Vanguard Magazine

18 JUNE/JULY 2026 www.vanguardcanada.com A I R D E F E N C E B Y B G en ( Ret'd) T E R RY L E V E R S E D G E T he Canadian landscape, once thought invulnerable due to both distance and proxim- ity to the United States, now potentially faces a plethora of 21st century threats: ballistic missiles, hypersonic cruise missiles, stealthy drone swarms, and manned aircraft equipped with a variety of high-velocity projectiles. Moreover, Canadian Forces serving in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) face the same threat. So Canadian Forces (CF) personnel in both the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) and NATO are having to come to grips with an overarching approach to Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD), which will be essential to the defence of Canadian Forces both at home and abroad as potential adversaries devel- op longer-range, faster, and more complex weapons. Ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and now the Middle East are demonstrat- ing how the combination of missiles and unmanned aerial systems (UAS) have in- creased in capability and have created a significant asymmetry in which the cost of attacking has become significantly less than the cost of defending against them. For Canada, this creates an added impetus to both modernize and improve its ability to deter potential adversaries, while doing so in a way that is also as cost effective as possible. eignty and territorial integrity. Robust con- tinuous air surveillance is a precondition for adequate situational awareness and is crucial for effective IAMD. Therefore, the air sur- veillance architecture must be designed to provide persistent coverage, to detect and track any air and missile threats early in their trajectory, continuously monitor them, identify and assess their characteristics and predict their flight trajectories from surface to space, thus providing more time for ap- propriate responses and interception. Such an air surveillance capability must now consist of a combination of a wide range of active and passive, static and de- ployable, military and civilian networked sensors employed to cover all ranges and altitudes. Both space-based data and other types of sensor data must provide early es- sential detection and tracking capabilities in particular now against low- and slow- flying threats. Capable surveillance data fusion and analysis methods, including potentially us- ing Artificial Intelligence (AI), advanced al- gorithms and machine learning techniques, are also critical for providing a coherent and accurate picture of the potential battlespace. Battle Management, Command, Control, Communications and Information (BMC3I) The IAMD system must be able to re- spond robustly to challenges of varying The Policy Framework It is within this context that the most recent Canadian 2024 Defence Policy Statement, Our North Strong and Free, committed to "further contributions to the integrated air and missile defence of Canada and North America". The growing variety and complexity of threats demands an increased investment in IAMD at home and abroad to ensure the CF is still able to operate effectively and contribute to col- lective security. The NATO Example The 2025 NATO policy statement on IAMD provides a useful example of the four functional areas needed in creating a viable system, namely: Air Surveillance, Battle Management Command, Control, Communications and Information (BM- C3I), Active Air and Missile Defence, and Passive Air and Missile Defence. More- over, effective coordination and integra- tion among each of these functional areas is essential for a seamless and comprehen- sive IAMD posture, in order to minimize the consequence of any attack. Air Surveillance Threat detection is essential for the acti- vation of appropriate defensive measures. The detection and tracking of all potential air and missile threats from a 360-degree perspective is a top priority to ensure sover- FOR CANADA AN INTEGRATED The Multinational Artillery Battalion Group presented their new Very Short Range Air Defence System to the Brigade's Command Team. Photo: Master Corporal Simon Arcand, NATO Multinational Brigade Latvia Imagery Technician. AIR AND MISSILE DEFENCE

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