Canada's military contracts Radarsat 2 for Arctic surveillance

Related: The Arctic -- the new battleground

Canada's ability to watch over its coastlines and the Arctic will get a boost early next year when an orbiting satellite is upgraded, allowing it to better conduct surveillance of vessels.


The Defence Department has long had plans to use Radarsat 2 for maritime surveillance and, last week, the satellite's owner, MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates of Richmond, B.C., was awarded a $25-million contract to proceed with what is being called project Polar Epsilon.


Polar Epsilon involves using the satellite for both Arctic and maritime surveillance, as well as constructing new ground stations to receive the data from the spacecraft. The Defence Department has budgeted $64 million for the overall project.


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