www.vanguardcanada.com JUNE/JULY 2023 19
I M E
and identify non-emitting vessels, notably
small vessels and those not complying with
requirements on identification and track-
ing equipment."
Large vessels, when operating respon-
sibly, would normally emit information
on their presence through the Automatic
Identification System (AIS). This inter-
national system is designed to avoid col-
lisions between ships. Fortunately, the
AIS signals can be monitored from space
and contribute significantly to maritime
domain awareness. When vessels do not
www.vanguardcanada.com JUNE/JULY 2023 19
emit with their AIS - either due to lack of
proper equipment or because they want to
hide their presence - it is difficult, if not
impossible, for Canada to maintain good
domain awareness of maritime activity in
its vast arctic internal waters and Exclusive
Economic Zone.
The report of the Senate's Standing
Committee on National Defence on "A
Secure and Sovereign Arctic", published
in April 2023, echoes the AGC's report.
Their report also states that:
"On 9 March 2023, United States
Air Force General Glen D. Vanherck,
the Commander of the North Ameri-
can Aerospace Defense Command
(NORAD), specifically made a statement
at the Conference of Defence Associa-
tions Institute's Annual Conference on
Security and Defence, held in Ottawa,
that enhancing maritime domain aware-
ness would be part of the future modern-
ization of NORAD."
If Canada is serious about improving its
arctic maritime domain awareness, one of
the simple and inexpensive ways to do it
A R C T I C
Photo: HFSWR antenna array, UUV from ISE
