Australia signed a record Aus$2.5 billion ($1.8 billion) deal Monday to export a sophisticated over-the-horizon radar defence system to Canada.

It was the first international sale of Australia’s advanced radar technology, the government said.

“It is far and away the largest defence export that we have ever done,” Defence Minister Richard Marles told a news conference.

“Australia and Canada have always been the very best of friends, but really, with what we have signed today, there is now a very significant strategic dimension to the relationship.”

BAE Systems Australia is set to commence delivery of the system on July 1 this year, marking the first stage of a broader Australia-Canada collaboration on the long-range radar system.

 

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Powerful, high-frequency over-the-horizon radar offers long-range surveillance to improve defences and provide early warning systems.

It is the “backbone” of Australia’s long-range northern surveillance, and the most advanced long-range radar in the world, Marles said.

“Just like Australia, Canada has large areas to surveil, and so Canada will use this to engage in surveillance over the Arctic.”

The agreement would support about 300 technical jobs in Australia, the government said.

Canada’s secretary of state for defence procurement, Stephen Fuhr, said it would also create nearly 2,300 jobs annually in his country over the next five years.

“We’ve stood shoulder to shoulder for generations 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.

 

AFP

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