CANADA: Missiles for the North

Big news was brewing on Ottawa’s Parliament Hill. Prime Minister John Diefenbaker summoned newsmen for a late afternoon press conference, kept them fidgeting until all the nation’s stock markets were closed for the day. Then, under the glare of TV lights, Diefenbaker announced a 180° shift in the course of Canada’s air-defense planning. The R.C.A.F. will gradually eliminate the nine jet squadrons that now guard the continent’s northern frontier, replace them with radar-guided Bomarc missiles built in the U.S. Into the discard: Canada’s pride and joy, the big, 1,500-m.p.h. Avro CF-105 Arrow interceptor, which cost $303 million to develop, has been in flight-test for six months.

The news struck the nation like a sonic boom. Canada had worked long and hard since 1945 to build up its own jet aircraft industry, hoped to hit the big time with its swift CF-105, possibly even sell some to the U.S. Air Force. High costs and the missile age made it impossible. To equip the R.C.A.F. with Arrows would cost something like $2 billion, and the first operational models would not be in service until 1961. A better bet was to spend the money on a setup like the U.S.’s SAGE system: improved DEW-line radar, electronic computers to guide 2,000-m.p.h. missiles such as the U.S. Bomarc. The tough-minded decision left the proud R.C.A.F. with little future as a combat flying force. Its role will be that of a missile operator, plus such auxiliary jobs as anti-submarine patrol and air transport.