Roles of CFS Chibougamau
Following the Second World War, the threat of North America came mainly from air breathing vehicles that would come from Russia, overfly Canada and drop their bombs on industrial and strategic targets in Canada and the USA. As a warning of their approach, both countries established a long range radar line in 1951, the Pinetree Line.
On May 12, 1958, both countries signed an agreement for the creation of the North American Air Defence Command (NORAD), to coordinate the radar lines operations and the interceptors. NORAD’s mission was three-fold: to detect, identify, and if necessary, destroy flying objects trying to penetrate the North American airspace. Radar sites are used for detection and the identification while jet fighters such as the F-86, CF-100, F-101B and CF-18 have all been necessary for identification and destruction.
RCAF Station Chibougamau officially opened on May 1st, 1962, and is part of the CADIN-Pinetree chain. Twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year, data on regional airspace is now sent to the North Bay Control Centre. Should communications between North Bay and the station fail, the station can control the interceptors directly. This procedure is called autonomous operations. At all times, communications between the station, fighters and the Control Centre are handled by trunk radio transmitters located on Mount Cummings.
A second role, sometimes forgotten, of the station is to provide a military presence in the area. Station personnel could be asked to provide assistance to local authorities in case of a disaster, large events or searches.