Canadian NORAD Region (CANR) Forward Operating Locations (FOLs) were created under the North American Air Defence Modernization (NAADM) program authorized at the Shamrock Summit held in Quebec City on March 18, 1985. The locations are maintained by the Canadian Department of National Defence. 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 these upgraded facilities was to ensure adequate facilities existed for NORAD to defend the Northern Canadian frontier. Accommodations for up to six fighters in hangars were built, space for up to 200 support personnel, and storage facilities. Five locations were originally investigated, but only four locations were built.[1][2]
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.