Australia signs $2.5bn over-the-horizon radar export deal with Canada

Australia has signed a $2.5 billion deal to sell Canada an over-the-horizon radar system, in what is being described as the country's most valuable defence export ever. The system will be used to help Canada monitor the Arctic, extending a technology modelled on Australia's Jindalee Operational Radar Network, or JORN. The agreement marks the first time Australia has sold the technology abroad.

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The deal was announced on 22 June and follows a March commitment by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to spend billions on the project. Canada's secretary for defence procurement, Stephen Fuhr, said the agreement represented a significant shift in the Australia-Canada relationship. He said Australia was a strong partner as countries adjusted to new strategic and economic realities.

Fuhr was in Australia alongside Defence Minister Richard Marles, who also discussed the export potential of the technology. JORN has been operating for 40 years and is able to provide surveillance coverage of up to 3,000 kilometres across Australia's northern approaches. The Canadian project will be built through defence manufacturer BAE Systems, which also maintains Australia's radar network.

Canada has set aside $6.5 billion in total for the project and is expected to consider expanding the network in the years ahead. The deal therefore goes beyond a single purchase and points to a longer-term industrial and strategic partnership. The agreement matters because it links two G7 countries through a major defence technology transfer at a time when Canada is seeking to broaden its defence partnerships beyond heavy reliance on the United States.

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It also underlines Australia's growing ambition to expand defence exports, with Marles saying the government wants to find more opportunities in the sector. For Australia, the contract brings export revenue and the prospect of future shared expertise in developing the radar further. The radar system is closely associated with Australia's northern defence posture, and its sale abroad is a notable step for a capability that has been kept within a sensitive national security framework.

The involvement of BAE Systems also highlights the industrial dimension of the project, with the company already tied to the Australian system. Fuhr's visit also included inspection of the Ghost Bat aerial drone, indicating broader defence industry engagement during the trip. What remains unclear is how quickly the Canadian system will be delivered and how much of the network may be added later.

The first stage of the deal has now been signed, but further stages would depend on future decisions in Canada. The extent of any wider export interest from other countries, including the United States, also remains to be seen.

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