Canadian NORAD Region Forward Operating Location Yellowknife | |
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Part of Canadian NORAD Region Forward Operating Locations | |
Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada | |
Coordinates | 62°27′05″N 114°27′01″W / 62.45128°N 114.4504°W |
Site information | |
Controlled by | Royal Canadian Air Force |
Condition | Operational |
Site history | |
Built | 1994 |
Built by | Royal Canadian Air Force |
In use | 1994- |
Garrison information | |
Occupants | RCAF 17 Wing / CFB Winnipeg |
Canadian NORAD Region (CANR) Forward Operating Location (FOL) Yellowknife was upgraded as part of the North American Air Defence Modernization (NAADM) program authorized at the Shamrock Summit held in Quebec City on March 18, 1985. The NAADM program was authorized by the Canada-United States Memorandum of Understanding signed by Prime Minister Mulroney and Ronald Reagan at the summit. The purpose of the upgraded facilities at Yellowknife Airport was to accommodate up to six fighters in hangars when needed,[1][2] 200 support personnel, and storage facilities. The facility was built and accepted by DND in 1994, without munitions storage facilities.[3]
FOL Yellowknife is located immediately southwest of the Yellowknife Airport (YZF), and uses its runways when required.
The air force, in conjunction with NORAD, also maintains four Forward Operating Locations (FOLs) where it can pre-deploy CF-18 Hornet fighter aircraft in response to, or anticipation of, unwelcome activity. The FOLs are located in Inuvik and Yellowknife, N.W.T., and in Iqaluit and Rankin Inlet, Nunavut. They provide all the necessary infrastructure and supplies to support the air force's fighter aircraft in these remote and isolated regions.
The Department of National Defence (DND) operates the Canadian NORAD Region (CANR) Forward Operating Location (FOL) situated to the southwest of the airport site. The FOL Yellowknife is a personal accommodation barracks and a hangar facility for the CF-18's deployed by the Canadian Air Force.