Modernization

In the Carter presidency, things in the Cold War heated up again.  Detente had fallen apart after the Afghanistan Invasion, Soviet Backfire bombers could make it in one trip to North America, new bombers and missiles were in use, and on top of all of that NORAD had started to fall into disrepair.

The warning time radar used to give NORAD, had all but disappeared.  Surveillance would pick up nuclear warheads about the same time they were released.

Modernization was necessary in order to protect the continent.  Mulroney became Prime Minister of Canada in 1984 and American relations were important to him.  He signed with Reagan the North American Air Defence Modernization Agreement in March 1985, which outlined a plan for updating defence, including the North Warning System radar chain which could help improve surveillance against cruise missiles and low flying planes.

Under this modernization, new F-18 Hornets were ordered and AWACS increased as well.

In the enviornment of modernization, Reagan was also searching for a defence against missiles.  This led to his Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), or Star Wars, a proposed system that would shield the country from nuclear missiles.  Canada was not a big supporter of this project and did not take part.

There was another modernization initiative which Canada supported.  In 1986 the Air Defense Initiative (ADI) was created to research what was lacking in radar.  It was not connected with SDI but sometimes people thought it was.  It looked into long-range surveillance systems and other weapons, including a phased-array radar for airborne purposes. It also took over space-based radar, and hoped to have a line in place by 1993. 

Canada did take part in ADI, in all positions.  In 1986, Canada also began its own research program into space-based radar, giving $47 million.  They wanted to have 4-10 radars by the mid-1990s.  However, this would be much more costly and they had no way to launch these radars so the United States would have had to become involved.

Canada was often left out of USSPACECOM (US Space Command) and aerospace discussions, even after joining ADI, since they would not take part in SDI.

Since the Cold War, NORAD has modernized in other ways, working on drug wars and homeland defence.