Canada buying Adelaide Jindalee Operation Radar Network technology in historic $6.5bn export deal

Australia’s biggest defence export deal in history is being forged by an Adelaide-developed surveillance radar’s sale to Canada.

A $6.5bn deal to supply Adelaide-developed and operated surveillance radar technology to Canada is being hailed as the nation’s biggest defence export in history.

Asserting its sovereignty after pressure from US President Donald Trump, Canada is buying the world-leading Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN) as an early-warning system for incoming missiles in a deal touted as creating hundreds of jobs here.

The hi-tech JORN is a connected series of over-the-horizon radars providing surveillance at ranges up to 3000km. It is controlled and operated from RAAF Edinburgh, in Adelaide’s north, and maintained by BAE Systems Australia.

The technology was developed in northern Adelaide by the government Defence Science and Technology Group, stemming from experiments dating back to the 1950s.

The Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN) facility. Image: BAE Systems Australia

Defence Minister Richard Marles hailed “potentially the biggest defence industry export that Australia has ever been a part of” but said there was “a little water to go under the bridge” before it was locked in.

“This is some of the best technology in the world in terms of what it can do, and it greatly will contribute to the radar technology that exists in North America,” Mr Marles said.

JORN works by refracting high-frequency electromagnetic waves from the ionosphere to detect objects thousands of kilometres away, that usually would be invisible to conventional radar because of Earth’s curvature.

It is used to support the Australian Defence Force’s air and maritime operations, along with border security, disaster relief and rescues.

Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney and wife Diana Fox Carney arrive in Iqaluit, Nunavut, on Tuesday for the over-the-horizon radar announcement. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the move in his nation’s remote Arctic region after a call on Tuesday night, Australian time, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Mr Carney said the partnership with Australia would allow the radar to be built and deployed “as quickly and as effectively as possible”.

“(It) will enable Canada to detect and respond to both air and maritime threat over our Arctic both faster and from further away. It will, most fundamentally, keep all Canadians safe,” he said.

Mr Albanese acknowledged unprecedented tension between Canada and the US but declared the potential JORN deal a significant export opportunity.

”This is a world-leading technology. Australians are smart, we’re good at innovation,” he said.

Defence and Space Industries Minister Stephen Mullighan said the state government was “thrilled” by Canada’s intention, which again proved South Australia was “a leader in defence innovation and technology”.

“This export deal would represent a huge opportunity for our state and our country, creating hundreds of jobs,” he said.

A BAE Systems Australia spokesman referred questions to the federal government.

Originally published as Canada buying Adelaide Jindalee Operation Radar Network technology in historic $6.5bn export deal