OTTAWA – October 24, 2026 – National Defence could begin installing 47 new sensor stations across the North as early as next summer. The project is called Project Crossbow. It is part of a wider plan to strengthen NORAD’s surveillance and early-warning capabilities. The stations are meant to improve detection of aircraft and other activity in the Arctic. No list of the specific sites has been released. No contract value has been published. The 47 stations and the 2027 start window are the numbers on the record.
The project sits inside the larger northern defence file that has been discussed for several years. Earlier announcements have covered infrastructure, ports, and surveillance. Crossbow is the sensor piece. The stations would feed into the existing NORAD network. Whether the installations begin next summer depends on the remaining approvals, the procurement process, and the logistics of moving equipment into remote sites during the short construction season. Those steps have not been completed. The public statement is that the work could start as early as next summer. The rest is whether the contracts are signed and the first stations are in place before the 2027 construction window closes.
The Arctic file has also included discussions of ports, airfields, and ground infrastructure. Crossbow is the one that is specifically about sensors. It does not replace those other pieces. It adds a detection layer. The 47 stations are the scale. The next-summer date is the earliest possible start. The rest of the schedule is not in the release. The project is the current defence item that has a number and a season attached to it. The rest is the work that still has to be done before the first station is installed.
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