Kawartha Lakes chosen as one of two Arctic security transmit sites by federal government for early warning radar system
The Advocate has learned that the Department of National Defence (DND) has acquired 163 hectares of vacant property in the northern part of Thistle Trail, just north of Bexley Township in Kawartha Lakes.
This is all part of Canada’s $39 billion plan announced in 2022 to modernize North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) over the next two decades, according to a media release. DND announced today the selection of the first transmit and receive sites for the Arctic Over-the-Horizon Radar project. The selection of the first two sites sets the foundation for further expansion and is a major milestone toward reinforcing Canada’s security and sovereignty in the Arctic.
The project is anticipated to reach initial operational capability by the end of 2029. It will ultimately require four sites across Canada to be fully operational: two are transmit sites (and Kawartha Lakes was chosen to be one of them) and two are receive sites.
A preliminary receive site has also been identified, consisting of 288 hectares of agricultural land in Clearview Township, Ontario. Acquiring this site enables DND to deliver an initial, functional capability that can be implemented much sooner than the full capability. DND continues to explore potentially suitable options for the remaining sites.
DND will launch a public engagement period that will include virtual and in-person information sessions and townhall meetings. These sessions will provide more in-depth information about the sites and allow the public to provide feedback and ask questions.
Initial work is anticipated to begin at the Kawartha Lakes and Clearview Township sites in winter 2026.
Over-the-horizon radar can conduct surveillance at far greater ranges than regular radar technology as it bounces radar beams off the ionosphere to see around the curvature of the Earth.
DND will conduct several environmental and site studies, such as a climate change risk assessment, an environmental site assessment and a flora and fauna assessment before beginning work as per its regular standard procedure.
–more to come
The Canadian radar is purchased from Australia, and may visually be similar to JORN the Jindalee Operational Radar Network.
There are photos of the large JORN radar antenna arrays which are more like poles and wires than the type of parabolic radar dish antennas or sperical domes you might associate with airport or weather radar installations. This is because JORN and the new Canadian Over The Horizon Radar use relatively low frequency radio waves, similar to AM radio frequencies.
Australian Photos at this link: https://www.baesystems.com/en-aus/product/jorn
I would expect the technical operation to be rather non impactful, and that construction activity, and the number of canadian forces people to be stationed there, and the security measures around the installation would be the impact on the community west of Coboconk.
Local business owners in the construction, aggregate, fencing, electrical and related businesses will likely be interested in how to qualify to do business on the project. Invariably these types of national instigated security project have a prime contractor, and it’s just as likely that prime contractors will hire other big and massive firms from Toronto or Ottawa to drop in and do the work, rathern than providing smaller local businesses the opportunity to work on the project.
It would be great to see a local economic development angle to this federal project which returns benefits to the host community of Kawartha Lakes by engaging local businesses where they are capable of serving the project.
Shouldn’t an early warning radar site be kept a secret? If hostile forces wished to attack Canada, isn’t that what they’d target first with ground troops? Why is the DND publicizing this?
Don’t worry, secrecy in this instance is futile.
Won’t make a difference to the events of the future for what’s coming.
Radar isn’t going to help anyone when the weather continues to flood the country, to bad we can’t control the flooding into the wildfire.
we can stop it by halting the spraying of chemtrail weather modification thats going on right now..
NORAD has never been a secret. I remember learning about it in elementary school. But if it makes you feel better, rest assured that there are parts of it that are very secret. Do you really think that they tell us everything? Or that everything they tell us is true?
You kidding me? Time they get the Russkies on the radar, we’ll be dead!
“Russkies”? What is this, 1980? Okay I guess technically the “Russkies” are “the enemy” again, but I’d worry a lot more about the very big very well armed country just south of us- the one that has been recently threatening to take us over and happens to have command and control of said radar system. Just a thought.
Clearview Township is where CFB Borden is…Not surprised by the decision. Glad they’re continuing to grow this infrastructure
Not to knock down the joyous occasion but what about the multi-billion dollar hole in the ground in north bay ??? It has been still is being globally touted as NORAD COMMAND and would be easier to refurbish thus cheaper in the long run. It’s only been around for some 75 years or more.
Now again not to throw mud but is this fiscally responsible after a decade of the Trudeau liberals scams and free for all in the treasury ??? Were $1,600B+in debt so lets just add more on our grandchildrens backs!
Me thinks someone is splashing money around needlessly when we have a complete upgradable facility in north bay. Including one of canadas longest runways ( way longer tbh than Pearson), a fighter squadron facility and aĺl the “stuff” in the hole !
I just think the government should be realizing the damage done by their Kakistocrastic predecessor and taking a different tact, but hey its just another libetal government and we know their track record for big dollar projects that go way over budget and always have hidden payola… the big boys club still reigns supreme in the backrooms of government. We just need to remember the recent past and be sure this is a prudent move when say 5 or 10 B could refurbish what already exists…
That hole has been flooding with groundwater for a long time. DND constantly pumps it out.
your now talking common sence and to most politicians? thats not allowed..common sence is commonly not allowed..lol
Canada requires a military navel port on the actric coast that will allow for large military ships and subs under NORAD
How would we defend an arctic naval port in the winter when it freezes over? I fear we may end up being sitting ducks frozen in the ice.
Unfortunately, this won’t curtail the type of invasion that Europe has been dealing with for the past 10 years or so, and will , ultimately, destroy Canada, and most western nations.
I think this sounds exciting for our community.
This is just under 500 acres. “North of Bexley” is very vague. What are the parameters? What considerations are being given to minimize any negative effects on wildlife and water table? Who sold this land to DND? When was Jamie Schmale notified of it? When was approval for it given?
So how low over our heads if beamed very few degrees over horizon? How much scatter? This is a most unwelcome addition to CKL (or anywhere for that matter). Right after the prior mayor being a big EORN advocate to subsidize mob/kill phone towers so no one can escape the serious e-pollution in our until recently relatively low zones of such. Fitting finale. Mad pointless expenditures by madmen drumming up war scenarios for years already vs those across the ocean just trying to have something like what we have but on their own terms, to preserve crumbling hegemony.