I haven’t seen a specific thread on Golden Dome or whatever we may be up to for Continental Ground Based Interception, sometimes also referred to as IAMDS.
There’s a decent Kathyrne Bigelow flick on Netflix titled House of Dynamite. It’s worth a watch, and if you do view the movie take note of the significant infrastructure and layers of systems, personnel, roles and responsibilities just in the GBI EKS of NorthCom, and its integration, touch points with NORAD and the MDA. O If our objective is to participate or heaven forbid develop such a system on a stand alone basis, the amount of effort, cost, coordination and above all — seriousness —- makes this a huge game changer for Canada. It seems certain this just won’t be a case of standing up a special air defence regiment, but rather an entire and very separate command or perhaps even branch if service (Army, Navy, Air Force, Space, Missile Defence?).
“NORAD's primary role in relation to the GBI system is providing aerospace warningand attack assessment. NORAD uses a global network of sensors, including satellites and ground-based radar, to detect and track incoming ballistic missile threats and provide early warning to the governments of Canada and the United States.
However, NORAD does not have operational command and control of the GBI interceptors themselves. The GMD system is administered by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, and the interceptors (located in Alaska and California) are under the command authority of U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM). The Commander of NORAD also serves as the Commander of USNORTHCOM, ensuring close coordination, but the command authorities are technically separate for the GMD system.”
I just can’t imagine Canada simply plugging a GBI missile regiment into NorthCOM and then leaving the rest to the USMDA. This is not a BOMARC missile type of deployment such as we had with NORAD in 64-73. So we stand up our own MDA? The USMDA enjoys sensor and intelligence fusion including but also far beyond what NORAD provides. I’m not sure the US will let us inside that type of room with any sort if functional access or input. On the other hand, there is a decent prospect the US might pull out of NORAD and leave us hanging if Canada doesn’t sign on to Golden Dome.
A bit more detailed description of the problem:
Golden Dome and Canada: The “New” Age of Integrated Air and Missile Defence | CDA Institute
“Canada has the option of refusing to be part of Golden Dome which would result in the United States deploying OTHR and land-based defeat capabilities near the CANUS border, violating Canadian airspace as necessary. Nancy Teeple reviewed some of the costs and lost opportunities in a 2020 analysis related to only ballistic missile defence but her warnings are worth revisiting including reputational considerations and
especially the financial costs of going it alone. The United States might also consider walking away from NORAD insisting Golden Dome would take over the warning and defeat functions of NORAD but this unilateral approach would fly in the face of the original logic that led to the creation of NORAD in 1957”
“The Canadian IAMD door was opened a crack in
Our North Strong and Free (ONSAF) but the announcement by
Minister of Defence McGuinty announcing that Canada “has removed all restrictions on air and missile defence of Canada” on 16 July 2025 opens it widely for Canadian-US negotiations.”
“IAMD is the future for all militaries and Canada is implicated already as a member of NATO and NORAD. The notion that Canada is “fireproof” or covered by US systems is specious. Canada needs national IAMD ideally linked with Golden Dome. Canada can no longer be protected by platforms operational in only one domain for specific threats.”
Mods feel free to move to another thread or start a new one.
www.cvma.ca
