Vanguard Magazine

12 JUNE/JULY 2025 www.vanguardcanada.com A I R S H I P S This does not include the numerous provincial, territorial, indigenous, and mu- nicipal governments that all have a stake in maintaining Canadian sovereignty, espe- cially in Canada's north. As for the CAF's role in maintaining Canadian sovereignty is concerned, there are some wide gaps. This was demonstrat- ed in 2023 with the Chinese spy balloon that flew through Canadian airspace and was only detected after it crossed into the continental United States from British Co- lumbia and was subsequently shot down by the Americans. This balloon had trav- elled undetected through Alaska, the Yu- kon, and most of British Columbia before finally being detected near the BC/USA border. It followed the path detailed in the Figure 2 below. The reason cited by MGen Paul Prevost (Director of Staff, Strategic Joint Staff) for the late detection of this balloon that had travelled thousands of kilometres over both American and Canadian territory, was: "there was no "infrastructure of sig- nificance" along the balloon's flight path." Although the infrastructure in Canada's north is limited, an investment in airships that would regularly conduct sustain- ment activities in the shared Canadian and American Northern regions could be lever- aged to detect foreign incursions into our airspace; it could be used to deliver cargo, improving the Quality of Life (QoL) for local populations; and it could also provide a deployable expeditionary Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief (HA/DR) capabil- ity. HA/DR events will likely only increase in frequency as climate change progresses. Interest from the mining industry has also been generated in leveraging exist- ing airship transportation infrastructure to unlock parts of the resource-rich Canadian wilderness that contain minerals that have been deemed critical to de-carbonizing Canada's economy . In a recent trade pub- lication published by The Association of Ontario Land Economists, it's been noted: "[w]hen the mining industry adopts a hydrogen airship model of operations, they will be able to access the most valuable min- erals wherever they are in the most environ- mentally sound way. Most of environmental disruption of mining operations is caused by roads which will no longer be needed. Mining operations in areas where no roads currently exist would be a good way to start developing "infrastructure of sig- nificance" in the area. My colleague, Dr. Barry Prentice and I have written extensively on a concept for a circuit of airships that could transit Canada's Northernmost regions. In a conference paper presented at the Canadian Transpor- tation Research Forum, we point out that one airship, based out of Hay River, could effectively transit the entire Arctic region over a 24-hour period see Figure 3 above. The situation when a second airship is added based out of Moosonee and a third is added operating out of Iqaluit is seen in Figure 4 next page. Having three airships transiting the re- gion significantly improves the visibility of the Northernmost regions of Canada. When there is no demand for cargo ship- ping, the three airships could effectively pa- trol the region and, if equipped with similar sensors as are currently used on the Royal Canadian Air Force's (RCAF) CP-140 Au- rora – Maritime Patrol Aircraft, the gap in our Northernmost regions where there is "no infrastructure of significance" suddenly becomes smaller and transiting vehicles (sea or air) would become much more visible to the Canadian Armed Forces and its allies. To take responsibility and exert sover- eignty over its Northern regions, the Cana- dian Government needs to start investing in this technology. The circuit proposed in this article could effectively dissuade other national entities from conducting activities in our region that we're not aware of. Chi- nese and Russian interest in the region is already increasing which is raising tensions in the Arctic. A circuit of between one and three airships used to deliver cargo for CAF operations and to communities in the area could be employed in a multi-role capacity Figure 2: Jan 2023 Chinese Spy Balloon Path 3 Figure 3: Potential Airship Reach Within 12/24hrs from Hay River – One Airship 8

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