Vanguard Magazine

22 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2021 www.vanguardcanada.com ARCTIC the need for underwater data to feed de- velopments with the use of artificial intel- ligence and machine learning projects de- signed to increase comprehensive domain awareness and warning time. Comprehensive underwater surveil- lance of the complete Arctic Archipelago would be too expensive a program. What is feasible however is the monitoring of the access choke points to trigger a hunt. The DRDC Northern Watch project did recommend a number of choke points on page 44 of its June 2016 report. Even this limited number of surveillance stations would be financially and technically chal- lenging. However, the waters of the Arctic Archipelago are relatively shallow. When combined with the thickness of the ice, the multitude of islands restricting maneuver, and limited bathymetry, the shallow waters of the Arctic Archipelago make it a very dangerous area for submarines to venture into. If detected, a submarine would not be able to use speed or depth to escape. It would therefore be more cost-effective to select a few of the deeper straits to install underwater surveillance equipment. Reso- lute Bay, where the Northwest passage is only 56 kilometers (30 nautical miles) wide, making surface and subsurface easy, would have to be one of those locations given that many of the options across the Archipelago sail by it. At a minimum, we should monitor the main access points: the Amundsen Gulf and McLure Strait on the western side of the Archipelago, and the entrance of Hudson Strait and Lancaster Sound on the east side. Some of them could be supported for power and com- munications from North Warning System sites. The information would be provided to the Canadian Joint Operations Com- mand (CJOC), Regional Joint Operations Centre (RJOC), Maritime Security Op- erations Centre (MSOC), Acoustic Data Analysis Centre (ADAC), and NORAD. Based on the experience gained by DRDC in the development of Northern Watch it is entirely feasible to deploy sensors combin- ing magnetic, electric field, and acoustic sensors to monitor the choke points from remotely controlled stations. Underwater unmanned vehicles such as ISE Explorer could be installed in the summer and per- form surveillance using seafloor nodes where data transfer and regular charging can take place. 2 This approach could overcome the challenges of the shoreline movements of sea ice and the scouring of the seabed by icebergs. Those systems are improving year after year in terms of their range, naviga- tion, and communication systems. Canada is often criticized for not doing enough to protect its own sovereignty. It was so again recently in a Modern War Institute article 3 . At the moment, there is no project listed in the Defence Capa- bilities Blueprint to deal with monitoring submerged submarines or underwater un- manned vehicles in the Arctic Archipelago. As a sovereign nation, we have the duty to know what is going on in our own back- yard. Canada needs to change that! Reference: 1. https://cradpdf.drdc-rddc.gc.ca/ PDFS/unc253/p804761_A1b.pdf 2. https://ise.bc.ca/product/surveil- lance/ 3. https://mwi.usma.edu/canadas-arctic- problem/ At 17, Pierre joined the Canadian Forces and attended the Collège militaire royal de Saint- Jean in 1967. Aer graduating, he joined the Royal 22e Régiment (Infantry) and saw service in a number of countries including England, Germany (NATO), Cyprus (peace keeping), India and Nepal (Defence Adviser). He commanded 1Commando and the Infan- try School, and held senior staff appoint- ments in the National Defence Headquarters (NDHQ). In 1995, he took command of Cana- dian Forces Northern Area (Yukon, Nunavut and Northwest Territories), where he served until his retirement in 2000. Pierre provides independent advice on Arctic security and sovereignty matters. He was the Command- er of the now Joint Task Force North for five years. He spent more than nine years in the Arctic where he travelled extensively includ- ing Alaska and Greenland. He has been an advocate for improved security in the Arctic since 1998. Pierre has also provided several defence related companies with support in their pursuit of arctic opportunities. He has published several articles on arctic security and sovereignty. Learn more http://www. arcticsecurity.ca/. Potential Arctic chokepoints. The site of interest for Northern Watch is just to the east (right) of Resolute. The ISE EXPLORER Autonomous Underwater Vehicle.

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