Australia’s JORN radar set to power Canada’s Arctic defense ambitions

Australia’s Jindalee Operational Radar Network is set to help Canada build the biggest and most advanced over-the-horizon radar system ever built.

The partnership between Canberra and Ottawa could result in Australia’s biggest defense export to date, drawing on decades of homegrown expertise in high-frequency radar science and engineering.

The collaboration is rooted in a long-standing defense relationship between the two countries. Australian officials have worked closely with Canada’s Department of National Defence to help shape the planning behind its Arctic over-the-horizon radar program, including the development of both technical and operational requirements.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney received a firsthand look at the JORN system during a recent visit to Australia, where Defense officials and BAE Systems Australia walked him through the radar’s high-frequency detection capabilities.

From briefing room to formal tender

As part of the growing partnership, Australia’s Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group has issued a formal request for tender to BAE Systems Australia. The scope covers the design, manufacture, and commissioning of a radar system intended to serve as the first stage of Canada’s Arctic over-the-horizon radar development program.

Australian defense officials have emphasized that any export arrangement must also benefit the country’s own JORN capability, helping to maintain its standing as a global leader in over-the-horizon radar technology while improving the economics of long-term maintenance and upgrades.

Air Vice-Marshal Martin Nussio, head of the Air Defence and Space Systems Division, said the arrangement carries clear advantages for both sides.

“Defence welcomes the mutual advantages that will flow from further development of the JORN technology through collaborative research and development. It serves to strengthen our domestic sovereign defence industry through engagement among Defence, BAE Systems Australia and Canadian and Australian industry partners,” Nusso said.

Built on Australian research, scaled for the Arctic

The technology at the heart of the partnership can be traced back decades. Australia’s Defence Science and Technology Group has spent years developing the foundational research behind JORN, with BAE Systems Australia playing a central role in translating that science into operational capability.

BAE was originally contracted to help develop over-the-horizon radar technology at the Jindalee Facility in Alice Springs, which served as the baseline for JORN’s design. The company went on to build technology for the system’s Phase 5 upgrade and later won the competitive tender to lead the Phase 6 midlife upgrade, which is currently underway.

Chief Defence Scientist Professor Tanya Monro pointed to this deep history as the foundation for what comes next.

“These world-leading upgrades, together with new critical technological development, will provide the capability required for the Canadian Arctic OTHR,” she said. “BAE Systems Australia has a long history of involvement in supporting the Defence Science and Technology Group with the development of JORN.”

A radar system built for Arctic scale

The Canadian Arctic mission system is expected to be substantially larger than a single JORN radar site. Defense officials from both countries began working together in August 2025 to establish the specific requirements for the Arctic mission system.

On the research side, Australia’s Defence Science and Technology Group is collaborating with BAE Systems Australia and Canada’s Defence Research and Development Canada to bring together Australian expertise in high-frequency radar with Canada’s experience operating similar systems in Arctic conditions.

The goal is a radar network that can meet the unique demands of monitoring one of the most remote and strategically significant regions on Earth.

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