MELBOURNE, Australia — Australia and Canada have officially signed a $1.75 billion export agreement to construct an Australian-designed long-range radar system on Canadian soil.
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles and Canadian Secretary of State for Defense Procurement Stephen Fuhr put their signatures on the first phase of the agreement Monday, which calls for deploying early warning radar coverage from the Canada-United States border northward into the Arctic.
Speaking to reporters at Australian Parliament House in the capital Canberra, Marles described the significance of the agreement. “What this really means is that Australia and Canada are now partners in terms of the future development of the Over-the-Horizon Radar,” he said, adding, “There is now a very strategic dimension to the relationship.”
Fuhr, speaking alongside Marles at a joint press conference, highlighted the longstanding bond between the two nations, both members of the British Commonwealth and the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance — which also counts the United States, Britain, and New Zealand as partners. “As the world adjusts to its new strategic and economic realities, I can’t think of a stronger partner to work with more than Australia,” Fuhr said.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney had announced his preference for the Australian radar technology over comparable American systems shortly after taking office last year. In March, Carney became the first Canadian prime minister to travel to Australia in 12 years. During that visit, Carney and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese agreed to expand cooperation in defense technologies, artificial intelligence, and critical minerals.
BAE Systems Australia released a statement confirming it will assist both governments in developing the Arctic Over-the-Horizon Radar. The Australian system, which took more than four decades to develop, operates by bouncing high-frequency electromagnetic waves off the ionosphere, allowing it to detect objects far beyond the reach of standard radar systems — objects that would otherwise be hidden by the natural curvature of the Earth.
The agreement represents Australia’s single largest defense export in the country’s history. The previous record was a $700 million deal finalized in 2024 to supply Germany with 100 Australian-manufactured Boxer heavy weapon carrier vehicles.
