UNB gets $2.9M for surveillance applications in defence

The University of New Brunswick received $2.9 million for two defence projects to develop the next-generation sensors and systems for surveillance and detection capabilities for continental defence. Led by Dr. P. Thayyil Jayachandran, UNB physics department chairperson, the projects are part of the Department of National Defence (DND) All Domain Situational Awareness (ADSA) program, and will generate information about the atmosphere. The Canadian High Arctic Ionospheric Network (CHAIN), which is also led by Jayachandran and operated by UNB, got $1.8 million in funding. As one of the world's largest networks for ionospheric monitoring and investigation, CHAIN will use the funds to add three more high-frequency radars to the existing network. This improvement will provide more accurate data, specifically for the use of radio transmitters in the Arctic. For the second project, CHAIN will use $1.1 million to develop more accurate and Arctic-specific ionospheric models. Operating since 2006, CHAIN consists of 25 global navigation satellite receiver systems and five high-frequency radars called ionosondes. Strategically located across the Canadian Arctic, the ionosondes transmit and receive radio signals at specific frequencies. The information is transferred in near-real time to UNB for further processing. The projects are expected to create broader impacts on communications and navigation technologies as they may have applications in other areas, such as land survey, navigation and commercial airline transit.