Canada Pays $46Mln for Arctic Surveillance Contracts - Defence Ministry

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Canada has awarded two contracts - one to study long-range radar detection and another to develop a microsatellite for air and maritime surveillance - in an effort to keep tabs on the Arctic, the Defence Ministry announced in a press release on Friday.

"Raytheon Canada Limited has been awarded a contract for $31.2 million for the construction of transmit and receive electronics for a study of over-the-horizon radar detection at long range," the release said. "A contract for $15 million has also been awarded to UTIAS SFL for the development of a prototype of a multipurpose microsatellite equipped with state-of-the-art sensor technology for air and maritime surveillance."

The UTIAS SFL acronym represents the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies’ Space Flight Lab.

The technology is being sought to support Canadian sovereignty in the far North, to provide greater safety and security, while supporting transportation and commercial activity in Canada’s Arctic, the release said.

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In addition, the technology could augment efforts by Canada and the US to modernize the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), the release added.

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