North Warning System

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North Warning System emblem

The North Warning System is a network of radar systems operated jointly by the United States and Canada . It is the successor to the Distant-Early-Warning-Line-System for airspace surveillance and started operation in the late 1980s . The systems are designed to monitor the airspace of both Canada and the United States and indicate impending dangers and airspace violations so that countermeasures can be taken. Most of the radars are located in Canada, mostly on the coasts and in the northern territories. These are controlled by US and Canadian military personnel. Important information is sent immediately to the joint North American airspace defense command, NORAD , in which a joint decision is then taken on appropriate countermeasures.

Cartographic representation of the northern early warning system

history

The Distant Early Warning Line ( German  Distant Early Warning line ) that the end of 1950 was set the task had the airspace of the United States and Canada from enemy attacks, was meant: by the former Soviet Union to protect. This system operated until the mid-1980s. As part of the North American Air Defense Modernization Agreement ( German  agreement on the modernization of North American air defense ), cooperation between Canada and the USA was intensified and the systems were renewed. This agreement was made on March 18, 1985 at the Shamrock Summit between Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and US President Ronald Reagan in Québec . The North Warning System , which still exists today, arose from this agreement .

business

The North Warning System operates radar stations of the type FPS 117 Remote Radar Post and AN / FPS-124 . These systems are operated by NORAD . The stations in Alaska are served by the regional control center. The Canadian radar stations remotely controlled from a Canadian military base. The information is recorded, processed and then forwarded to NORAD headquarters in Canada and the United States. These then decide how to proceed.

Stations

Former DEW Line station in Point Lay, Alaska. It was shut down in 1994, dismantled and renatured until 2005

The North Warning System operates 15 long-range radar systems, eleven in Canada and four in the United States; also 39 short-range radar systems, 36 of which are in Canada and 3 in the United States. In total, these radar systems cover an area of ​​4800 square kilometers on the coast from Alaska to southern Newfoundland and Labrador .

Selection of stations of the NWS
Identifier Location Radar type active since Current status Remarks
POW-M Point Barrow, Alaska, United StatesUnited States FPS-117 1957 in operation technical and infrastructural facilities modernized
BAR-M Barter Island, Alaska, United StatesUnited States FPS-117 1957 in operation
POW-1 Point Lonely, Alaska, United StatesUnited States FPS-124 1957 shut down in 2007 Plant out of order due to necessary maintenance and budget savings
BAR-1 Komakuk Beach, Yukon ,CanadaCanada FPS-124 1957 in operation The system was the first to serve on the Distant Early Warning Line from 1957 to 1989. Since then, the system has continued to operate in the North Warning System . In 2005 the facility was completely renovated.
BAR-BA3 Storm Hills, Northern Territory ,CanadaCanada FPS-124 1990 in operation The system includes a radar system, communication building and a small storage building. The facility can only be reached by helicopter and therefore has a helicopter landing pad .
PIN-M Cape Parry, Northern Territory, CanadaCanada FPS-117 1957 in operation
LAB-2 Saglek, Newfoundland and Labrador, CanadaCanada FPS-117 1957 in operation In use by the North Warning System since 1989 . The facility has several buildings that are connected underground and was completely refurbished in 2005.
CAM-FA Lailor River, Nunavut ,CanadaCanada FPS-124 1992 in operation The system includes a radar system, communication building and a small storage building. The facility can only be reached by helicopter and therefore has a helicopter landing pad.

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