion for the Ghost Bat drone.
An industrial-benefits clause will fund Canadian firms and train engineers.
A site in Ontario’s Kawartha Lakes and a second Polar unit in the Arctic will be built.
Prime Minister Mark Carney chose the Australian radar over U.S. options, widening the supplier base and prompting a draft status-of-forces pact for reciprocal deployments and Ghost Bat cooperation.

History

Historical Context

Canada’s March 2025 decision to buy Australia’s Jindalee Operational Radar Network for AU$6.5 billion builds on a system whose origins trace to post-World War II U.S. experiments and Australian trials begun in the early 1950s, later formalised in the 1970s and upgraded through Phase 5 in 2004-2014. The 2026 $2.5 billion Australian commitment cements the Five-Eyes Arctic surveillance link.

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Australia Signs Radar

Australia and Canada signed a $2.5 billion deal on 22 June 2026 to export an Over-the-Horizon Radar system to Canada.
BAE Systems Australia will lead the project, start work on Arctic OTHR programme on 1 July 2026, with initial operational capability by December 2029.
Canada expects the radar to add $290 million per year to GDP and create 2,270 jobs.
The deal also sustains about 300 Australian jobs and creates a joint R&D framework for OTHR and Five-Eyes awareness.

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