U.S. Air Force/Master Sgt. Michael Ammons via Wikimedia Commons

With growing Russian, and other threats to the Arctic and North American homeland, the joint U.S.-Canadian – North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) – is increasing combat readiness in the north. On Wednesday NORAD tweeted that pilots from the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and the U.S. Air Force (USAF) will jointly practice “response procedures in high-density airspace” on Thursday.

SEE ALSO: U.S. and Canada Should Defend Arctic Together

“These exercises ensure NORAD forces remain ready to respond to aerospace threats 24/7 anywhere in Canada and the United States,” NORAD said in a tweet published Wednesday morning, adding, “The defense of North America is our top priority.”

The NORAD tweets stated that this will be routine air defense training over Toronto, and the public may see or hear RCAF CF-18 Hornets, as well as USAF F16s and a USAF KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refueling tanker.

NORAD Command, known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection for Northern America (RELATED: U.S. and Russian Militaries Facing-Off in Arctic).

The Canadian Air Force plays a critical role in the defense of North America. As noted on its website, its CF-18 Hornets are “multi-role fighter aircraft used for air defense, air superiority, ground attack, tactical support, training, aerobatic demonstration, and aerospace testing and evaluation.”

However, these aircraft are getting a bit old.

To make sure their aircraft can meet current threats, 36 of Canada’s 76 CF-18s, and soon-to-be delivered 18 secondhand Australian F-18s, will be getting full combat upgrades, at a cost of C$800 million. As reported by Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC):

The extra money comes after the federal auditor general warned in late 2018 that Canada’s fighter jets risked being outmatched by more advanced adversaries due to a lack of combat upgrades since 2008 and will result in new weapons, sensors and defensive systems for the fleet.

Due to embarrassing political delays, the competition to select a new fighter for the Canadian air force is just now beginning, so the CF-18s will have to meet threats for at least another decade.

“The U.S. Marines are looking at keeping their F-18s — upon which the CF-18 is based — in the air until the 2030s,” said Royal Canadian Air Force commander Lt.-Gen. Al Meinzinger, according to CBC. He added, “the two forces are working together to identify the best ways to do that.”

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Comments

  1. Can’t read the article. You’re allowing the BS adds to cover the story. Either get rid of the adds or I will block AAN from my emails.

      1. It is simple. Either conservatives answer such surveys OR the believe by the politicians will be that all of us are leftist liberals. So take the time and make your CONSERVATIVES views known.

        1. NO,,,I will not be controlled by politicians or blog creators. I will vote for whichever person I think best represents my views. As for polls,,,it’s none of their business. Most polls don’t look for consensus but to sway others.

    1. He11 NO! I lived in Ontario for 20 years. They think they are “TOO Good” to associate with “Americans”. But anyone from Hong Kong with a million dollars is welcomed with open arms. Now Vancouver is almost have Chinese! Their OHIP is terrible. I figured out that the taxes paid into OHIP amount to $1,600 per citizen of Ontario! Yet my BCBS premiums were 150% of what I paid in Ohio! OHIP only covers you while “IN Hospital”. When outside, BCBS takes over. So it “Is NOT cheap”! My friend, an Ontario Govt. employee, had to wait 18 months to get his double hernia operation. Yet a hockey player of politician gets in “Today”! He spent 18 months waiting, then 12 months of “Rehabilitation”. He retired before his rehab was done.

  2. DITTO…CAN’T READ THE ARTICAL! Get RID OF THE ADS COVERING THE ARTICAL or I TOO WILL BLOCK UR SITE….UR call…..

  3. So Trudeau delayed getting upgrades on military equipment. Just how did they get PAST him to get these new updates. For sure, he is such a Chamberlain that he did not approve it himself. Maybe HIS poll numbers show him that he will soon be “former Prime Minister”.
    I would say that he is as worthless as Angela Merkel but Merkel is not worthless. She is destructive to her country.

  4. Canada spent more money evaluating replacing the “Antique” helicopters than what the U.S. offered to sell them some of our much more modern helicopters. They did the same with their old diesel/electric submarines. They spend more on a golf course for their officers! Our Alabama National Guard could easily take over Canada. They would wake up one morning to find out they had already lost! I can’t find out the actual number of ‘Active Duty” military members, seems to be the only “Classified” information about their military. Their “Sea King” helicopters were built about 1963, and their first replacements arrived from Sikorsky in 2018! Now they have 18. Many died in Sea King crashes.

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