CANBERRA, Australia — In a landmark move that deepens bilateral defense ties and cements Australia’s growing footprint in the global defense export market, Australian and Canadian defense officials signed a AUD 1.75 billion agreement on Monday to deliver an Australian-engineered over-the-horizon long-range radar system to Canada. This marks the largest defense export deal in Australia’s history.
The first phase of the pact was signed by Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles and Canadian Secretary of State for Defense Procurement Stephen Fuhr. The radar network will provide critical early warning coverage stretching from the Canada-U.S. border all the way into the Arctic, a region that has grown in strategic importance amid shifting global geopolitics.
Speaking to reporters at Australian Parliament House, Marles emphasized that the agreement transforms the two nations into core development partners for the cutting-edge over-the-horizon radar technology. “This brings a truly strategic dimension to the defense and industrial partnership between Australia and Canada,” Marles said.
Fuhr echoed the sentiment, pointing to the long-standing aligned interests of the two middle powers, both members of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance alongside the United States, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. “For generations, our two nations have stood shoulder-to-shoulder on global security matters,” Fuhr noted during the joint press appearance. “As the world adapts to new strategic and economic realities, there is no stronger partner for Canada to collaborate with on critical defense capabilities than Australia.”
The deal had been in the works since Mark Carney took office as Canadian Prime Minister last year, when he announced Canada would select the Australian radar design over competing American technology. Earlier this year, Carney made the first visit to Australia by a sitting Canadian prime minister in 12 years. During that trip, Carney and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese formalized a commitment to expand cross-border collaboration across three key strategic sectors: defense technology, artificial intelligence and critical minerals supply chains.
BAE Systems Australia, which will support the joint development and deployment of the Arctic Over-the-Horizon Radar, confirmed its role in a public statement. The Australian over-the-horizon system is the product of more than 40 years of iterative research and development. Unlike conventional radar systems, which cannot detect objects beyond the curve of the Earth, the Australian technology refracts high-frequency electromagnetic waves off the ionosphere, allowing it to identify distant threats and objects that are invisible to standard radar setups.
Prior to this agreement, Australia’s largest defense export was a $700 million deal reached in 2024 to supply 100 locally manufactured Boxer heavy weapon carrier vehicles to Germany. The new radar deal more than doubles that record, signaling Australia’s emergence as a competitive global exporter of advanced defense technology.