www.vanguardcanada.com JUNE/JULY 2017 27
clude an all-season paved runway support-
ed by modern instrumented approaches,
a long-range air traffic control radar, sub-
surface monitoring devices, a polar orbit
satellite download farm, a ship and aircraft
refueling capability and a protected dock-
ing facility. This multi-purpose facility
would house the seasonal presence of mul-
tiple federal government departments.
The Canadian Forces already have a
Ranger Patrol and their Arctic Training
Center. A paved runway could support
a forward operations base for the Aurora
Long Range Maritime Patrol aircraft, CF-
18s and Unmanned Arial Vehicles (UAV)
used for arctic surveillance. The enhanced
runway and related facilities would im-
prove the Canadian Forces' and Coast
Guard's search and rescue capabilities and
meet our commitment under the Arctic
Council Agreement on Cooperation on
Aeronautical and Maritime Search and
Rescue in the Arctic. Underwater sensor
monitoring devices in that natural choke
point would allow the detection of sub-
merged vessels. The Resolute Bay location
would support the operations of the Arctic
Offshore Patrol Ships and facilitate the de-
ployment of naval boarding parties to deal
with a rogue vessel.
The Coast Guard already uses Resolute
Bay to store environmental response kits
and to effect crew changes and resupply.
Installation of an appropriate fuel tank
farm would permit Resolute Bay to be-
come a refueling facility to support their
Arctic Archipelago operations.
Transport Canada could utilize an air
traffic control radar erected at Resolute
Bay to increase radar coverage in support
of transpolar flights and search and rescue
operations. The radar facility could be in-
tegrated into Canadian Forces' contribu-
a
arctIc
Bay
The facilities at Nanisivik are
over 100 kilometers from the
Northwest Passage and could
not accommodate other sensors
to monitor maritime activity
in the Passage. The runway
supporting the site was closed
in 2011 in favor of the Arctic Bay
airport some 30 kilometers away.
Photo: Nanisivik berthing facility
– Google Earth
Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships courtesy Canadian Forces
